KENYA STANDARD  DKS 2969 -
1:2022    
 ICS 59.080  
First  Edition  
  
 © KEBS 2022  
 Handmade Baskets Specification  
 
Part 1: Twined and other related 
handmade baskets  
 
 
 Committee dr aft  
 
 DKS 2969 -1:2022    
 
© KEBS 2022 – All rights reserved   
 TECHNICAL COMMITTEE REPRESENTATION  
The following organizations were represented on the Technical Committee:  
Kenya Industrial Research and Development Institute (KIRDI)  
Moi university –Department of Industrial and Textile Engineering  
National Industrial Training Authority (NITA)  
Ministry of Industrialization and Trade  
Spinknit  Nakuru Ltd  
Kenknit Ltd  
Rural Services programme Chavakali  
Kitale Wool shop  
Technical Univers ity of Kenya(TUK)  
RIVATEX Ltd  
Kirinyaga University  
Egerton University — Department of Applied Community Development Studies  
PVH Corporation Ltd  
Kenyatta University  
Mbagathi Hospital  
Hadithi crafts Ltd  
Mifuko Ltd  
Kenya Bureau of Standards — Secretariat  
 
REVISION  OF KENYA STANDARDS  
In order to keep abreast of progress in industry, Kenya Standards shall be regularly reviewed.  Suggestions for 
improvements to published standards, addressed to the Managing Director, Kenya Bureau of Standards, are 
welcome.  
© Kenya Bureau of Standards, 2022 
Copyright. Users are reminded that by virtue of Section 25 of the Copyright Act, Cap. 130 of 2001 of the Laws of Kenya, copyr ight subsists in 
all Kenya Standards and except as provided under Section 25 of this Act, no Kenya S tandard produced by Kenya Bureau of Standards may 
be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system in any form or transmitted by any means without prior permission in writing from the Managing 
Director. 
 
Handmade Baskets Specification  
 
Part 1: Twined and other related  handmade 
baskets  
 
 
 
 
  
Kenya Bureau of Standards, Popo Road, Off Mombasa Road,  
P.O. Box 54974 - 00200,  Nairobi, Kenya  
 +254 020 6948000, + 254 722202137, + 254 734600471  
 info@kebs.org  
 @KEBS_ke  
 kenya bureau of standards (kebs)   
Foreword  
 
This Kenya Standard was prepared by the joint Technical Committee on  Handmade Textiles products 
and Ready Made Garments under the guidance of the Standards Projects Committee, and it is in 
accordance with the procedure s of the Kenya Bureau of Standards  
 
The twined and other handmade basket s are indigenous to diverse  ethnic communities in Kenya such 
as the Kamba, Kikuyu and Taita. Historically , women  wove baskets to serve in transporting or storing 
the harvest. Africa is an agricultural continent, and the basket first found its significance in support of 
this activity. Other than for agricultural use, baskets  were woven for other  purposes like storing food, 
shopping, or as gifts. These baskets were made of different kinds of indigenous fibrous plants, from 
which yarn  was produced to weave into baskets. Red oc hre, a colo ur extracted from plant bark and 
used to dye fabrics as well, was one of the colouring materials used by indigenous weavers . 
The standard has therefore been developed to promote the trade of t hese products while ensuring 
good quality baskets are made. The standard will also act as guide for those who wants to venture into 
the business.  
 
In the development of this standard, information  and data from handmade  baskets weavers  were used.   
 
 
Acknow ledgement is hereby made for the assistance received from them.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
1. SCOPE  
 
This Kenya Standard specifies the requirements for twined and other related handmade baskets.  This 
include;  Kiondo or ‘kyondo’ kikapu and  kidasi  among others.  
This standard is not applicable to the fireless cooker basket which is cov ered by part 2 of this standard . 
 
2.  Normative references  
 
In this text there are no references documents referred to.  
 
 
3.  TERMS AND DEFINITIONS  
For the purpose of this  standard, the following definitions shall apply:  
3.1 Twined handmade baskets - baskets made from interlacing twisted warps and wefts of different 
designs, shape and size   are made out of synthetic materials or natural materials such as sisal, 
banana sheat h, leaves, sisal, papyrus reeds, palm leaves, Sterculia Africana (Mrungua / Mweja) and 
wool.  Examples are as illustrated in Figure 1  
3.2 other related handmade baskets - this includes baskets which are not twined and are of different 
designs, shape and size    are made out of synthetic materials or natural materials such as sisal, 
banana sheath, sisal, papyrus reeds and Palm leaves . Examples are as illustrated in Figure 2  
3.3 warp - these are the strands that stand upright and form the side supports of the ba sket; they are 
much stiffer than the weft and are strong . See figure 4  
3.4 weft - these are the basket strands that weave through the warp, they are lighter, thinner and more 
flexible than the warp, to ena ble them to be woven in and out as  illustrated in figure 4  
3.5 Base -This is the bottom part of the basket, which the basket sits on  
3.6 Top Rim of the basket -The top end of the basket, the open end that is finished  
3.7 Height of the basket -The measurement of the basket from base to top  
  
4.  REQUIREMENTS  
 
4.1 General requirements   
4.1.1 The twines used for making twined handmade baskets shall be uniformly twisted and have 
uniform thickness.  
4.1.2 The handmade baskets shall be in good shape and free from any defects like tears, unintended 
holes, stains, loo se threads and any other defect that might affect their usability . 
4.1.3 The top rim of the handmade baskets shall be uniformly and securely fin ished in a way that it 
does not come out easily . 
4.1.4 For the twined baskets, the warps used for weaving the ba sket shall be of slightly longer than the 
height of the basket to avoid joints of the warps during weaving which creates weak joints as illustrated 
in example given in Figure 3  
 
 
  
5.0 Labelling  
Each basket shall have a label bearing the following informat ion; 
a) manufacturer’s name or registered trade mark;  
b)  Dimensions of the basket  
c)Type of material used  
d) country of manufacture  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
Annex A  
  
Handmade  baskets  
 
 
     
 
 
 
 
       
 
Figure 1: Twined baskets  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
  
 
Figure 2: Other related handmade baskets  
 
 
 
 
 
  
  
 
Figure 3: Torn basket as a result of weak joints  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Figure 4: Weaving of the basket  
 
 
weft Warp(maleri)   
 
 
 
 
 
 
Figure 5: Measurement of baskets  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Height  Top rim  
Base