Polish basketry inscribed on the UNESCO list. “The culmination of almost 18 years of effort”

Including basketry on the UNESCO list is the culmination of almost 18 years of efforts, Antoni Skrzypczak, president of the Polish Association of Basket and Basket-Makers, told PAP. He said that currently this type of handicraft is treated more as an artistic activity or hobby than a profession.

One of the oldest branches of crafts

The tradition of Polish basketry was officially included on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity on Wednesday. Weaving baskets, vessels and containers is one of the oldest branches of crafts in our country. Currently, the main regions where basket makers and basket makers operate are the vicinity of Nowy Tomyśl in Greater Poland and the region of Rudnik nad Sanem in Podkarpacie.

– Including basketry and wickerwork on the UNESCO list is the culmination of almost 18 years of our efforts – Antoni Skrzypczak, president of the National Association of Basketmakers and Wickerwrights, told PAP.

The president noted that In 2000, the community of basket makers and wicker makers from the Nowy Tomyśl area decided to break the Guinness record and create the largest wicker basket in the world. Based on this initiative, the community was integrated and an association of wicker and basket makers was established in 2004.

– Basket makers are people who weave, while wicker makers are people who grow wicker – i.e. willow – and prepare the raw material for creating wicker products. 90 percent basket makers in Poland use wicker – he described.

In 2007, on the initiative of Andrzej Pawlak, currently treasurer of the association and commissioner of wicker festivals, the first world weaving competition was organized in Nowy Tomyśl. The event is organized every four years. Also in 2007, after the agreement between the Nowy Tomyśl association and the wickerwork corporation from Rudnik nad Sanem, the idea of ​​including basketry on the national list of cultural heritage was initiated. This was achieved in July 2018. – We followed suit and, in cooperation with people from other regions of Poland, we made efforts to include the same entry in the UNESCO world cultural heritage list – said Skrzypczak.

– Our association wants to establish a European Wicker Center in Nowy Tomyśl. Including basketry and wickerwork on the UNESCO list may help with this, because thanks to it we will be able to apply for support. But it is too early to say how exactly we will implement our intentions. First of all, we want to ensure the training of future basket-makers and the integration of wicker-making communities, he said.

Difficult, manual work

He noted that customers are not aware of the source of the high cost of wicker products. – The wicker must be cultivated, then harvested, debarked and prepared for weaving. A basket maker creates the product by hand – he pointed out.

He added that until the 1970s, wicker was cut by hand, using a special knife. Later, specially adapted mowers or binders began to be used.

– There are fewer people involved in basketry than before. Yes, some young people learn to weave, but they do not treat basketry as a profession. Previously, basketry was the production of economically useful products, but now it is rather a form of artistic activities or a hobby and creating decorations. There used to be a whole segment of wicker furniture, but it was overtaken by plastic furniture – he pointed out.

The president of the association noted that the flourishing of basketry in the vicinity of Nowy Tomyśl, Miedzichów, Trzciel and Zbąszyń in Greater Poland is the result of the Olęder settlement from the 16th century. – The first wicker plantations developed in this area. We probably owe this to some particularly favorable soil conditions for willow cultivation, he said.

In his opinion, in the times of the Polish People's Republic, basketry was important because handicraft products were exported to the West for dollarsand numerous cooperatives and local plants dealt with wickerwork.

Skrzypczak assessed that the 1990s had a negative impact on the condition of Polish basketry and wickerwork. – After the central control of the market was abolished, it became a mess and the prices of materials and products became volatile. This was compounded by imports from China. It was necessary to find a solution and this initiative led to the creation of our association, which was to integrate basket makers and basket makers, he said.

Basket-making is the seventh Polish tradition inscribed on the UNESCO list. In previous years, the following entries were recognized, among others: beekeeping culture, falconry and rafting. (PAP)

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