Kalakshetra Foundation and Dastkari Haat

                                                                  Loom at Chennai's Kalakshetra foundation

Despite the heavy rain and flooding in Chennai Praveen managed to take us to visit the Kalakshetra Foundation in east Chennai-apparently Indian cars are semi-submersible! In extensive grounds the foundation is a large Government funded organisation dedicated to prserving traditional craft, dance and art studies. Courses are run here in a number of areas, it acts as a local venue, has a theatre, guest house and even has a primary school inside it's walls.

Sandur Kushala Kala Kendra (SKKK)

Sitting in an internet cafe in grey wet Ahmedabad we found SKKK via the Dastkar organisation's website. It sounded really interesting and was very close to Hampi (a very recomended stop to anyone), so we got in contact and a week later we were travelling at 10 kmph through a very dusty mining landscape on the world's bumpiest local bus.

The road to Sandur. Photo by Soumyajit Nandy

SMIORE, a mining company, owned by a member of the local royal famil, set up SKKK. It started with 12 local Lambani women who were brought together to work as a group in 1984, it's main aim was to give the local people economic independence and preserve local craft and tradition. Starting with Lambani embroidery it soon included Khandi (handweaving), cane furniture making and wood and stone carving.
A community centre was built to house SKKK and to act as a central hub for both the craftspeople and the rest of the local area, it is often used by the schools and to host weddings! SMIORE financed the organisation and supported its infrastructure and marketing until it was able to become independent, around 500 artisans work with SKKK and it has helped 20 self-help groups to become active. However, many craftspeople are turning to the rapidly growing mining industry and SKKK are losing members.

The community centre's garden

In 1930 Gandhi described the area as an oasis due to its lush vegetation and array of wildlife, it is a small town set between hills and surrounded by natural gorges. The earth is rich in iron and magnanese ore which attracted the mining industry and today, much of  the beautiful landscape has been transformed by the mining (legal and illegal) and the roads destroyed. SKKK's members live in many villages in the surrounding area of up to 35km away which can take up to 3 hours to reach on these roads!

Lambani women in traditional dress

The Lambani people (sometimes referred to as Banjaras) are descendants of a normadic tribe originating in Europe who travelled through Asia and Afghanistan before reaching northern India. Settling in the deserts of Rajastan they are most often found in the north but have travelled across India.
Due to their nomadic lifestyle they had few possessions and instead wore their wealth, creating heavily embroidered clothing embellished with shells, trims, mirrors and tassels and elaborate silver jewellery. SKKK have developed the traditional stitches to to make products sold to both the local and western market, mainly for home furnishings.
They currently give regular work to over 100  women on a piece work basis, earnings are fixed each month to give a steady income and the payment is divided between cash and food rations.

Delhi Crafts Museum and Dastkar

Traditional Rajastani wall paintings at National Handicrafts and Handloom Museum (Crafts Museum)

If you ever find yourself in Delhi then we would highly recomend a visit to the National Handicrafts and Handloom Museum better known as the Crafts Museum. It is a wonderful oasis away from the hustle and bustle of Delhi and houses a vaste amount of incredible textiles and many other intriguing artifacts from regional India arranged in a number of galleries.
The resource library is open to the public so you could easily spend a whole day here (or two).
The textiles gallery is impressive and leads you through regional traditional fabrics. There is limited description which is a little frustrating but so much beautiful fabric really does speak for itself. It is possible to make an appointment to look at a specific technique or area in more depth as with such a vaste collection of textiles, a day visitor can only glimpse the surface.

There are some dusty looking looms and a 'village complex' which houses a number or artisans practicing and selling various crafts, so take your wallet as there are many beautiful things to tempt you and no hassling!

   Josie, Juliette and Nat at the Dastkar Nature Bazaar, Delhi

Dastkar is a a society for crafts and craftspeople, it was set up in 1981 by six women with the aim of  improving the economic status of craftspeople across India by giving them the support and opportunity to sell their work and keep their craft alive. They currently work with around 100 groups across all the Indian states guiding them through developing, designing, costing and marketing their products.
Dastkar regularly hold fairs across India to provide an outlet for the producers to directly reach the consumer and we attended one at the Indira Gandhi centre in Delhi. It was a wonderful day out with food and entertainment set in tranquil grounds, very different to most shopping experiences in Delhi!
The prices are fixed and fairly high for the local market to ensure the workers receive a good wage, and it was notably attended by wealthy Indians and Westerners.
We met up with Natalie and Juliette who had studied with us at Falmouth and were just arrived in Delhi to undertake three months placement at Neeru Kumar working on her Raga interiors collection. It was great to see them and compare notes over some chai.



Dastkar guides the process of developing a craft – from identifying the skill and creating awareness of its potential in both craftsperson and consumer, developing, designing, costing and then marketing the product, and finally suggesting the proper usages and investment of the income generated. The objective is to make the craftspeop Dastkar guides the process of developing a craft – from identifying the skill and creating awareness of its potential in both craftsperson and consumer, developing, designing, costing and then marketing the product, and finally suggesting the proper usages and investment of the income generated. The objective is to make the craftspeop