Design 21: Social Design Network

Since 1979, Sukriti Inprint has crafted the highest quality handmade paper products. Based in New Delhi & drawing on the city's rich artistic & literary tradition, they have designed paper products, including letters & envelopes, gift paper, diaries & folios. Throughout their 30 year history Sukriti have ensured their entire process from cutting to printing to binding has remained in house and on site. Each of their master craftspeople maintain careful personal attention to detail.

Nature Bazaar in New Delhi is a large, outdoor mela or market, made up of make shift colourful tents held up with bamboo poles, set around the rolling green lawns of the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts, on Janpath. This year (2009) there was a Monkey theme, and papier mache monkey's dangled from the trees, greeting visitors, whilst performers donned costume and performed their role as cheeky, naughty monkey's - sometimes too well. Nature Bazaar is the brainchild of Dastkar a society for crafts and craftspeople . It's an umbrella organization that brings artisans from different parts of India under one roof to enable them to sell straight to the public, so that they deal directly with their customer base, and cut out middle men & sales agents. For many groups this is one of the biggest events on their calender, and they spend many months in preparation - weaving, spinning, moulding, shaping, twining, twirling, embroidering.... Nature is held in various cities and showcases the dynamic and skillful work of artisans from across India. The Bazaar is really a hub for creativity, and a celebration of the country's cultural & artistic diversity. The exhibition really is also a sensory experience - popping with colour, texture and pattern.

Dastkar Ranthambore works with women artisans in the villages around Ranthambore Tiger Reserve in the Sawai Madhopur district of Rajasthan. Dastkar's distinctive Tiger motif & use of trees, birds and animal imagery demonstrates the communities concern for the natural environment, and in particular, the endangered Tiger species found in the area. Dastkar has been working in the region since 1980, supporting women in their production of patch work, & embroidered products

Product: Kottans Basket - dyed palm leaf baskets

Region of Production: Tamil Nadu

Craft Process:

The palmyra leaf baskets of Chettinad, also known as Kottans are made by the Chettiar people of Tamil Nadu. To create these products, the palm leaf is harvested and spread out like a fan to dry for between five to six days before being spliced with a knife into thin strips. The weavers braid the dried leaves into patterns using their hands to weave and feet to grip the base of the basket. Colourful cotton cloth and beads are sometimes used to enhance the object. Kottans were originally used for packaging gifts and containers filled with offerings to give at family functions and rituals. Kottans containing betel nut leaves and areca nuts were given to friends and people in general as a form of invitation or agreement.

Producer Organization:

M.Rm.Rm Cultural Foundation was established by Mrs. Visalakshi Ramaswamy to support research and the revival of crafts, textiles and architecture in the Chettinad region of Tamil Nadu. The production of Kottans, the Chettinad palm leaf basket began as an income generation and cultural preservation initiative in the year 2000. The Foundation supports building new markets for Kottans through interventions that assist craftspeople to adapt their traditional weaving styles whilst incorporating contemporary color and design.

by sharmila wood

Kumaun Grameen Udyog (KGU) www.kilmora.in opportunities for the local people living around the Nainital District of Uttrakhand in the Himalayan region of Northern India. KGU was set up by the Central Himalayan Rural Action Group (CHIRAG), a non profit grass roots development organization that has worked extensively in the central Himalayas. KGU employs twenty weavers, sixty artisans, and supports three hundred and fifty small farmers from whom they source agricultural products. Recently, KGU has begun procuring apricot and peach kernels from local farmers to add pure, natural apricot skin-care products to their product range, which also consists of hand woven and hand knitted textiles. Weaving is undertaken at a center in the village of Buribana, whilst knitting is done by women in their homes. Fair wages provide artisans with substantial round-the-year income, for many the sale of products provides an important supplementary income. KGU also contributes to concrete and tangible community development projects. At present, these include contributions towards two major initiatives of CHIRAG: an eight-bed hospital in Sargakhet village, and a rural school that has been functioning for two years in Simayal village in Nainital District.

Kilmora is the brand name under which all KGU products are marketed. Kilmora constantly undertakes creative experimentation to develop new collections of hand woven and hand knitted products. While knitting is traditional to mountain regions, weav...

Product: Kalamkari Silk Scarf

Region of Production: Andhra Pradesh

Craft Process: Kalamkari translates as hand painting on fabric and was originally developed to embellish temple cloth and and hangings with figurative and narrative motifs. Kalamkari craft is thought to have been produced in India since the middle ages orginiating from the wealthy Golconda sultanate of Hyderabad. The intricate, complex hand crafted process consists of almost eighteen stages. The pattern is created using a kalam or pen made from wood and fibre The fibre holds the ink and release it when the artisan applies pressure, and the lines of the design are drawn with a mixture of iron fillings and molasses. Vegetable dyes are used to give the fabric its rich color.

Producer Organization:DWARAKA or Development of Weavers and Rural Artisans in Kalamkari Art preserves and promotes the work of Kalamkari artisans based around Sri Kalahasti, and the surrounding villages of V.M. Palli and Enguluru in Andra Pradesh. There are now approxiamtely 100 artisans regularly producing the complex and highly skilled paintings. The DWARAKA product range includes stoles, scarves, sarees, bags, wall panels, gift boxes, corporate gifts and home furnishings. www.dwarakaonline.org

Regional Snapshot: Sri Kalahasti is the centre for Kalamkari production, and is located in the Chittor District of southern Andhra Pradesh. The name is closely associated with an important Hindu legend, a story that is a popular subject matter fo...

Product: Cushions Region of Production: Gujurat. Whilst Mashru weaving was once common in many parts of India, the hub of production is now Gujurat. Patan is one of the most important centres for mashru weaving. Craft Process: Mashru. Mashru is distinct from other fabrics because it has two faces, cotton on the reverse side of the fabric, and silk on the outer. The fabric was developed because of religious laws pertaining to Shar’ia Muslim men, who were not allowed to have pure silk touch their body so this fabric composed of silk warp and cotton weft was developed. Mushru is an Arabic word meaning ‘permitted’ and may have been brought to India from the Middle East. The double sided fabric enabled men to wear clothing that had on the exterior the rich, decorative qualities of woven silk. When worn, the cotton weft is inside and the silk faces outwards, Thus when used in garments the cotton layer comes in contact with the body forms an absorbent protective layer to the rich and decorative exterior. Weaving is characterized by its bold colourful patterns and stripes of various colours and sizes, including small floral or geometric patterns in alternate stripes. There are many types of Mashur including sangi, galta, gulbadan and susi, the differences are based on pattern, colour, weave and location of production. Whilst once widespread, the production of Mashru is now limited to Patan, Mandvi, and Surat in Gujurat.The fabric which is still hand woven on pit looms uses cotton...