This hand carved fair trade gift idea is a quality social board game for two players. The marbles are not glass but semi precious stones polished to perfection. The wood is a weighty deep red Palissandre.

This great fair trade gift idea includes both Katro and fanorona.

Mancala games play an important role in many African societies comparable to that of Chess in the West.

Katro is played by the Betsileo people in Fianarantsoa in the southern highlands of Madagascar. The game was described by the Dutch mancala researcher Alexander Johan de Voogt during an extensive field study in 1998.

The board is usually dug in the earth and the players, mostly adult women and men, are often surrounded by a curious crowd of spectators making it a very social game.

This Fair Trade board game is about breaking the balance and is played in a way similair to other mancala games, particularly Bao (download the Bao rules to your left). The goal is to:

• Capture all opponent's stones in his front row and,
• To deprive your opponent of any opportunity to capture in the next move so that you can capture twice in a row.

The game ends when a player has no move. The player who moved last is declared winner.

The board comes with a complete set of stones for playing either Fanorona or Katro.

Madagascar Palissandre grows in the North-western part and eastern coast of the Island of Madagascar. The heartwood is lilac to reddish-brown. It has streaks from brown to black. The texture of the wood is fine and used in fine furnishing nad stringed instruments.

Fair Trade in Australia - Unique Fair Trade Products Gift Ideas.

Warning: Choking Hazard. Not suitable for Children under 3yrs.