All the members of the group are singers and percussionists, playing the same traditional instrument, the txabeta.

The Batucadeiras das Olaias are a Cape Verdean batuku group based in the Portugal Novo neighbourhood in Lisbon. The group was founded in 2019 in response to a need felt by Clarisse Monteiro, a Cape Verdean resident of the neighbourhood, to create opportunities for the women of the community, who had few spaces in which to meet and socialise. With its roots on the island of Santiago in Cape Verde, the practice of batuku contributes to the preservation and promotion of Cape Verdean culture. The opportunity to showcase this important cultural tradition is a source of pride and a means of empowering the group’s sense of identity; through their original songs, they express their experiences and perspectives on the world.