🇰🇪 Handicrafts of Kenya

Handicrafts of Kenya: an introduction

The craft output of Kenya is broad enough that most buyers arrive looking for one product and leave with three. It is known for soapstone carving, beadwork, sisal basketry, recycled metal and bone craft with strong fair-trade export channels.

All fifteen craft families are shown below. The ones marked in blue are where craft output in Kenya concentrates; the rest are made or traded there on a smaller scale, and are worth a look if you are sourcing across categories.

• Handloom & Textile Crafts
• Embroidery & Needlework
• Handmade Carpets & Rugs
• Pottery & Ceramics
• Metalware & Brassware
• Woodcraft & Carving
• Stone & Marble Craft
• Handmade Jewellery & Beadwork
• Leather Craft
• Cane, Bamboo & Basketry
• Paper Craft & Papier-Mâché
• Lacquerware & Painted Wood
• Glass Craft & Beadmaking
• Handmade Toys & Dolls
• Ritual & Devotional Objects

Blue = strongest in Kenya · plain = also available

Each craft-family page explains what to look for in the finished product — quality markers, sizes, finishes, care and price behaviour — wherever in the world it is made. Read the family page for the product, and this page for the country.

Buying well here means being specific about the finished piece: the exact size, the colour range you will accept, and the finish. Handmade variation is normal and should be planned for, not treated as a defect.