Some aspects of indigenous industries amongst the Mbeere c. 1850 - 1963

Abstract

This study focuses on some aspects of the Divisions between 1850 and 1963. The main industries included iron working, pottery manufacture, basketry, leatherwork, clothing and woodwork. In data collecting, formal questionnaires, Library research, formal interviews and on-site observation methods were employed. By employing a structural-functionalist theory, the study examined the raw materials used, their exploitation, transportation, processing and marketing of finished products as well as the challenges brought in with the advert of colonialism and its associated material culture and values. The study reveals that the Mbeere indigenous technology underwent changes in pre-colonial and colonial days in response to the environmental changes and that it was capable of Using to changing human conditions particularly after the onset of colonial rule. Finally it is recommended that Mbeere traditional skills should be studied and harnessed.