The streets immediately around the palace are lined with open workshops where craftsmen cast brass, carve wood, weave indigo cloth, and embroider robes. The Village des Artisans is the most concentrated stretch — a cooperative of around fifty workshops where you can watch every stage of production, from raw materials to finished masks and statues.
Quality ranges from souvenir-grade to genuinely museum-quality, and prices are negotiable but never aggressive — the atmosphere is more village market than tourist trap. Allow a couple of hours to wander and a few CFA francs for tips if you photograph the artisans at work.