🛍️ Ivory Coast: souvenirs
Cote d'Ivoire pairs the world's cocoa capital with deep craft traditions - Korhogo cloth, Baoule weaving and Abidjan's chocolate makers. Here is what travellers bring home from Ivory Coast, where the good versions live, and the export questions worth a look - alongside our 43 written places.
🛒 The classic buys
Korhogo cloth
Painted mud-figure textiles from the Senufo north - panels and cushion covers from Korhogo's workshops or Abidjan galleries.
Ivorian chocolate
The world's biggest cocoa grower now bars its own - Abidjan chocolatiers sell single-origin tablets that make the sharpest gift.
Baoule and pagne weaving
Handwoven strip cloth and the bright waxprints of daily wear - the fabric markets of Treichville sell by the pagne.
Wood carving
Masks and figures in Baoule, Dan and Senufo styles - new work from the artisanal centre CAVA and market carvers.
Attieke and spice kits
Dried attieke and pepper blends for recreating maquis cooking at home.
⚠️ Check before you buy
- Old masks and ritual pieces are cultural property - export needs permits; buy new work.
- Check what your home country lets in for food items - sealed and dried travels best.
✗ Better left behind
- Ivory - the country's name does not make it legal; trade is banned.
- Artificially aged carvings - honest new work is everywhere.
Markets shift, workshops close and open, and the best souvenir is still the one with a story you were there for. Buy from makers where you can, keep receipts for anything substantial, and when a deal feels too good, it usually is.