Hidden in the back roads of Serekunda there is a large batik factory, where the designs are waxed and the cloth dyed several times with each layer of waxing, the cloth is then boiled to remove the wax and the pigment beaten into the material before the final ironing.

The processes cannot all be seen on one visit, but this is one of the main Batik factories producing all the batiks that you will see at nearly every stall in The Gambia.

This is not to be confused with Queen Amies's Gena Bes factory in Bakau, the designs here as simpler, more primitive. The place is an excellent stop to see the work going on, look at the newly printed cloth and haggle over a price.

The more you buy the better the discount and when we visited in 1999 Sterling was better than dalasi, but this depends on the current exchange rate.

In addition to the Batiks, there are several stalls selling wood carvings and of particural interest some beautifully carved jembi drums.