Dolls and Toys making using locally available recycled materials is increasingly gaining popularity as an income generating activity particularly with the slum women dwellers. There are many other individual women artisans with similar skills who are already involved in making dolls as a source of income. For a majority of these women, it is a means towards self-reliance. All the toy and doll makers operate from their respective home environment. The women group is comprised of single as well married mothers, who supplement their socio-economic basic needs through making of dolls and toys.
There are other women groups in the rural areas of Central province who specialize in traditional doll making using raw materials like maize husks, wood and pieces of rags. Other materials used include "clothes left over". These are bought from various tailor shops. Such wrap up materials are used in making the innovative and ingenious wire bicycle like among others, the riding man or ingeniously made flapping/flying birds.
As for the women dolls, materials used are tree bark, beads, and sisal materials. What makes some of the dolls to be more traditional in appearance is that they are dressed with traditional costume or attire. So are the ornamental items. The popular traditional dolls are Turkana "mama", Giriama Dancer, Kikuyu dancer, Maasai warrior, Miss Maasai, Coast lady in their Muslim veil, the mama na mtoto (mother and child), jambo/hello boy and safari dolls such as Zebra, Monkey and Giraffe dolls. The materials used to make most of these dolls and toys are sourced locally.
The creativity and enterprising zeal and imaginations of dolls and toys producers extend beyond the Kenyan boarders in that these producers have been able to come up with dolls wearing other African countries' national attire. These dolls are the Ugandan lady, Nigerian lady, Sudan beauty queen including Christmas nativity products.
The workmanship on the African dolls is of high quality. However, the ware bicycles and flying like bird are quite an innovative piece of work that arouses curiosity among children particularly boys while girls show interest in other type of african dolls and wire toys.
The traditional pots are made by women group based in Nyanza and Central provinces of Kenya. The special raw materials used are all sourced locally. . The product is rooted to the African culture as a domestic utensil. However, new patterns or design in line with peoples cultural background is evident from the wide range of utility pottery product available.
With the increasing export demand of pottery product as a handy product for domestic use, more and more producer groups are taking the trade as an important source of income which is in turn also enabling us to promote pottery utility items in line with our African cultural heritage. However, it is important to add that the products are made according to indigenous labour intensive methods using local materials. It is also important to stress here that these traditional African pottery product are environmental friendly and non-harmful. They have been in use for centuries.
