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.
