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While wandering through the village of Mto wa Mbu at Lake Manyara, Tanzania, we came across a traditional wood carver’s workshop where their beautiful carvings were up for sale. This photo is of some wooden bowls that I couldn’t take my eyes off of. I rarely buy souvenirs when I travel so I had to stop myself from buying one, but I found them to be just beautiful and quite cheap as well. This is the sort of place to go if you want the real thing.
Do you like to buy local carvings/artwork when you travel?
I love buying local crafts and try to get one piece of artwork for every trip. You definitely have to shop around quite a bit to try and understand what is authentic and what isn’t. I purchased a bowl very similar to the ones above near the Masai Mara last December. A great souvenir indeed!
Thomas Dembie recently posted..Getting Fresh in Twenty Valley, Ontario
Hi Thomas. I think artwork is probably the best souvenir you can buy. It’s something that you can display in your home to remember for the rest of your life. Also, if it is authentic, you are really helping out the local people that you buy it off.
I would buy tons of souvenirs on my travels if I could but there is just never enough room in my backpack. 4 months into my latest RTW trip I had to post a 20kg box back home because I had accumulated that much! It only cost the equivalent to £20 though so I felt it was worth it!
Jennifer recently posted..How to travel on the cheap as a college student
Hi Jennifer. Sending stuff back home is a great idea if you want to buy lots of souvenirs. If I ever have my own house I will probably do something like that. I love wandering around markets and see some amazing things that I would love to buy, but usually don’t as I don’t want to have to lug it around with me.
We were able to see this woodcarvers workshop in Mto wa Mbu and the pieces were quite reasonably priced and excellent quality. I purchased two masks and am so happy I did as they remind me of my trip and the great time I enjoyed traveling in Africa. There is also a shop that sells painting there and I especially liked the Tingatinga style paintings which I did purchase as well. Two paintings for less than $100 US.
Hi Terry. Good to hear that you found some nice art to purchase. I would love to have bought some myself as I loved it as well. Maybe when I have a home of my own I’ll go back and buy some 🙂 Cheers