A designer embarks on a mission to save African artisans and learns some uncomfortable truths about western development, and herself, along the way. Part travelogue, part history of European/African relations, part psychology of consumption and desire, Ladd questions the blanket acceptance of craft/design interventions in Africa and instead poses some difficult questions. Is this kind of aid outdated; a legacy from another, less enlightened age? Do the resulting products constitute true artistic collaboration or are they simply a form of outsourcing? How does technology feature in western ideas about African craft? And what exactly does 'authenticity' mean to both the artisans and the designers? The author spent four years observing a craft charity as it was established in Burkina Faso, West Africa, from the mud-floored huts of weavers in remote countryside to the glittering design fairs of Europe and North America. Her thought-provoking, ethnographic approach examines everyone involved with an unflinching eye.