These baskets are made by the Aeta people, indigenous inhabitants of the Philippines who retain their ancient traditions, customs and language.

It is believed that they arrived from Africa thousands of years ago. For the last several hundred years, they have faced racial discrimination and been driven off their ancestral lands, retreating to remote forested highlands. Here they live in small villages, where they engage in subsistence farming, hunting and gathering, and basket weaving.

Basket making with sustainably harvested rattan has been an important part of their cultural and economic life.

This, coupled with the work of NGO’s such as Preda, have enabled the Aeta people to reclaim some of their ancestral lands.  In 2010, seventeen square kilometers were returned to them by the Philippine government.

Areaware Bow Bins are available from dedeceplus here

About Cordula Kehrer

Cordula Kehrer has a passion for practical yet unfashionable objects such as laundry racks and waste bins.

She studies and then reinvents them, merging the unconventional with the functional while maintaining a sense of humour.

Kehrer opened her Karlsruhe studio after completing studies in product design in Germany and Japan and working at Marc Newson’s design office in Paris.

She has received several grants, and her work has been featured at Maison & Objet in Paris, Salone Satellite in Milan, numerous galleries and in major design magazines.

Preda, a fair trade NGO, was established in 1974. Through its work, it has allowed the Aeta people to prosper and send their children to school. Preda provides transportation, medicine, job training, legal counsel, and even college scholarships to the Aeta.