The main market in Antsirabe is one of the busiest in highland Madagascar, dealing in food, livestock, textiles, and manufactured goods. On the streets around it, and in a cluster of dedicated craft shops, you will find the better-quality Malagasy handicrafts: woven baskets, silk lambas (the Malagasy shawl), carved zebu-horn objects, embroidered tablecloths, and woodwork. Bargaining is normal and prices are genuinely negotiable.
The raffia and basket work sold here is some of the finest produced in Madagascar — light, durable, and practical rather than purely decorative. Silk weavers occasionally demonstrate their work in the larger craft shops. The market produces less obviously tourist-oriented goods than the markets of Antananarivo, which means that what you find here is more likely to be something locals actually use.