Fading Strands Development Shakes Centuries-Old Tradition of Grass Basket Weaving

Summary

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CHARLESTON, S.C. - Just a few years ago, Nikia Wigfall needed only to drive to the nearby marshes to harvest the sweetgrass that she and other descendants of slaves weave into beautiful baskets sold to tourists in and around this antebellum port city.

But booming coastal development has made finding the clumps of long, swaying sweetgrass tougher.

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Extract

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Fading Strands Development Shakes Centuries-Old Tradition of Grass Basket Weaving

Upscale homes have been built on traditional harvesting spots, and gated subdivisions - many with "plantation" in their names - often don't let the weavers come through to pluck the grasses that they coil with palmetto f...

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