On the last Saturday in July, William Rouse sat under a shaded tent doing something he has done for the past 73 years since he first learned it from his mother: weaving a sweetgrass basket. Rouse, a fourth-generation weaver, was focused on his craft, pulling dried strands into intricate braids. Only on occasion would he glance up at the patrons who wandered into his stall.
At the 20th annual Sweetgrass Festival in South Carolina, Rouse and 27 other sweetgrass artisans gathered to demonstrate their craft and sell their wares. The festival, held in Mount Pleasant, a suburb of Charleston and home to 14 Gullah Geechee communities, aims to promote and preserve the tradition of sweetgrass weaving, a centuries-long tradition started by enslaved people in the region and passed down to future generations.
