See Africa Trading in Mackay, Queensland for wholesale and retail sales of authentic African soapstone sculptures. This is a soft and fragile stone found mainly in brownish or greenish colours. As the name implies, soapstone has a very soapy feel, and being soft stone, it requires considerable care and attention. The Zimbabwe people refer to soapstone as “rapoko”. This name is believed to have originated among Shona artists because of the stone's common resemblance to the roasted millet consumed by a majority of the country's indigenous inhabitants.
