Practices and Sustainability of Handcrafts Co-Operatives in Kenya: Lessons for Emerging Bamboo Farming Enterprises

Abstract

Wood carving industry has positively impacted on many Kenya communities especially, the Akamba community who traditionally own the skill. This paper is based on a survey of three wood-based, handicraft cooperatives in Kenya: (i) Wamunyu handicraft Cooperative Society Ltd in Machakos County; (ii) Nairobi Handicraft Industrial Cooperative Society Ltd; and (iii) Akamba Handicraft Cooperative Society Ltd in Mombasa. The objective of the study was to assess the handcraft cooperatives’ marketing systems in Kenya and identify best practices that should be replicated in the upcoming bamboo production and processing cooperative enterprises in South Nyanza for former tobacco smallholder farmers undergoing transformation. The primary data was collected through participatory observations, stakeholder interviews and review of secondary data sources. The study established that handicraft co-operative movements started in the early 1930s, and over the years, have remained competitive and vibrant, courtesy of strong cooperative rules and bylaws that guide governance of the cooperatives. The study also indicated that the cooperatives have diversified sources of incomes that stretch beyond their core business of handcrafts making. Again, for sustainability reasons, the cooperatives collaborate with one another through established linkages and working partnerships in conducting their business and for quality control especially in international marketing. All cooperatives displayed gender representation disparities with the marginalization of women and youths. Scarcity of quality raw materials, poor rural infrastructure, competitive local and international market conditions, cooperative management and governance, political instability and insecurity are the key challenges facing handicraft cooperatives in the country. The sustainability of the wood-based handicraft cooperatives therefore demands, environmental conservation practices, use of alternative curving materials, especially bamboo, integration of best management and governance practices and improvement of national security among others.