ABSTRACT
This study aimed at evaluating the utilization of local material for home decoration among home makers in Umudike community, in Abia state. Specifically the study determined the extent by which the home makers used local materials in home decoration, the perception of the home makers on the utilization of local materials for home decoration, the challenges of using local material in home decoration and the possible solutions to the challenges of using local materials in home decoration. The study design is survey. Four research questions guided the study. A total of two hundred home makers were randomly selected for the study. Validated structured questionnaire were the instrument used for data collection. The statistical tool used for data analysis was frequencies and percentage. The findings of the study reviewed among others that 70% of the home makers in National Root Crops Research Institute, Umudike Quarters use local materials for their home decoration and these among others include wood, bamboo sticks, calabash and wooden frames. 50% of the home makers in Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike Quarters use local materials for their home decoration while 40% of the home makers in Umudike village use local materials for their home decoration. The least preferred local materials were hay mattress and lemon grass. Based on these findings, it was recommended that home makers should adopt the utilization of local materials for home decoration because they are cheap and easily accessible. Also recommended was for people to develop a creative mind and make use of their skills in producing good items for home decoration, because going for imported items is not the best. Producers should also adopt new technologies to reduce the challenges on the utilization of local materials for home decoration in order to promote the use of local materials for home decoration. Home makers are also encouraged to produce some of the local materials by themselves. They can even produce more than they need and sell some. This will serve as a source of revenue to the family and form of economic development to the nation.
Key words: Local materials, Home Decoration, Home makers
TABLE
OF CONTENTS
Title page i
Approval ii
Certification iii
Dedication iv
Acknowledgment v
Table of content vi
Lists of tables viii
Abstract ix
CHAPTER
1
1.0
Introduction 1
1.1
Statement of the Problem 4
1.2
Objective of the study 5
1.3
Research Questions 5
1.4
Significance of the Study 5
1.5
Scope of the Study 7
CHAPTER
2
2.0 Literature
Review 8
2.1 Conceptual
framework 8
2.1.2 Local
Materials 10
2.1.3 Types
of local materials 10
2.1.4 The
Benefits of Utilizing local materials for home decoration 14
2.1.5 Perception
of people on the utilization of local materials for
home decoration 14
2.1.6 Challenges of using local materials for home
decoration 15
2.2 Review
of Empirical studies 16
2.3 Summary of the Literature review 17
CHAPTER 3
3.0 Materials and Methods 19
3.1 Design of the study 19
3.2 Area of study 19
3.3 Population for the study 20
3.4 Sample and Sampling techniques 20
3.5 Instrument for data collection 21
3.6 Validation of the instrument 21
3.7 Reliability of the instrument 21
3.8 Data collection techniques 22
3.9 Data analysis techniques 22
CHAPTER 4
4.1 Results and Discussion 23
4.2 Discussions of Findings 28
CHAPTER 5
5.0 Summary, Conclusion and Recommendation 30
5.1 Restatement of Problem 30
5.2 Principal Findings 30
5.3 Summary 31
5.4 Conclusion 32
5.5 Recommendation 32
5.6 Suggested area for further study 33
References 34
Appendix 36
LIST OF TABLES
Table
1: Determination of the extent to which Local Materials are Being used among home makers 23
Table
2: The Perception of the Respondents on the Utilization of
Local materials for Home decoration. 25
Table
3: The challenges of using Local Materials for Home
Decoration 26
Table
4: Possible solutions to the challenges
of using local
Materials for home Decoration 27
CHAPTER
1
1.1 INTRODUCTION
Home is the base for each family member. It should,
therefore, be made as comfortable and attractive as possible for the proper
development and relaxation of family member. For a home to be well decorated;
one needs a creative mind and skills so as to balance the colour combination and
arrange furniture to fall into appropriate spaces as decorating a room requires
different techniques used by home makers to enhance the decorative aspects of
the home.
Home decoration is the act of beautifying a home with items/accessories
that makes it appear more beautiful and attractive. It could also be defined as
the act of using accessories which are easy to replace and easy to
move, to decorate a home.
According to Hahn (2011), Home Decoration is the act
of beautifying rooms so that they become attractive, comfortable, and useful.
Floors, walls, and ceilings are often decorated using furniture and fixtures,
carpets and rugs, draperies or curtains, lighting, paint, wall coverings,
hangings, flowers as well as many other items that may contribute to the beauty
of a home. Hahn (2011), explained that such articles/accessories include
almost any items that are not strictly functionally necessary in the decorated
space, these accessories include items like curtains, sofa sets, cushions,
tablecloths, decorative craft products, painted articles, plants, beads and so
on. These items are commonly used in both indoors and out door furnishings/decoration
of a house.
Home
accessories, as movable decorations, reflect the owner's taste and create a
personal atmosphere where they are placed. These items can break the boundaries
of traditional decoration industry, using handicrafts, textiles,
collectibles, and things such as lamps, floral items, and plants
re-combined to form a new concept. Home accessories vary according to size and
shape of room space, the owner's living habits, hobbies, tastes, and their
economic situation.
The use of local materials in home
decoration is becoming popular in this recent time especially in the
hospitality industries that is springing out like mush room in Abia state now. However, some home makers are yet to see need
in using local materials for home decorations espesiccly in Umudike community
.The call is not for the masks and statues sold on sidewalks around the towns
and villages in the state but to the world at large.
Home Decoration is viewed as a direct application of
visual arts with relevance to the productions of indigenous artefacts which are
accomplished with technical expertise and covering wide areas of applied arts
and design, such as jewelry, interior design, ceramics, household wares,
architecture, textile designs and woodwork. Home decoration does not only
include the furniture items but also embrace the creation of functional designs
with intrinsic aesthetic satisfaction such as light accessories (Robins, 2007).
According to Boch 2006, home decorations have an
extensive range of functional as well as decorative products. It consists of
both, natural as well as man-made fabrics. It increase livability and
workability of a small place, reduce noises, make music and even speech richer
and more resonant. It include a wide range of products like table linen, mats
and runners, kitchen linen and other kitchen accessories, bathroom furnishings,
window treatments, hammocks, bed linen, bed spreads, blankets, throw pillows
and pillow covers, cushion and cushion covers, duvets and duvet covers. Boch (2006) further stated that the manner in
which we design the interiors of our home is a significant factor in making our
home more aesthetic, inviting and relaxing.
In almost all localities, nature has provided us with
some wonderful materials to furnish/decorate with. These materials require
little processing. Transporting and economic costs are low. Some are renewable
and some may be so abundant that their supply seems almost inexhaustible. One
of the beauties of decorating with local materials is that they seem to fit
naturally (Morris, 2009).
Local materials are materials that can be sourced
locally. They are man-made materials that can be recycled or produced by human
beings. These materials are commonly used by local people in rural areas for decorative
purposes. They can be in the form of raw materials, Example includes, wood,
bamboo sticks, raffia (processed into a given objects for home decoration.
(Williams, 2008).
According to Edwards (2010), the products from these local
materials have sufficiently served the economics needs of the people in the
local communities. Since the pre-colonial era, various members of distinct
ethnic groups engage in a lot of traditional craft practices in addition to the
agrarian occupational engagements. The diversities in the creation of these
arts and crafts were used to create strong force that drives the socio-cultural
life and economy of the people. These unique artistic traditions thrived within
families and guilds of skilled craftsmen in various communities as practiced in
the areas of wood carving, cloth dyeing, mat weaving. Calabash are carved and
used for storage of foods, drinks and musical rattles. Textile weaving and
dyeing with embellishment of colourful patterns and motifs satisfied the local
clothing needs.
According to Ukpai (2008) there are so many types of
local materials and different furnishings that are obtainable from them for
decorations for example wood, mud, bamboo sticks, goat skin, raffia, lay
mattress, dry leaves, that is bamboo leaves, reed, charcoal, local apple seed
(udara seed), palm frond, lemon grass (awu), cohise chalk (nzu) etc.
Local materials provide excellent decoration/furnishings
when processed neatly. There are so many local materials that can be worked on
easily and turned into items for use within the household (Nora, 2009).
Home maker is described as a person who makes a home,
cultivate the skills, not only of housekeeping but of making a home for a
family (Taylor, 2011). He further explains that a home maker sees to the
deliberate cultivation of beauty and productivity in the family relationships.
According to Ogel (2010), a home maker helps her
family feel loved and comforted. She celebrates each other, keeps the house,
cares for each other, as well as for her friends and extended families and even
the occasional stranger.
1.1
STATEMENT
OF THE PROBLEM
Some individuals are ignorant of the utilization of
local materials for home furnishing. Everybody wants their home to be a
reflection of themselves but do not know how to go about making it real. Some
are also ignorant of using available local materials around to create beauty in
the home.
In almost all the localities, nature has provided us
with some wonderful local materials to decorate our home with; but often a
time, it is discovered that people want ready made articles for home
decoration. They do not make use of their skills and creative minds by using
these cheap local materials found around them to produce and get what they want.
They prefer the expensive and imported materials from foreign countries o local
ones there by neglecting and under-rating the locally sourced materials they
can easily get that can also provide them good material to decorate their home.
It is on this
premise that the researcher want to evaluate the utilization of local materials
for home decoration. Hence, the justification for this study.
1.2
OBJECTIVE
OF THE STUDY
The main purpose of this study is to evaluate the use of
local materials for home decoration among home makers in Umudike community. Specifically
the study ascertained:-
1. The
extent to which local materials are being utilized for home decoration among
home makers in Umudike community.
2. To
determine the perception of the respondents (home makers) on the utilization of
local materials for home decoration.
3. To
identify the challenges of using local materials for home decoration.
4. To
identify the possible solutions to the challenges of using local materials for
home decoration.
1.3
RESEARCH
QUESTIONS
1.
To what extent are local
materials being utilized for home decoration among home makers in Umudike
Community?
2. What
is the perception of home makers (respondents) on the utilization of local
materials for home decoration?
3.
What are the
challenges of using local materials for home decoration?
4.
What are the possible
solutions to the challenges of using local materials for home decoration?
1.4
SIGNIFICANCE
OF THE STUDY
The findings of this study will be of benefit to the
home makers of varying background both educated and none educated ones, the
students and Home Economics lecturers, Hotel Industries, Skills Acquisition
Centres etc.
The
utilization of local materials for home decoration will promote cultural
significance in design formations with reference to local materials
explorations, indigenous material expressions and the embodiment of cultural
values.
For the home makers, it will be a source of revenue to
some of them who do not have work to do and also serve as a family empowerment
to the family.
For the students who have creative mind and good
skills, he or she can make use of his skills in producing good home decorating
materials from local materials without going for the expensive ones. This is
because, the imported are usually expensive, the locally made home decorating
materials are cheap, less expensive, look real, sustainable.
The Home Economics lecturers will find the findings of
this study very useful in preparing lecture notes.
The hotel industries in the countries will find the
findings of this study very useful because they will now know how to use these
local materials in decorating their hotel rooms like their counter parts in
Ghana where most of the decorations in the hotel rooms are done with their
local materials eg. Their traditional tie/dye and batik materials are used in
sewing throw pillows and other decorations in the hotel. This will be a source
of revenue to the country at large.
The proprietors of the governmental and non
governmental acquisition centers will find the findings of this study as a very
good working tool in inculcating skills to their students.
These will be
possible when the information of the findings of this study are disseminated
through organizing seminar/workshops, published as pamphlets, magazines
etc.
1.5
SCOPE
OF THE STUDY
The study was carried out in Umudike
Community of Ikwuano local government area in Abia state. The home makers in
Umudike Community which comprised Home makers in National Root Crops Research
Institute, Umudike, Quarters, Michael Okpara University of Agriculture Quarters
and Umudike Village responded to the instruments.
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