Kutch leather craft documentation by Abinaya Ravi

The Leather Safari

Published at Pearl Academy Naraina,New Delhi- 110028 India www.pearlacademy.com Documentation of Leather Craft Technique Kutch Yuvika Mittal , Abinaya S R Posst Graduate Diploma in Interior Design And Styling (2015-17) Guide- Puja Anand Manpreet kaur Cover Details: Close up of Punctures used by Kutch craftsmen to make patterns in leather products

The Leather Safari... By Yuvika Mittal & Abinaya S R

Acknowledgement In our opinion, any task with a motive cannot to be accomplished alone. Motivation is necessary to achieve anything in life and in our mission to study the Kutch Leather Craft, there have been many people who have guided us, motivated us and have shown us the right path to reach our desired destination. We would first like to thank “Khamir” the NGO working for the Kutch artisans, craftsmen and their development, who guided us with a brief of all the villages in Kutch and the specialized craftsmen in the respective villages. Without their right guidance, we would be lost in the huge region of Kutch and the leads given by them helped us start our journey of craft documentation. Secondly we are very grateful to the Leather Craftsmen we worked with in the villages of Nirona and Bhirandiyara- Khetsingh Bhai and family and Arjun Bhai and family respectively. We can’t thank them enough for their humble gesture and support throughout the process of craft documentation and product making. We would like to make a special mention about the food served by Khetsingh Bhai and his family. We enjoyed both the food and the product making sessions at their home and we are really thankful to them for making us comfortable during the entire course of time. How can we miss to thank our dear teachers Mrs.Puja Anand and Ms. Manpreet Kaur for their consistent support and motivation without whom this trip to Kutch and the entire process of craft documentation would not have been possible. They have guided us throughout the our journey and most importantly they have given us an opportunity to work on something we have never done before and we would certainly like to thank them for encouraging us to explore this new area of study and research. Last but not the least, we would like to thank all our friends who held different responsibilities during the course of our trip and made sure everything fell in place to make our journey smooth and successful. I would also like to thank them for being there for each other and extending their support whenever it was required.

Preface “Magnificence is Handcrafted” (As cited in Brainyquotes, PLautus, 2001)- I read this quote recently and felt it was so true about our Indian Crafts. India is so rich and diverse in terms of crafts and it has existed since time immemorial. It has been one of the biggest identities of the country and has undoubtedly contributed to the magnificence of the country. Yet there has been a decline in the craft sector of the country and slowly one craft after the other is ceasing. Hence in an attempt to revive the crafts of our country and give them a new dimension to match the current standards, people from various backgrounds like designers, architects, NGOs and especially students are trying to study and understand these crafts and come up with solutions to implement these crafts in our day to day life, adapting them according to our needs. One such attempt was our trip to Kutch, Gujarat which is one of the most recognized places in India for crafts. Various crafts have been practised here for years and we got a glimpse of almost all the crafts that exists in the Kutch region. However we decided to do a detailed research on one particular craft and it was one of the toughest decisions to make since each craft was unique and interesting in its own way. It was “The Kutch Leather Craft” that finally made its way to the top of the list and thus began our journey to study, research and explore this amazing material and understand its historic significance in our lives.

Contents

Introduction 10-11

Gujarat 12-17

Kutch 18-23

Leather Craft 24-35

Our Products 36-37

Challenges & Opportunities 38-39

Bibliography 42-43 9

Introduction The history of Leather craft in the country of India is very well known and people are much aware of the material and its current usage. From natural leather to artificial leathers, these are already part of our furnishings and this material is not something very new to us. But what is new to us and what as citizens of this country we are unaware of is the multi dimension to this material. Using this one material, various explorations have been made using different techniques. Unfortunately, people of India do not recognize and give due importance to the very valuable craftsmenship this country has. Things have become fast and instant that people have become very mechanized. Machines have taken over our lives but we tend to forget the fact that handicrafts are unbeatable and irreplaceable. In the recent past, people have been inclined to hand made crafts and spotlights have turned towards the craft sector and the craft associated with Leather is slowly getting its due credits. As a very ancient and historic material, Leather has been as part of lives and various craft techniques have been implemented on this craft. In our process of documentation of the leather craft, it first important to understand the place of this craft and how it influences the survival of the craft.

Gujarat In the process to study the craft, it is also important to know the state and the region this craft belongs to and how this factor influences the craft and its reach to the people. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Gujaratâ&#x20AC;?- one of the most prominent states in the country is very famous for its culture. It has many varieties in almost every aspect of their state yet they are very unique in their own way in comparison with the other states. Gujaratis or Gujjus as they are popularly called, are known for being very cultural and following the traditions in the modern world. Gujarat has been through a great deal of change ever since the ancient Gujarat to modern Gujarat. This state has been exposed and influenced by different cultures, lifestyle and various other aspects. In spite of going through numerous changes over a huge period of time, Gujarat has maintained and preserved its culture in the purest and original form and their sense of pride in their rich cultural heritage is reflected in almost everything like arts, literature, craft, cuisines, festivals etc.

What comes to your mind when you think of Gujarat? I am sure not one but there must flashes of a sequence of images running through your mind. Who can forget the Gujarati Cuisine when one thinks of Gujarat? Or the mind blowing historic monuments ?What about the world famous Rann of Kutch? The garbha dance form, the mud mirror work, the most revered Khadi and our own Mahatma Gandhi who endorsed it, the list is endless and it goes on and on. Oh! how could I forget the all famous dialect of theirs? Ask anyone who knows of Gujarat about their language, their immediate response is to add â&#x20AC;&#x153;cheâ&#x20AC;? to any Hindi word we speak and there we are, talking Gujarati. All these are testimony of how rich, unique and popular this culture is among the people of India as well as outside India. Talking of all the facets of Gujarat, like we have men-

tioned before, it is very essential to observe that apart from being a rich cultural state, it is also a very diverse state, hosting varieties in all the characteristics of Gujarat and infact it is this variety that contributes to the cultural richness of the state. Be it Gujarati cuisine like Fafda, Ganthiya, Khakhra, Patra, Khaman, Bhajiya, Dhokla to name a few or the various dialects they speak like Charotari in central Gujarat, Kathiawadi in Saurashtra, Surti in South Gujarat and Kutchi in Kutch, each region within Gujarat differs from each other. The attire, their occupation, their food, their festivals and so many more characteristics are unique to each region and different from the other regions and it is this difference in their lifestyle that has also led to the birth of different types of crafts in the state. The fact that Gujarat is a hub of crafts is due to this diversification.

Having known that Gujarat is the pool of crafts, lets plunge into this pool of crafts and get some insight on it. Starting from varieties of embroidery that Gujarat is most famous for, to pottery, Gujarat has a wide range of crafts being practised. Like we have specified, each region of Gujarat specializes in different crafts.The needlework of Gujarat is almost practised across the state and it’s the motif of embroidery that changes from place to place but the technique followed is the same. Bandhani, another famous craft of Gujarat is based on the Tie and Dye technique. Also a combination of Tie and Dye and Jamdhani technique of zari work gives you what is popularly called as Bandhej and this craft hails from Jamnagar, Mandvi and Bhuj. Beadwork is another speciality from khambhat and Saurashtra of Gujarat and the best of best work is produced by the Kathis tribe found in that area. Unique motifs and patterns are created putting two to three beads together and used as decorative pieces like doorways, wall décor, potholders etc.

The crafts of Gujarat would be incomplete without a mention about the craft of pottery. This oldest ancient craft of Gujarat is used to make artifacts, toys by the potters of Kutch but the potters in the aravalis and chota Udaipur are specialized in making huge terracotta statues of Gora Dev, the god whom they believe to protect their villages and crops. Here craft is once again linked to the tradition and custom of the people. One another famous craft which is found no where else except a place or two in India that too in a different form is the Wood Lacquer work also called as “Sankheda”. The

furniture and woodcrafts are made of this famous craft in the regions of Surat, Kutch and Saurashtra. Coming to the artworks of Gujarat,there are a few characteristic arts of painting like the world famous Rogan Painting which is done only in the village of Nirona,Kutch and then there is Warli painitng one by artisans at the border of Gujarat. The speciality of these paintings is that the tribal story, lifestyle, beliefs and customs are depicted through the monochromatic tribal paintings.

Yet another characteristic craft of Gujarat from the Patan region is the craft of Patola sarees which is known for its strikingly beautiful colourful geometric patterns.The unique way of tie and weaving leads to identical patterns on both the sides of the fabric. To match and compliment these beautiful sarees of Patola, there must be equally beautiful accessories too and Gujarat has this traditional handicraft of Jewellery making too. Again this craft of gold, silver, Iron and brass is spread across the state and has characteristics of each village and community it is made in.

Kutch Gujarat as a state is known by everybody in the country and outside India as well. But very few places within this state is well known all over the world and Kutch is one such region. Kutch is a seasonal island in the shape of a tortoise( Kachbo in Gujarati) from where the name of the region is derived as well. Similar to Gujarat, Kutch has also gone through numerous changes from the ancient period to the current era. Though Kutch was a separate entity until Independence of our country, post independence it came under the Old Bombay State and then as part of Gujarat after it got separated. Not only has Kutch been through the changes brought about by various rulers and governments, but it has been through a major devastation by the act of God, a huge Earthquake that hit this area severely. Inspite of the destruction that was caused, the people of Kutch with a lot of grit and determination have rebuilt not only their livelihood but they have conserved the treasure of crafts that has been part of their lives forever.

Rann of Kutch was filled with water, it was a very breathtaking sight to see the flooded sea water layered on top by the fresh river water on all the three sides. Such amazing features of this place has made it a very famous tourist spot of our country. In addition to the Rann of Kutch and the crafts that exists in this region, the fact that the people and the villages have also contributed to the tourist attraction is indeed a matter of pride. There has been a gradual change in the lifestyle of people in various regions of Gujarat and people have adopted to modernism in many places thus giving them the definition of a city. But still there are villages in Kutch who have kept to their roots

and you can still see them in their traditional Ghagras adorned with silver metalcraft, their houses that still looks very primitive, maintaining the customs and traditions of the region. Infact when we questioned them about their dressing and lifestyle, they acknowleged the fact that their lifestyle attracted more tourists and this has contributed in popularizing their crafts, culture and traditions.

People and their Crafts

In our journey to study crafts, we were infact transported to a new world that we were not aware of being in the city most of the time and alongwith the various crafts we studied, we did study about such humble and culturally deeply rooted people who have their own world completely contrasting to the outside.

Enough said about the villages, the people and their lifestyle, lets have a peek into the crafts that exits in this particular region of Kutch. While describing the crafts of Gujarat, we have mentioned a few crafts that belong to this region. Kutch is very well known for the textile craft like Ajrakh, Bandhini etc. People of our country have been conscious about nature since Indus Valley Civilization and had started making block printed sheets using natural dyes of crimson red and indigo. One can imagine the standard of beauty in those times since these ajrakh printed sheets were used as bedsheets or hammocks. Just imagining how their attire would have been if this was the level they maintained. This craft of ajrakh block printing is a lengthy process that involves thirty separate steps and each step contributes to the shade of the colours in the cloth. It is this process and its eco friendly nature that it is becoming popular among the cosmopolitan. One very dinstinct and a very beautiful craft of this region is the Copper Bell Making. Again this craft emerged from one of the major activities of villagers-“ Cattle Rearing”. The villagers use to tie bells to the neck of the cattle to know their whereabouts. This craft is about thousand years old since cattles have been reared for years. Also not one but there are 13 different types of bells to identify one’s own cattle based on the sound produced. Since these bells are mostly made of metals like copper and waste tin and iron, it can be recycled and its an eco friendly craft technique once again. This craft has emerged to suit the current needs and modern objects like chime, lamps or other decorative objects are being made using these bells apart from being used just for cattles.

Another very colourful and unique technique that survives only in the region of Nirona, Kutch is Wood Lacquer Turning. This is an altogether different technique of applying colours to the lathe products. Lac is the natural dye produced from the resins of insects(Kerria Lac) and these lac colours in their solid form are applied simultaneously as the lathe is rotated using a basic equipment that is manually operated . Looks like an easy task but a very laborious task of applying the solid block of lac onto the lathe by manually producing heat. The outcome of all the hardwork is pretty beautiful, distinct and yet again very eco friendly. Any monument that we see in Gujarat has amazingly carved wood and kutch is one region that specializes in this heavy craft technique. A very intricate work of labour, producing beautifully carved motifs of birds, animals and human figures. Initially it used to be done on columns, pillars, pigeon houses, doors and windows and as the trend is changing, this craft is also being implemented on various other wood products like lamp, furnitures to increase the beauty of the product. Embroidery, the most common craft existing in almost all parts of the state is also very prevalent and famous in the region of Kutch. Both the villages that we visited had women working on embroidery and this craft is mostly done only by the women of the community. The creativity of the women of Kutch is very evident from the types of motifs and patterns they come up with to embellish their dresses.Once again, they are inspired from nature and all their motifs represent aspects of nature. There exists about sixteen types of embroidery practised in the region of Kutch. Isn’t it very impressive to bring out so many different types with just one material of thread? We are sure it is. 23

Leather Craft In the land filled with the richness of arts and crafts,we chose to study and explore the craft of Leather since Kutch Leather craft is one of the most prominent crafts and we felt there was lot of scope for leather as a material in the field of Interior Designing.Thus we started our journey looking forward to research and understand the craft by exploring the villages in Kutch and identifying the places best known for this craft. Studying these villages,the people and their lifestyle gave us an insight of how this craft emerged and this craft is an integral part of their lives..

Communities As we interacted with the artisans and craftsmen, we could understand the complete story of the leather craft right from its origin to how unique it is compared to the other leather crafts of the country. This craft embrace the typical characteristic of Gujarat- “Melange of Colours” by incorporating the craft of embroidery. This sturdy and parched leather, punctured with shapes and the soft thread embroidery famously known as “Torni” incorporated with it gives it a perfect balanced look. As this discussion on leather and its usage was in progress, we also had a parallel thought about the ethical aspect of Leather and its products but then to think of it, this material of Leather has been favoured since time immemorial and it has evolved over years and transformed into this beautiful form of craft. It is very interesting to know the evolution of this material right from the period of Vedas to the present. It is mentioned in Rig Veda that leather pouches were used for storage of water. Also in myths and legends, it is believed that Lord Shiva used leather as his attire. Similarly in the past, ancient hunters had started to use the skin of hunted creatures to make garments. At this point of time, leather was majorly used by the hunters to protect themselves from harsh cold weathers. As time passed, leather was explored further especially in our region of research i.e Kutch. Two main communities who contributed in this exploration were “The Maldharis and The Meghwals”. Both communities had migrated from Rajasthan and Pakistan respectively. Things took a turn when there was a huge loss due to the cattle death and both the communities collaborated to come up with leather products using the animal hide. Maldharis as the name suggests in the native language - “Owner of Cattle Stock” contribute in providing the necessary leather in its processed form required for the craft making and the Meghwals area then started making objects like saddles, shields, armours, sword sheaths and various other accessories. It is very important to note how people collaborated with each other and made use of their livelihood by recycling the waste as well as generating an additional source of income apart from farming and cattle rearing. Eventually with change in the lifestyle and hence requirements, the people and artisans of this region have adapted to the modern day functionality and have started to develop new range of products at present. 27

Unity in Diversity Leather craft is one established craft technique in India and it is practised by artisans across the country. They are all the same yet there is a uniqueness in the products made in different regions and it is this uniqueness that makes it distinct from each other. So here are the leather crafts of our country describing to you how different they are from each other. Rajasthani Leather Craft Leather crafts exists in many places across the country but it is here in this place that almost all the major products using us are made, right from decorative saddles to leather bottles called Kopi, from bags to shoes etc. Oh we forgot to introduce ourselves, we are the Rajasthani Leather crafts. One of the most distinctive features we possess is that we are entirely hand crafted , measured with fingers and are completely soft, so soft that the mojris or shoes can be rolled into a ball . Also another main feature that makes it simple to recognize us is that the when we are in our hide form, we are stitched using a local grass and while making the product, the stitches made on us have a characteristic diamond shape that add elegance to us. Applique designs are also made arranging many of us together and this adds character to our form elevating our beauty further.

Kolhapuri Leather Products: Hello,we are the Kolhapuri Leather footwears,famously called as Kolhapuri Payatan , from the state of Marathas. We are one of the most famous footwears in the world and we look elegant yet very traditional. Do you know why people love us? Me and my relatives from different villages of Maharashtra differ in our looks because of the way we are stitched and thus give loads of variety to the people buying us. Adding upon to this, we are not adulterated with artificial dyes and we are treated really well with the usage of natural dyes that we last for long and also make our buyers feel comfortable. We are also lovingly called the Khas Kapsi Chappals as we are treated medically and thus we help in maintaining the health of our buyers and keep their body cool by reducing heat. Did you know that not only do we walk with our buyers but we do talk with buyers??? Yes! We do, but in our own language of “Karr Karr” using the vocal cord of scorpion tail or tiger claw shaped seed of plant Martynia Dianra inserted between the layers of our sole. You see how different we are from our contemporaries. We are so cool!!!

Charmachitrakari-The Andhra Leather Craft Vandhanalu! We mean “hello” in our language which is how we start our conversation with people during all our shows. You might be wondering what is it that we are talking about. We are the leather Puppets performing dance shows on our mythology in the beautiful state of Andhra Pradesh. We are existing from as early as 12th century and we still manage to reach out to people. Though the medium through which we are reaching people has gone through a change in the recent past, people still like us for the unique and attractive functionality we provide them. We have been transformed from puppets to lampshades to suit the needs of modern era but we are very famous for our translucent nature, vivid and vibrant colours and tiny perforations that gives an effect of glittering jewels. Also isn’t it a wonderful thought to have lampshades and wall hangings with very traditional patterns and motifs inspired from mythology connecting us to various told and untold divine sagas. It is this unique and irreplaceable feature that makes our leather craft survive the tide of changing times.

Kutch Leather Craft Here I come finally, this is me “The Kutch Leather Craft”. We belong to the land which is known for its earthy nature yet filled with colours. We embrace the same quality of the place in our existence also. We are distinguished and very much appreciated for having raw leather texture yet being very colourful since we are associated with “Tornis” made of shiny threads. This right blend of hard and soft materials makes us look very balanced and gives a very distinctive texture to the buyer. Also we have these punctures of basic geometric shapes like curcular,triangular, squares, oval, leaf like shapes etc made on us and when these different shapes are placed together in a creative pattern, it escalates our appearances to a new level altogether. This sort of a reverse appliqué technique is found only on us unlike the other contemporaries of ours. These above features have led to the creation of new designs in us and have enabled us stand distinct among our friends from other parts of the country. 29

Villages and the Craftsmen Kutch is a craftland and each village practised different crafts. The Leather craftsmen are widespread in the villages of Kutch like Hodka, Bhirandiyara, Sumarasar and Nirona. To start with, we studied the leather craft in the village of Bhirandiyara and gathered a lot of information regarding the craft. Bhirandiyara , as difficult is the name to pronounce and remember, so is the way to this tiny cluster. This village was isolated and it felt it was disconnected from the outside world and totally immersed in their own world of crafts. It is a beautiful village, where craftsmenship starts from building their houses to building their livelihood. The village con-

sists of 12 families and all are related to each other.They live in the traditional circular bunga houses that has been built and decorated with mud mirror work by them. The Bunga Houses, the women of the village in the traditional attire and the crafts added life to the village which looked like a piece of art. The women of the house work on the embroidery of their own garments and they do it for sale as well. These heavily embroidered and decorated dresses are stitched by the women for their marriages and also they take these as dowry. Their culture and their craftsmen ship work hand in hand and are thus interconnected. Similarly the men of the family work on the Leather craft and make a livelihood by selling the leather products.Looking at the work they do, it was obvious that both men and women work on the embroidery but women work only on the embroidery and are not allowed to work with leather.Thus we could observe a clear bias based on Gender,be it the work or education of the female

child of the family though boys are being sent to schools. Nonetheless the girl of these villages are very creative and talented and thus they explore in making variety of products using embroidery. Nirona was the other village where we did study alongside working on the craft.This village unlike Bhirandiyara felt a little more connected to the outer world in terms of their culture,tradition, houses etc.This place has many crafts established especially copper bell making ,Rogan Art, Lac work and Leather work. This had a proper village set up with huts and normal brick houses which gave this village a different look. Though the crafts are practiced in these villages, the raw materials are procured from the City of Bhuj and other necessary things that are required to develop the current range of products are sourced from Ahmedabad too.

Aptly named as World Wide Web, the entire world is clutched on to the web of Internet and it has become very rare to acquire knowledge from our fellow human beings. Instead we completely depend on the internet to get any information we need. But nothing can replace the knowledge one has acquired out of experience and such experience shared is the best source of information one could possibly get. This is exactly what we got through our interaction with the knowledgable craftsmen of Kutch. We had the opportunity to associate with two main craftsmen from two different villages of Kutch- Arjun Bhai from Bhirandiyara and Khetsingh Bhai from Nirona. Both of them are from the Marwada Community and they helped us in the best possible way to study and research about this craft. Arjun Bhai was the main craftsmen in the village of Bhirandiyara and he also owns a leather products shop on the main road of Bhirandiyara where he sells his goods. Due to his contact with the outer world and the experience he gained out of it, he was able to understand our perspective about the craft and was able to give us very justified answers to the questions we had. He demonstrated to us a few processes of the leather product making to help us understand the process. He also explained to us that this craft has been passed on from generation to generation and in the current generation, he coordinates with all his family members and they work as a group to make variety of products which is how he is able to make products and also focus on selling the products by marketing through his shop. He coordinates with NGOS like Khamir and he has also coordinated with designers and students of NID and

CEPT to explore this craft further and make it reach a wider audience. He was very welcoming to new ideas that we gave him which will make his craft sustain and also flourish in the coming years. The two hours we spent in the village interacting with him, we got to see many of his products, the thought process behind the making of such products and thus we got an idea of how this craft works and how we could modify this craft according to our needs in the perspective of interior designing yet retaining its true essence. After our interaction with Arjun Bhai, we had a fair idea about the leather and craft and then we approached Khetsingh Bhai in Nirona to work on our products that we were conceptualizing. A very warm, humble and intelligent craftsmen to work with, Khetsingh Bhai was very quick to understand our ideas and concepts and encouraged us to implement our ideas. He was very helpful to us by explaining the possibilities of this technique thus making us understand the scope of this technique. He worked on our products and also made us work on it which gave us a sense of satisfaction that we are doing something practically while researching on the theoretical aspect of the craft. It is only when you perform the technique, one understands the complexities of the technique and he made us experience that. Not only was he a mentor to us while working on the product but he also made us feel at home and we were very comfortable working at his place even till late evenings. Our overall experience with this craftsmen was amazing and it was surely because of him that we loved the process of this leather product making inspite of the struggles we had while making these products. 33

Step Wise Process: Tools: The number of tools used are not too many and they are easily available. Following are the tools mostly used for the craft making process: 1.Aari- to scrape the leather 2.Chisel- to cut leather 3. Lohe ki Rampi- Iron tool to apply force 4.Sancha- Punch Tools to create patterns 5.Chemical Colours- To make dye for the leather

Raw material - Leather -Leather Processing: The crafts are done on the processed leather and following are the steps involved in processing the hide. Step 1:Curing Add salt and white gum( Akk) to the animal hide for removal of hair for about 8-10 days Step 2: Tanning Add babul treeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s bark which is also called as Desi Baawar which is used to produced a tight grained, and fairly light coloured, good quality leather.

1.The leather is cut according to the desired shape using the knife. 2.The chemical colours are mixed with water and are applied on to the leather using sponge or cloth. 3.It is then dried for sometime and given another coat to make it brighter. 4.The holes are punched using punch tools on the leather based on the design template given. If rampi as used to give more force to the punch tools to make the pattern. 5.Once the punctures are done, the tornis are stitched using used needle and thread to make it more decorative.

4 35

Products Developed Our experience of product making using this craft was very unique and special to us. After understanding the craft, we came up with two totally different concepts and it was indeed an enjoyable experience seeing our concepts come to reality. In the short span of time given to us to study the craft and develop a product, we think we have come up with pretty decent products and if given the proper time and resource many innovations can made using this craft. We got to develop two different products, one, a wall clock in the typical style of Gujarat and another a modern leather lamp shade to be implemented along with the book shelve made of wood turned lacquer products and here are our favorite moments during our wonderful experience of craft making.

Challenges And Opportunities The study of this Leather Craft has endowed us with the origin of the craft, how it has sustained through so many years and its current state in the Indian market. With evolving years, there has been crisis of many resources and same is the case with this craft as well. Procurement of raw material has been one of the biggest challenges of this craft. Adding to this issue, the quality of the Leather that is being sold is also deteriorating day after day. People living in such far away villages find it difficult to get the correct raw materials. Not really sure how the procurement of raw materials can be facilitated but with the better reach of this craft among the people of the country, good quality leather can be transported to these isolated villages. This can may be happen only when people understand the value of this craft and try to endorse and popularize it. We also think the wide window of opportunities that this craft provide us can also solve the problems caused due to such challenges. The scope for this craft technique in the modern market is pretty good if utilized properly and it is upcoming designers who can support these craftsmen in meeting their challenges and also help them in sustaining this craft by making new and innovative products using this ancient old craft technique. Leather as a material and the craft technique of Kutch can be explored in various ways giving rise to a wide range of products. It can be used to make furniture, interior dĂŠcor products, accessories and in various other ways. Our exploration of this craft and making a product out of it will not only improve the sales of this craft but will also help in generating income and reviving the crafts all over the country. There are chances that these crafts can be globalized as well if their potential is tapped rightly. 39

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