To many people, basket weaving of any of material or natural fibres is still mostly associated with men, just as textile weaving is associated with women. The truth is that many women now make baskets whereas few men have become involved in textile weaving. Particularly in the dry season when agricultural activity is virtually impossible, farmers traditionally spend their free time making baskets and other similar articles for everyday use.

Like a language dialect or a weaving pattern, an expert in this field can often tell from a basket's style and form exactly which ethnic group made it and where they are located. Someone from that area may even be able to identify the individual who made it.
These days, woven products from natural fibres have become very fashionable as decorations both in homes and in public places, such as hotels, offices and conference centres. Artisans have adapted their skills into crafting products as diverse as rice baskets, food containers, trays, mats, furniture, sun hats, fans, fishing equipment, bird cages and hand bags, all with beautiful designs and colours that are appreciated by today's consumer.

But, whatever is made in the form of basketry, it should be realised that no machine has yet been invented that can take the place of the skilled hand of women and men. Truly beautiful and desirable basket products take much time and patience to create, something which is increasingly forgotten or misunderstood by the demands of today's "instant" markets. Travelling with a Phu Phiang tour of Thai basket making communities opens up a fascinating chronicle of diversity and variety, art and skill that few are fully aware that exists in our modern industrialised world.

Rattan is kind of creeping palm that grows in tropical forest areas where the hot and damp climate intersperses with heavy rainfall. Rattan is very suitable for basket and furniture making. It is considered a very strong durable material but the thicker varieties are slow-growing and now rarely found in Thailand.

Bamboo is a kind of woody grass with regular nodes which grows quickly and abundantly in all parts of Thailand. It is one of nature's most versatile and useful products for humans and, in the past, village houses and many essential household utensils were made from bamboo. There are many different varieties of Bamboo which are used for different purposes. Those with thick walls and a long space between the nodes make the best baskets. Using just a machete-type knife, the wood is split again and again into thinner and more pliable strips until it is the right thickness for weaving baskets.

Once, every farmer knew how to make strong bamboo baskets, fishing traps and utensils of various kinds. Today, other materials, such as plastic, are used but bamboo-work still survives in almost every province of Thailand, often for more decorative than fully functional products.

Other Natural Fibres suitable for making baskets and other artefacts abound in Thailand. Palm leaves, Kok (reeds), krajoot (bulrush), water hyacinth, banana stalk, corn husks, toei (pandanus), sa (mulberry), yan lipao (a vine-like fern) are just some of the materials used in the handicraft production, many of which are found in the Southern Thailand as well as other areas. A great variety of different baskets and techniques are found which have been developed through generations and now re-adapted for decorative as well as functional use.