This paper examines the process from quarrying to sales in the soapstone sculpture industry in the Gusii region of western Kenya. Soapstone is a kind of talc that is smooth to touch. The sculpture style, Kisii Stone is an art form popular with tourists in Kenya and elsewhere in East Africa. This paper is based on surveys in the Tabaka area in Kisii County, which is the center of this industry, and provides information on the establishment of the industry and the involvement of people in the production area. Overall, 126 individuals participated in the interview survey, and the household survey was conducted in a total of 171 households.

The results of this research verify that the whole process related to soapstone production constitutes a comprehensive industry in the region comprising many individuals in different roles. Additionally, the results of the supplementary household survey indicate that about 90% of the surveyed households make a living in this industry.

The aforementioned findings confirm that the industry creates employment, as well as adds value as an art or craft for products, because individuals perform all processes at the production site. Additionally, the nature of the weight of stone also protects production-based employment.

Fraction is one of the most important and difficult learning contents in the domain of‘Number and calculations’in primary mathematics. According to a 6th grade academic achievement survey conducted by Southern and Eastern Africa Consortium for Monitoring Educational Quality (SACMEQ) in 2007, students in 12 out of the 16 countries did not reach a level that expressing fractions in the figure by numeral. In Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Goal 4, while improving quality of education became a common goal throughout the world, improving basic academic ability is an urgent issue especially in African countries. However, basic research on mathematics learning contents and their arrangement in curricula have not yet been actively conducted. Therefore, we tried to clarify the causes of difficulty in fraction by conducting comparative analysis on learning contents and their arrangement in the curricula focusing on three countries in eastern and southern Africa. As a result, we found out that the content arrangement of multiplication and division in fraction and ignoring‘fractions as measurement’were the main causes for creating difficulty. In addition, we also found out that the causes of difficulties are common to all three countries.