KENYA · GUIDE 0773 · EDITION 4.2
Fabric scrap rug making in Kenya: Customers and Market Demand
The buyer and the buying decision
Households and decor retailers. The offer to test is: Weave or stitch rugs from clean fabric scraps into a consistent finished size.
Choose a rug construction method and intended indoor use, sorting fabric strips for workable thickness and colour combinations before promising a consistent size, texture and finish from mixed recovered material.
Separate interest from an accepted order
Produce one sample, test laundering and measure production time.
The purpose of this test is to establish whether the buyer accepts the specified result, delivery arrangement and payment terms. An encouraging interview does not establish repeat demand. Ask what the buyer currently uses, what would make them change supplier and who has authority to approve the first order. Record a refusal as carefully as an enquiry so that unsuccessful offers do not disappear from the evidence.
Collect evidence specific to this offer
Keep fabric combinations, preparation time, construction hours, wash observations and user feedback, noting which mixtures produce repeatable durable work and which create uneven texture or excessive reworking during final finishing and checking.
| Question to resolve | Evidence to retain |
|---|---|
| What exactly will the buyer accept? | Have a user handle and place a sample rug, checking loose joins, uneven edges and care instructions, while considering whether the backing or construction suits the intended floor and household use. |
| What is included in the first trial? | Choose a rug construction method and intended indoor use, sorting fabric strips for workable thickness and colour combinations before promising a consistent size, texture and finish from mixed recovered material. |
| How will a prospect see the offer? | Offer samples to homeware stores and disclose care requirements. |
| What must happen before repeating the trial? | The rug matches its dimensions and disclosed material mix with no loose hazardous edges. |
Decide whether to continue
Review the specification with the buyer before committing to tools or stock. A trial is commercially useful only if actual costs, rejected work, time spent and cash collected can be reconciled. A colourful rug disappoints when mixed fabrics shrink differently, weak joins loosen during use or customers cannot clean it using the care instructions that accompanied the finished product at the point of purchase.
If a buyer changes the required output, record a new scope and re-cost the test. Do not count a request for a different product as proof of demand for the original one. Keep personal contact details in your private records and use customer statements publicly only with permission.
Turn the example into a buyer test
Fictional batch: six 45 × 70 cm hand-braided decorative rugs from clean unused cotton-rich garment offcuts, one approved colour palette. Supply care labels and state that no slip-resistance certification is provided; exclude stairs, wet floors and safety-critical uses.
| Buyer discussion | Evidence to retain |
|---|---|
| Specification to confirm | Reject oily/mouldy fabric and material that transfers dye visibly. |
| Output to inspect | No pins/needles remain; deliver only the accepted dimensions and finish. |
| Failure that can defeat acceptance | Rug cups upward |
Ask the buyer to describe one acceptable and one unacceptable result. Record the decision maker, price basis, quantity, handover point and payment date privately. A sample request, an encouraging conversation and an accepted order are different evidence. Keep the first commitment within your demonstrated capacity; no customer interview or successful trial is asserted here.
What a failed test should change
Check tight joining stitches and unequal braid tension. If the offer cannot meet that check, revise the specification or process before promising a repeat. Keep rejected offers and reasons in the same register as positive replies so that your record does not exaggerate demand.