Molas

A mola is made by stacking layers of coloured cotton, cutting shapes down through them and stitching the edges under, so the design emerges from the layers rather than being applied on top; a good one has four or five layers and thousands of stitches, and takes weeks. Guna women wear them in pairs as the front and back of a blouse, and the designs run from geometric abstraction descended from body painting to birds, fish, political commentary and, occasionally, whatever caught the maker's eye off a packet or a poster. They are sold in Guna Yala, and by Guna women who sell in Panama City wearing the full dress.

What you actually see

• The layering - four or five colours cut down through and stitched under.
• Geometric designs - descended from the older body-painting tradition.
• The full Guna dress - mola blouse, wini beadwork and gold nose ring.
• Guna sellers in Panama City - in Casco Viejo and the craft markets.

When to go

Year-round. Buying in Guna Yala from the maker is best, both for price and for authenticity; the Guna sellers in Panama City are also selling their own work. Craft market stalls run by others are a different proposition.

Honest expectations

A great deal of what is sold as mola is machine-stitched, single-layer or made outside the community entirely; genuine work is hand-stitched throughout, with tiny even stitches visible on the reverse, and costs accordingly. Guna Yala has its own rules on photography and visitors are charged for photographing people. Buying directly supports the makers.

Nearby

Guna Yala is the source; Casco Viejo has Guna sellers.