Mats and baskets woven of various kinds of straw, rattan and reed are common and are becoming a small but important export. You'll still see minority groups actually wearing some of these baskets, affirming that until recently most Lao handicrafts were useful as well as ornamental. In villages it's possible to buy direct from the weaver, though you might need to commission your basket in advance and allow at least a day for the job to be finished. Or you could weave it yourself, under instruction from the experts for a small fee. Among the best baskets and mats are those woven by the Htin (Lao Thoeng).

Among the Hmong and Mien hill tribes, silversmithing plays an im­portant role in 'portable wealth' and inheritances. In years past the main source of silver was French coins, which were either melted down or fitted straight into the jewellery of choice. In northern villages it's not unusual to see newer coins worn in elaborate head dress.

The lowland Lao also have a long tradition of silversmithing and gold-smithing. While these arts have been in decline for quite a while now, you can still see plenty of jewellers working over flames in markets around the country. If you're after something special head to Luang Prabang, where Thithpeng Maniphone has gone from crafting silverware for Luang Prabang royalty to filling commissions for the Thai royal family.

Paper handcrafted from saa (the bark of a mulberry tree) is common in northwestern Laos, and is available in Vientiane and Luang Prabang. Environmentally friendly saa is a renewable paper resource that needs little processing compared with wood pulp.