The people of Pangia and Ialibu in the Southern Highlands of Papua New Guinea traditionally wove cane figures which were used in rituals for protection from war, drought and illness.

In 1970, some of the younger people from Pangia and Ialibu saw examples of the famous baskets from Bougainville and Buka Islands, 1100 kilometres away to the east. Inspired by these, they used their traditional skills to create a range of new basket shapes.

Since then, the popularity of the new baskets has spread and they are in demand through Papua New Guinea among local people and tourists. These baskets were collected at Ialibu in 1994 by Jeffrey Buchanan and Stewart Watson.