Weaving baskets and memories
The museum of basket weaving of the Roma has been operating since 1995. Initially it operated in Komotini but in recent years it is housed in the settlement of Thrylorio. It is an ethnographic - technological museum, unique not only in Greece but all over Europe. In the single room of the Museum mainly baskets are exhibited, made by Roma craftsmen of Thrace (Greece, Bulgaria and Turkey) but also from Northern Macedonia, Serbia, Albania, the Black Sea, Armenia, Poland, Moldova, Egypt, Syria and Lebanon. Some exhibits come from distant lands such as India or Argentina and are not made by Roma artisans.
In addition to the baskets, the collection is completed with brooms, mats, hats, decorative items as well as tools used by the craftsmen. The weaving stages of the process and a typical representation of a basket workshop are exhibited. Visitors through the rooms of the museum familiarize themselves with a forgotten craft that until the 1950s, before the advent of plastic, was perhaps the only source of household utensils and furniture. The visit to the museum is completed with representations, photographs and audiovisual material on basket weaving.
Among other things, the museum is active in the fields of research, education, support of basket weavers, revival of traditional technique but also in the cultivation of ecological consciousness since the materials used are purely ecological and sustainable. At the same time, the museum with its actions protects the cultural heritage of the Roma of Thrace. The museum provides museum-educational programs for students. In the museum shop the visitor can buy souvenirs such as baskets and printed publications.
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