Preserving the Sweetgrass Baskets TraditionOnce a key part of plantation life in the South, sweetgrass baskets are now sold as souvenirs to tourists. But for the weavers and their supporters, they're a lot more: an ornate testament to the contributions slaves made to the growth of a fledgling nation's economy. Today, local leaders are working to preserve the craft as the ranks of artisans thin and it becomes harder to find materials to make the baskets in this fastest-growing region of South Carolina.
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