A TOUCH OF AFRICA IN STROMNESS . . .

Step inside A Touch of Africa on Victoria Street, Stromness, and discover a feast for the eyes. The only shop in Scotland dedicated to West African crafts is based right here in Orkney, and offers you the chance to browse an eclectic range of clothing, basketry, fabrics, jewellery, carvings and leatherwork. Everything is ethically and personally sourced in The Gambia, West Africa, by Lynda Aiano and Andrew Dawson, who have been collaborating with craft producers there since 2002, trading as Goodies from The Gambia.

The beautiful and vibrant colours of hand-dyed and printed fabrics will be the first thing you notice in the shop. Damask dyed to order, indigo, mudcloth and printed cottons are for sale by the piece. There is clothing for men and women, including dresses, trousers, shirts and aprons made exclusively for the shop by Alpha Jallow, who runs a tailoring workshop in The Gambia.

The shop features the work of several talented Gambian batik artists. Their work appears on t-shirts, aprons, cushion covers and wall hangings.

The basketry range features work by Ahmed, a Senegalese maker, who uses local palm leaves. There are also bolga baskets from Ghana, and seagrass baskets from Senegal. From Niger, there are carved stone figures and trinket boxes. Goodies from the Gambia also commissions Omar, a Gambian woodcarver, to produce some contemporary items for the shop, including Orkney puffins! Ebrima Bawo, a drum master, makes drums for them, as well as supplying them with a wide range of smaller gift items, including key rings and the smallest elephants it is possible to carve!

Jewellery is made by Lynda Aiano herself, trading as Bakau Beadworks, and using beads sourced on trips to The Gambia. Krobo glass beads from Ghana feature strongly; their seaglass appearance and colours subtly reflecting the Orkney landscape. Necklaces and earrings, often incorporating gemstones and always using sterling silver findings, make a unique and perfect gift or memento of your stay in Orkney. See bakaubeadworks.co.uk for more details.

Lynda and Andrew have worked in partnership with many of their suppliers for more than 15 years, forming friendships and working together to produce innovative designs of high-quality and bringing the products to an international market. The craftspeople benefit from guaranteed, fair payment. Photographs of many of the craftspeople can be seen in the shop and, in most cases, customers leave with an image of the maker.

The shop is open Tuesday through Saturday, 10.30am to 4.30pm, and when the door is open! It is open every day during the Orkney Folk Festival, and on other Stromness event days.