Machakos Technical Training Institute for the Blind is a government technical training institution located in Machakos municipality, next to the National Cereal Produce Board depot off Konza Road. Established in 1958 to provide technical craft skills to those maimed by war, it was initially sponsored by the Royal Commonwealth Society for the Blind and its local partner, the Kenya Society for the Blind. The institute originally served only male trainees, offering courses in orientation and mobility, braille literacy, handicrafts, and telephone operation.

In 1987, female students were admitted and knitting and garment-making courses introduced. In 1994, the first integrated Artisan-level training was launched, and in 1997 the institution was upgraded and renamed Machakos Technical Institute for the Blind. Today, it is the only technical training institution in East and Central Africa offering Kenya National Examination Council (KNEC) craft courses to visually impaired persons. The institute also provides rehabilitation and habilitation programmes, serving the visually impaired and sighted persons across the region. Notable achievements include supporting survivors of the 1998 Nairobi bomb blast and victims of the “Kumi kumi” illicit brew.

In 2016, GRAIDCO Global Relief, Aid & Development Company B.V. signed a contract with the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology in Kenya, funded by the African Development Bank, for the supply, delivery, installation, commissioning, and training on the use and maintenance of leather technology training equipment at the institute. The equipment supplied by GRAIDCO B.V. included leather processing machines, shoe-making machinery, sewing machines, hand tools, tannery drums, and finishing equipment. Installation was carried out successfully by our local technical team, and an international expert was sent to conduct a ten-day training for instructors to ensure proper use and maintenance of the newly provided equipment.