Today, we’re going to talk about a very typical category of handmade items from Bali: “kebens”. “Kebens” are handwoven traditional bamboo fiber baskets used by Balinese people to store large quantities of offerings, including food and flowers.
“Kebens” were originally created by Balinese to contain offerings made to the Gods during their daily praying ritual or specific ceremonies. You will easily spot these cute baskets being carried by the locals (usually on their head) during processions. The baskets usually contain flowers and fruits, which are offered to the Gods during traditional ceremonies taking place in Balinese temples.
Example of classic kebens
“Kebens” should not be confused with “canang”, smaller and simpler mini-baskets which are used in a purification ritual on a daily basis. You can easily spot hundreds of “canang” lying around the island, usually on the floor or on small shrines scattered around houses. “Canang” are easier to fabricate than “kebens”; in fact, a lot of Balinese women spend most of their day making large quantities of these mini baskets.
Traditional “canang” filled with flowers
Handwoven baskets have quickly become one of Bali’s biggest exported product. Tourists like their quirky look and varied colors! Moreover, these baskets can easily be integrated in your home decor plans to give them a colorful and authentic touch.
We all love to have storage solutions that easily blend in our Balinese home style decor; handwoven bamboo baskets are great for this purpose. They are also very functional items; for instance, you can use them to store away your kids’ toys, gadgets cables, books etc.
Besides “kebens”, Balinese offer a wide assortment of baskets made of different materials, such as rattan or grass. These items are great to be used as laundry baskets or flowers pots. Moreover, they are more eco-friendly and nicer-looking than plastic-made storage boxes that might eventually end up polluting Mother Nature…
Bamboo fiber laundry baskets
So whether you’re looking to improve your home decor or searching some new storage solutions that are made of natural material, don’t hesitate to go for Balinese baskets! You can check our full range here: https://www.kulture.sg/collections/bamboo-baskets.