Woodcarving is one of the bastions of Sarawak handicrafts, and you can find anything from stylishly crafted Kayan and Kenyah wooden spoons to ten-foot-tall guardian figures crafted from solid belian (ironwood).

Amongst the more popular items are elaborately decorated wooden bowls; Iban hunting and trapping charms with small hunched figures carved on the end of a long spike; all kinds of ritual masks; Melanau sickness figures (blum) used to cast away illnesses in healing ceremonies; entire longhouse doors carved from a slab of hardwood; blowpipes that can kill a wild pig (or a person) at 100 m; and the ornately carved and painted hornbill figures used by the Ibans for celebrating Gawai Kenyalang, the hornbill festival.

Where to get:

* Abau Regong , Karittadam, c/o URA Lg. Napir, 98700 Limbang, Sarawak.

Tel: +6085 202105

*Asas Mahir Sdn. Bhd, 359 Jln. Sibiew, 97000 Bintulu, Sarawak.

Tel: +6083 337621

* Saging Anyi Taman Delight, Jln. 1B, Lot 3400, 98000 Miri, Sarawak.

Tel: +6085 612169

* JJ & LL Family, Carving & Painting Stall, Stall No.3, Miri Heritage Centre, 98000 Miri, Sarawak.

H/P: +6013 8405166

* Karya Indah , 320-323, Perkampungan Industri Perkayuan Semariang, Jln. Tan Sri Abg. Ikhwan Zaini, Petra Jaya, 93050 Kuching, Sarawak.

Tel: +6082 446320

* Woods Trading 4 ½ Mile, 206 Jln Kung Phin Off Penrissen Rd, 93250 Kuching, Sarawak.

Tel : +6082 451322, H/P: +6016 8889928