Founded in 1963, the Akamba Handicraft Industry Cooperative Society is the largest wood-carving cooperative in Africa, gathering over 1,500 carvers, painters, weavers, and soapstone sculptors from the Akamba (Kamba) people of Kenya into one organised workshop and showroom complex. The Akamba have been Kenya’s most celebrated wood carvers since the early 20th century, with traditions traced to soldier carvers who learned during the First World War. Today their work is found in galleries and homes worldwide. A visit lets you walk through the open workshops where carvers chip salvaged hardwood into elephants, giraffes, Maasai figures, masks, and bowls. Each carver works in their own bay; you can chat with masters, watch the process, and commission custom pieces. The showroom houses thousands of finished pieces from pocket-sized animals to life-size sculptures at fair, cooperatively set prices. Soapstone and woven basketry pieces from co-op partners round out the offering. Buying here directly supports the carvers (no middlemen) and ensures provenance for export  important for buyers wanting ethical hardwood pieces under CITES rules.