TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums General Caribbean Locally made crafts in Dominica

Where can I find locally made crafts in Dominica around the Roseau area? Specifically woven baskets and calabash items like utensils and lamp shades.

I would suggest you go straight to the middle of the action when it comes to baskets... on your way to your accommodation, ask your taxi/tour guide to stop at callibashie on the side of the road. here you will find a few women displaying baskets of every size and shape for a very reasonable price. I wish I picked one up but couldn't figure how to get it on the plane (24 hrs for me to get home and we still had a few puddle hoppers to go).

Roseau is quite the distance from DOM which could benefit you with pit stops. We had time to stop at Trafalgar falls too.

if you are looking for a tour guide, I strongly suggest Donaldson from Nature Isle Explorers... check him out on trip advisor he is top rated.

another interesting tidbit.. I bought some lovely wooden jewelry from these same ladies. one colourful bracelet was 2$, in st lucia they wanted 8$ and that very same bracelet is sold here at our farmer's market for 40$.. the only difference is the lady here tells me the bracelet is from brazil... not sure where it is from but I love it... when I roll my fingers over the wooden bits, it reminds me of the night time crickets, etc.. the symphony gently guided me to sleep every night. you'll see what I mean when you get there.

enjoy!

ps if you are staying in the hills bring warm clothes as this Canadian almost froze at night.

Thank you so much, I'll be there for the weekend only so knowing this ahead of time is very helpful. I'll let you know how I manage with the basket or baskets on Liat. Being from the islands (St. Martin) i'm very familiar with the crickets. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Wink.gif" alt="" />

I will need a tour guide, I'll look Donaldson up.

Here is the link on trip advisor.. 110 excellent reviewers (plus me) can't be wrong. http://www.tripadvisor.ca/Attraction_Rev...h_Dominica.html

Donaldson is a young adult with an science education. He quit before uni grad but has since used his science background to showcase his lovely country.

Donaldson and Alvin? kept us on track and made sure (very politely and discretely) we got a chance to see everything without all the stress. That in itself is a hard task when dominica holds so much to see.

We asked him about the bountiful fruit on island and where to get some. He stopped in a jiffy, disappeared up a tree and brought back, peeled and handed over a fresh sweet grapefruit. AAAAAAHHHHHHHH What a tourguide. what a memory!

miss him so much.

PS Tell him hi from his canadian friend that he met in sxm last year! He came to meet us and convince us to be his tour guide, then he organized our lives and well, the rest is history. it was to easy and way to much fun hanging out with him. so we did! I would do it all over again. He is all business and professional - 100%.

ps if you email him tonight, he will respond within the hour.

Hey crazycanuxx,
Thanks for the recommendation. I booked a tour with Donaldson. We enjoyed the tour tremendously. I did pass along your greetings, He remembered you by name.

lolol, glad you enjoyed his tour guide services. where did he take you?

what about the baskets? did you get a chance to pick one or two up?

Because of Liat leaving my luggage in Nevis, we missed the Carib reserve on the way from the airport. I did get my baskets at the Roseau market, but didn't get the calabash lamp.

We did the lake, titou gorge, the falls, botanical gardens, I'm sure I'm forgetting some stuff. It was a great tour