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.
