Botswana Basketry

Botswana's baskets are among the finest coiled basketry made anywhere, and they come mostly from Ngamiland in the north-west, where women weave strips of mokola palm dyed with bark, roots and berries into patterns so tight the best examples hold water. The designs carry names that read like a field guide - tears of the giraffe, forehead of the zebra, flight of the swallow, knees of the tortoise - and skilled weavers are known by name to buyers. What began as household storage became an export craft in the 1970s, and today it provides real income across villages where other work is scarce.

The main sights

• The pattern names - designs drawn from animals and landscape.
• Coiling technique - the tight mokola palm work that makes the best baskets watertight.
• Natural dyes - bark, root and berry colours in browns, purples and black.
• Craft centres in Maun - buying directly with weaver attribution.

When to go

Baskets are sold year round in Maun and Gaborone shops. Village weaving visits are easiest in the dry season from May to October when roads in Ngamiland are passable. Peak safari season brings the best selection to the shops as stock is replenished.

Before you go

Quality varies enormously and price should track it: look at stitch tightness, evenness of coil and whether the base sits flat. The finest pieces are genuinely expensive and represent weeks of work. Buying from craft centres that name and pay the weaver returns far more to the maker than roadside resale. Baskets are light but bulky - plan luggage space or arrange shipping.

Nearby

Maun as the main buying point, and the Okavango villages of Ngamiland where most are made.