Elephant grass and palm leaves provide raw material used for mats, baskets and also woven bee baskets. They are also used to build traps for wild animals.
Uganda has a wide array of handcraft products, ranging from basketry, mats, ceramics and pottery, beads, hand textiles and woven products to toys, jewellery, bags, leather products, batik and curved wood products etc. These items are produced in all districts and regions, using local raw materials and with tribal ornaments in limited edition based on culture, history and traditions.
Hand craft is a cultural tradition and is predominantly a cottage industry, practiced by the rural youth of both gender, but mainly by women in the country, in order to supplement their income. It has been a tradition to hand over craftsmanship and skills from generation to generation. The production of handcraft however has seen an upswing as a new industrial branch and it is perceived as a potential business for a sustainable family income to supplement the subsistence farming thus making modern art more and more attractive for artists and at last for export