Empowering women through traditional textile crafts in rural India.
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank all the people who helped me with this memoire. My parents, for giving me the opportunity to continue my Masters education in India Kshitiz Anand, Director of Studies at the Design Village Swati Seth, for mentoring me for this memoire Suniti Rao, for being the tutor of this final project Malika Verma, who gave me the opportunity to do an internship in her company Border & Fall and inspired me to work on traditional Indian textiles. Rashmi Varma, fashion designer who shared with me her visions of Indian crafts and gave me valuable feedback on my design projects. To Salim Wazir, the tour guide and antique textile collector in Kutch, who drove me around the villages in the Kutch desert, translating and sharing with me his knowledge about textiles and the different communities of Gujarat. The various people I met while visiting NGOs in Kutch: Ami (Shrujan), Puneet (Qasab), Kala Raksha, Harsh Davi (Khamir). Karan Chandran, who works at Ennovent (a consulting company for social enterprises), for sharing with me information about the basics of business in emerging countries. Jessica Oyarbide, the intern at Fair trade India, who advised me about field research and shared with me her experience of working with different NGOs as a volunteer in her home country Argentina and India. To my flatmates, Manleen Sandhu and Maxime Demoly, who gave me feedback through the duration of my work in India.
Preface
To me, India is the land of colours. I feel fortunate to have had the chance to finish my Masters education in such an amazing and inspiring country. I have always been attracted to colours and shapes, which is the reason why I chose to work with textiles. Since my early childhood, I have traveled a lot and have been exposed to different varieties of craft everywhere I have been. The region where I come from in France, Bretagne, also has a strong folk textile heritage. In the past, with one look at a person’s traditional costume, one could tell a person’s age, social status, profession and the village from which the person was. This is due to the diversity of embroideries and colours put to use in textiles from the region. My parents are also avid travellers and have always brought back sculptures, fabric, or traditional clothes from different countries they have been to. Many objects in my home, which they brought back from their travels, have always fascinated me. A necklace from Brazil, a bracelet from Nepal, a vest from Uzbekistan and an amber bracelet from Poland were particularly striking for me.
I have spent countless hours watching documentaries about nature and parts of the world where people have different lifestyles, so a part of me always wanted to explore and see different things with my own eyes. My love for crafts truly began in Africa when I visited Morocco and Senegal. I was fascinated with the way people were dressed and the diversity of things you could find in the local markets or by the roadside. Since then, every time I have been to a different country, I have paid keen attention to tradition whether it is handicrafts or the way local people live and dress: from the colourful Mayan everyday outfit in Guatemala, to traditional costumes in Hindu ceremonies in Bali, to the diversity of prints in Senegal, to visiting the Karen tribe in North Thailand and spending the last year here in India exploring different regions and seeing the diversity of textile, embroidery or patterns. I also really take great pleasure in observing the different techniques and getting to know more about the life of the craftsman behind the craft. This further humanizes the story of textiles, which appeals to me. A key difference between India and France is that with craft in France, people who still work with their hands are very well-respected, along with their
knowledge even when, unfortunately, due to globalization, tradition is something we are fast losing in Europe. In India, however, craftsmen have a really low status in society. The middleman makes a lot of money selling products in the market but the grave issues remain for the income and recognition of the craftsman. In 2012, I did an internship in Australia as a Graphic and Web Designer. I was working on a variety of projects but what I liked the most was working on fashion magazine layouts, as it allowed me to be very creative. This experience really shaped my perspective and made me a lot more sensitive with regards to aesthetics, colours and shapes. During my last internship in India in 2014, I worked closely with the fashion industry. The company I was working for, Border & Fall, is based in Bangalore. It focuses on fashion and craft. I spent a month helping a fashion designer, Rashmi Varma, with her website. Her studio is located in a village in Delhi called Shaphur Jat, which is known for its embroidery, dying, tailors and emerging designers. Every day I would see in the street all the workers as well as in her studio where she is working with embroiderers and tailors. I also had the opportunity to attend the Indian
Fashion Week three times, where I could see how the work usually made in remote and poor villages in India has a fantastic result in haute couture. Being immersed in such an environment for more than a year now has made me naturally wanting to take a deep dive into the field of textiles for my memoire.
Summary
I FASHION REVOLUTION AROUND THE WORLD p.14
1. History 2. Challenges today 3. New ways of producing 4. Mixing traditional craft with contemporary forms 5. Raising awareness
II INDIAN TRADITIONAL TEXTILE p.49
IV CASE STUDY IN KUTCH p.83
1. History of Indian traditional textiles 2. Diversity in textiles 3. Preserving the tradition 4. Issues in the industry 5. Scope of Indian traditional textile in the international market
III WOMEN EMPOWERMENT IN INDIA p.72
1. Status of women in Indian society 2. Being a women in rural India 3. Empowering women through traditional textile crafts 4. Skill development for a better future
1. Approach 2. Communities and their textiles 3. How to reach the Indian and foreign markets 4. Issues
V MODERNISING THE TEXTILE CRAFT p.123
1. Stakes 2. What already exists
VI CONCLUSION p.128 VII CONCEPTS p.131 VIII BIBLIOGRAPHY p.140
Intro
In the context of India, where the textile industry is the second largest employer after the agriculture industry, there is a lot of scope for innovation and better practices. According to the IBEF (India Brand Equity Formation), this sector provides employment to over 45 million people directly and 60 million indirectly. Source: http://www.ibef.org/industry/ textiles.aspx There is high demand in the local market as well as abroad. As nowadays, people would rather buy a lot of different cheap things, the artisans in the textile craft sector are struggling. Do we really want those beautiful old techniques to be forgotten and textiles to disappear? Indian textile is part of the history and heritage of the country. The competition in the global market is causing a loss of the craft. Nevertheless, as designers and consumers are becoming more aware of the issues, social enterprises, NGO and even designers are fighting to preserve those techniques and employ Indian artisans. In India, craft is made mostly in rural areas, people work in their villages and it is often the only source of income they have. Some artisans migrate to cities to find jobs and work for designers away from their families. Those artisans have been working from generations to generations. Coming to cities is very
tough and expensive for those who are used to a traditional rural lifestyle. In the countryside, women do not have a lot of independence. Depending on the family situation, religion or castes, they are taking care of the household most of the time. In the desert of Kutch where I did my field research, it is traditional for women to make garment or embroideries (they would wear the most elaborate pieces at festivals or weddings) during their spare time. Nowadays, these embroideries are not only for themselves; they are making a living out of them too. It is often the NGOs who are empowering them. As a woman and having travelled a lot around this India’s,cities and countryside, I have always noticed that the status of men is quite high and powerful compared to women. To me Indian women are not independent enough when it comes to work or making decisions. To guarantee women a source of income is a way to help them emancipate themselves as well as educate themselves and the next generations. India has such an amazing diversity of traditional textile and I believe that there are huge opportunities in this industry to employ people in villages who would help to fight poverty and
guarantee a better future for artisans. In the West, where people buy at still very low prices without asking themselves where it is from or how it is made, there is a real issue of awareness into creating a positive impact. As humans, it is our duty to make sure what we are buying is not supporting a bad industry and making poor peoples’ lives even worse. We have to support and insist on showing the process and the actual repercussions of our purchases. To preserve the traditional textile crafts culture, it has to be modernized and consciously thought about with its different stakeholders or it will disappear. My background in Interaction Design taught me to always put the users at the center of each design and that’s the key point of my work. I want to be a designer for a better world and for the communities of people who live within it.
Problematic
How to preserve traditional Indian textile crafts in the context of globalization empowering women in rural India?
I Fashion revolution around the world
As the fashion industry is continually evolving, we can notice that the trend nowadays is to be aware of how products are made and where they come from. Very often, it is women who are working in those fast fashion warehouses. As we know, this industry produces a lot of waste and the working conditions can be really bad for workers. Consumers are aware of it but will often forget about it when it comes to buying. This needs to change. The issue is that before thinking of how things are made or the quality of the garment, we tend to just look at the design and price tags. The stakes are to be able to combine both beautiful design and sustainable practices along with affordable price. This is related to the new concept of ÂŤ slow fashion Âť which is basically focused on better consumption and more sustainable and fair practices.
1. History
If you look at the history of fashion, people used to dress according to their environment and make their own clothes. The most elaborate ones were usually worn for special occasions such as initiations, rituals, weddings or different kinds of ceremonies depending of the region of the globe. It is in the “upper Palaeolithic Era, some 30,000 to 40,000 years ago, prehistoric man discovered that by manipulating plant stems, he was able to make long, sturdy string. Those cords were used to create crude aprons and hats, the earliest recognisable forms of fiber-based clothing. Since that time, people in all corners of the world, from the Middle East to Eastern Europe, from North America to North Africa, have been using plant fibers and animal materials - bark, cotton, silk, flax, raffia, wool, fur, hide, feathers - to create remarkable garments and body decorations.� Source: The worldwide history of dress, Patricia Rieff Anawalt The diversity of textile is the result of the different civilizations around the world and the migration of people. When nowadays in Europe or North America, people have unfortunately lost their traditional clothes traditions, in a lot of places the tradition remains. However with globalisation in those countries, a lot of people believe that wearing western clothes is symbol of modernity
and is slowly replacing their traditions. The traditional craft and techniques are now becoming lost in Western countries. It is only in special occasions like folk festival that people would still wear their costumes. In a lot of developing countries that this craft culture still remains but it struggles while competing with the global market. Clothes made with traditional techniques take a lot of time. Also paying an artisan and a machine is not the same. The status and recognition of artisans in society is also an issue.
Traditional costume from Brretagne, France (region where I come from) image: duniau.org
Turkmen bridesmaids Image: www.oculus.ru Samo tribe, Papua New Guinea Image: Malcolm Kirk
Maasai girls, Kenya Image: Jim Zuckerman
Kalash women, Pakistan Image: wikepedia
Wodaabe woman Image: Dan Lundberg
2. Challenges we are facing nowadays
How can the fashion industry guarantee better practices? This industry is facing many issues. The working conditions are awful in a lot of countries. Human rights are not respected. We have all heard about the labor rights abuses and inhumane working conditions in Cambodia where the textile industry employs 700,000 workers and brings $5 billion a year. Source: http://www.ibtimes.com/ mass-fainting-cambodia-factoriesbrings-countrys-textile-industry-underscrutiny-1994128 Very often, it is women who work overtime in those factories and under very bad conditions.
and then price. If it looks nice and it is cheap, people will buy. Budget is what makes the difference. It is true that not everybody can afford good quality clothes that are made ethically… There is a lot of work to be done on supporting the right brand and finding ways to combine fast and cheap fashion with better practices. At the moment, people that can be targeted in sustainable fashion are people who can afford it. Those eco friendly, handmade clothes come with a price. The challenge is to democratise this kind of fashion and make it accessible to more people.
In Dhaka, Bangladesh, “on 24 April 2013, 1133 people were killed and over 2500 were injured when the Rana Plaza factory complex collapsed (…) the worst ever industrial disaster in the fashion and textile industry.” Source: http://fashionrevolution.org/
Fashion industry leaves an enormous environment footprint. It is also the third most polluting industry in the word. “The global production of all textile fibres consumes 1 trillion gallons of waste, 33 trillion gallons of oil, and 20 billion pounds of chemicals annually.” Source: www.thereformation.com
People should think more about where is it made and by whom. The transparency of that is often not respected so customers do not know. I am pretty sure if advertising campaign in stores were focused on how garments are made, some stores would not be as popular as they are right now. In general, people care mostly about the design
To satisfy the demand of European countries or the US, many children are engaged in the textiles and garments industry. In the countries where textiles are produced, this cheap labour is easily available as there are fewer controls… In countries like China, India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Uzbekistan Thailand or Egypt, where families are extremely poor,
they have no choice but to make their children work to help the family.
Textile landfill, Syria Image: http://re-dress.ie/
Children fit easily in the textile industry as some task don’t require many skills, also they can’t argue on the wage and working conditions. Source: http://labs.theguardian.com/ unicef-child-labour/
We are buying more and more clothes, and often when it’s cheap quality, it doesn’t last long and we just throw it away. It means we are continually consuming and then getting rid off it. What about recycling it? Some people give their clothes away to charity or second hand store, which are very trendy in Europe for vintage pieces. But that’s because the quality of textile used to be better, nowadays at some point we just get rid of our clothes because it falls apart. “Fast Fashion gathered pace from the end of the 1990’s when brands began to look for new ways to increase profits. Globalisation had grown rapidly in the 80’s and 90’s – paving the way for value and mid price brands to shift the bulk of their production to the developing world where labour and overheads cost are a fraction of those in Europe.” Conscious consumerism is becoming essential in our society because we care about people and the environment. “Fast isn’t free, someone somewhere is paying” Kate Fletcher, textile consultant.
Bangladesh factory Image: http://fashionatingworld.com/
3. New ways of producing
In the past decade, we see more and more « social enterprises » being created. Business visions are changing. From a business model that used to care only about profit, businesses are now turned into individuals and societal challenges. Social entrepreneurs want to make profit through a positive impact. « Rather than leaving societal needs to the government or business sectors, social entrepreneurs find what is not working and solve the problem by changing the system, spreading the solution, and persuading entire societies to move in different directions » Source: https://www.ashoka.org/ Social enterprises are growing a lot in developing and emerging countries as there are plenty of issues to solve. NGOs used to be the ones trying to solve it but as far as we know, there is a very big issue with corruption. A lot of NGOs focus on women’s rights and empowerment as it is crucial to enable women to be more independent in poor countries. During my research phase, I met Karan Chandran who works for Ennovent (Consulting company for social enterprises), He explained to me the huge opportunities for social entrepreneurship in low-income markets. It is very tough to develop a
country especially in villages where there is a lack of education. So it is really important that entrepreneurs also think of creating companies that empower people in rural areas and in the process, think of sustainable business models. They have to create value and long-term solutions if they want to have a real impact on society. The goals of social enterprises are basically to guarantee a better future through a human centered approach. That’s where designers have a key role, to think of solutions with a different perspective and to create value.
Across the world, in traditional textile, there are many companies trying to give support to craft, to preserve traditions and empower people. Hiptipico, Guatemala Hiptipico is making goods such as bags, jackets, blankets around Lake Atitlan in Guatemala. Everything is handmade by local artisans. The good thing about their website is that they showcase the craftsmen there as well. They give 100% of the profits to the artisans for their handmade items. They pay a fair wage to their community. The aim of Hiptipico is to preserve Mayan culture, reinvesting in women cooperatives and helping family shops and Mayan handicrafts. They create access to the global market. Najagirl, Colombia/California Najagirl is making underwear for women by women in Colombia. They use the finest materials and details. They have a program called “Underwear for hope� where they train single mothers or head of household mothers to sew so they can help themselves and also their children. For every purchase, they also give money to the Gondrinas Foundation.
Reformation, LA, USA Eco friendly clothes, they make clothes from 3 different types of materials : new sustainable fabrics repurposed vintage clothing rescued dead stock fabric from fashion houses that over-ordered They created an eco-friendly factory. They are part of the B Corps (Benefit Corporations) which aim to solve social and environmental problems. Artisans of fashion, India/Australia Artisans of Fashion is working in extremely poor rural areas in India. They focus on not only employing women in villages but also making sure the traditional techniques, skills and artisan community are not lost in the coming generations. They make sure ecofriendly practices are used during the process.
Ix Sandals, Guatemala
Image: www.ix-style.com
Through shoes made by artisans around Lake Atitlan, Panajachel, Ix Sandals is providing clean water to children of the lake. Mothers have to study for 18 months before they can get water filtration systems in their house. During those 18 months, they will learn about education, nutrition, domestic violence, accounting, and will be trained for jobs.
Nomadic Thread Society, NYC
Image: http://nomadicthreadsociety.com/
Nomadic Thread Society is a brand that sources traditional textiles from India, Turkey, Kenya, Tunisia, Guatemala, Panama, Peru, Colombia. It’s trying to build a business as sustainable as possible paying attention to supply chains and fair wage.
Olivia Dar, France/India
Image: http://www.oliviadar.com/
Jewellery and accessories handmade in Delhi inspired by traditional design from the world. Olivia recently did a project with Afghani women refugees. She is modernising the craft while preserving it.
In textile, a lot of NGOs are working with artisans, they are trying to empower people from the villages and give visibility to their work. They are nonprofit organisations, so they don’t do this with a business purpose, but just to help people. As they rely on donations and government, they have limited means to sustain themselves. When an NGO doesn’t have funding anymore, jt cannot guarantee a fair wage to the artisans…
is not always easy if the vision is not shared both by the community and the NGO. Working in rural areas is very challenging.
That’s why increasingly, an alternative of NGOs and Social Enterprises working together as a hybrid model is being explored. Some other structures are also relevant to developing the craft like microfinance institutions, SHG (Self Help Group) or cooperative societies.
- Creating opportunities for economically disadvantaged producers - Payment of a fair price - Ensuring no child labour or forced labour - Providing capacity building - Ensuring transparency and accountability - Commitment to non discrimination, gender equity and women’s economic empowerment and freedom of association - Respect for the environment - Ensuring good working conditions
I also met Jessica Oyarbide during my research, working for Fair Trade India. She is from Argentina and worked with a lot of NGOs as a volunteer but also did field research in India. She was telling me how from one village to another, as the traditions are very different, you cannot work the same way at all, You have to understand people first. To work with women you first have to understand the role of the women in the family hierarchy and how a woman is considered in any particular community since generations. Empowering women
Fair Trade is the alternative mode of trade which aims to extend sustainable livelihood to the less privileged people living in developing and under developed countries. Fair trading practices include:
Source: Fair Trade Forum India: Skill, scale and speed to sustain and build self reliant India through fair trade approaches
4. Mixing traditional craft and contemporary forms
Fashion is perpetual renewable and contemporary designers still use or are inspired by old patterns or ancient textile techniques. Traditional craft remains trendy even in contemporary textiles simply because any eye can appreciate authenticity and have a respect for tradition. It is very often the form of the piece that changes and the pattern is reinvented to fit it. Inspiration for textiles and patterns is coming from everywhere, architecture, nature or more recently, our contemporary culture. Current trends are now mixing traditional craft with contemporary forms. It’s all about the designer’s creativity.
Image: http://www.rashmivarma.com/
Rashmi Varma (India)
Image: http://norblacknorwhite.com/
Nor Black Nor White (India)
Image: http://www.maxhosa.co.za/
Maxhosa (South Africa)
Image: http://www.bodice.co.in/
Bodice (India)
Image: http://www.walesbonner.net/
Wales Bonner (UK)
Image: http://www.yevuclothing.com/
Yevu (Ghana)
Providing training in villages for craftswomen to develop their creativity in terms of colours, patterns or techniques is essential. As designers are fortunate enough to have exposure, they can modernise traditional textile crafts quite easily if they want to. Craftswomen from villages are still struggling to face the global market as most of the time they have no training and understanding of the demand. Traditional designs and costumes are often done with very rich variety of patterns and colours which can be described as “too much� for more contemporary target customers. This is why designers are trying to make more minimalistic garments.
6. Raise awareness
Online content and social media platforms are a good way to give visibility to craftswomen. In rural India, people don’t have the skills to market themselves and the lack of new technology in remote areas doesn’t help. During my research, I have noticed that Indian women are very proud and enthusiastic about their knowledge and traditions but they don’t really have the opportunity of sharing it with the “outside world” if people don’t come to their villages. There is a need to promote design and tradition of developing countries. Discussing this with Indian friends made me realise that they sometimes are not really aware about their own textile heritage and pattern but still love it and would be more than happy to wear more traditionally inspired designs. Internet is a good and affordable medium to raise awareness and generate discussions about the issues of traditional textile crafts to motivate people to buy more of it. Indian craftsmen and craftswomen need more recognition and respect. Sharing and spreading their beautiful heritage also shows more to the Westerners who might think India is only about the “beautiful and colourful”. It shows how capable and amazing the
artisans behind all these designs and textiles are. There are lots of ways to communicate ideas nowadays through Instagram, Facebook pages of NGOs or designers and Facebook groups. Not being geographically located in the same areas is not an issue. This enhances the possibilities of collaborations and can give new hope to women.
Craftsmen on handlooms in the in-house weaving unit Image: Border & Fall
Border & Fall (India)
Image: http://www.projecttribe.org/
Project Tribe (Brazil)
Le Comptoir Général is a place in Paris dedicated to different cultures of the world, especially Africa. Image: http://www.lecomptoirgeneral.com/
Comptoir Général (France)
Maimouna Guerresi Moussa Image: https://www.facebook.com/ArtNewsAfrica
Art News Africa (Nigeria)
Not Far From
It is an online page I have created on Facebook and Instagram to share pictures of traditional textiles I encounter during my travels in India and in other countries. My aim is to have feedback from people around the world and support local traditions by giving them visibility.
Afghan nomads Image: unknown
Preservation of indigenous art and culture (Facebook group)
Image: Uravi
Sangam – the Australia India design platform (Facebook group)
Image: http://www.folkartalliance.org/
International Folk Art Alliance
II Indian traditional textile
Image: http://vintageindia.tumblr.com/
1. History of Indian traditional textiles
India has a long history of crafts and crafts traditions, especially in the Indian textile sector. Indian textiles have had multiple external influences over the years, from the Arab traders that brought Islam and emphasised on women covering their head and breasts, to the Mughals who blended the best of Islamic and Hindu traditions and later on the European colonists in the late 15th century with influence from Portugal, France, England… During the colonial regime the traditional textile industry of India was virtually decayed. However, in the early nineteenth century the modern textile industry took birth in India when the first textile mill was established at Fort Gloster near Calcutta in 1818. Next to Agriculture, India mainly is into the Textile Sector. Indian Textile Industry is one of India’s oldest industries and has a formidable presence in the national economy as it contributes to about 14% of manufacturing value-addition, accounts for around one-third of our gross export earnings and provides gainful employment to millions of people. In 1850’s the cotton textile industry, however, made its real beginning in Bombay. In the year 1854 the first
cotton textile mill of Bombay was established by a Parsi cotton merchant then engaged in overseas and internal trade. Indeed, the vast majority of the early mills were the handiwork of Parsi merchants engaged in yarn and cloth trade at home and Chinese and African markets. The first cotton mill established in the year 1861 was at Ahmedabad, which was eventually to emerge as a rival centre to Bombay, which later spread the textile industry largely due to the Gujarati trading class. The cotton textile industry made rapid progress in the second half of the nineteenth century and by the end of the century there were 178 cotton textile mills; but during the year 1900 the cotton textile industry was in bad state due to the great famine and a number of mills of Bombay and Ahmedabad were to be closed down for long periods. Source : http://www.indianmirror.com/ For example, cotton grows in many regions of India. Silk comes from the centre and Northeastern parts of the country. Wool is from the cold regions like Ladakh or Kashmir in the North.
Here are the segments of Indian textiles - Cotton Textiles - Silk Textiles - Woollen Textiles - Readymade Garments - Hand-crafted Textiles - Jute and Coir
Silk Image: Kanchitraditionalsilksonline
Image: cotton carder, painted by an Indian artist of Delhi, c.1820
Image: Tying a sari, Life
Image: Wikipedia
Despite all the influences, Indian clothing traditions exists, for millennia, in the form of saris, dhotis or turban, all of them created out of a long piece of unstitched cloth. Even nowadays, looking at a sari, you can tell where the woman is from as well as what her caste is by the way it is tied and also by the pattern.
sari, Rajasthan
Turban, Pushkar, Rajasthan
Due to globalisation and mechanization, a lot of the traditional textile craft technics are slowly dying. The new generation of Indian designers plays a key role into keeping these crafts. If they support crafts and craftsmen, it will surely help to the rejuvenate or preserve these dying crafts.
2. Diversity of textile
Different regions, different techniques, different patterns, different textiles
Image: indigo dye « India lives in its villages » said Mahatma Ghandi Indian textile originally used a lot of natural dyes “The most common colours of red, black, blue, violet, green, and yellow are obtained from plants and minerals native to the subcontinent. Indigo plants are processed and traded in the form of dried cakes that are used to create different shades of blue. Red dye is extracted from alizarin-producing
plants and trees, such as the chay or the madder, and yellow from turmeric or saffron (the latter mostly for silks). Black is created by mixing indigo with an acid substance such as tannin. Green and purple can be made by layering yellow or red dyes over blue cloth. Cotton, unlike silk and wool, must be prepared to receive colour. The fixative agent, known as a mordant, is a metallic oxide (usually alum and iron) that combines with the dye to bond onto the fibre.” Source: http://www.metmuseum.org/
Image: Embroidery from Kutch Weaving and embroidery ÂŤPatterns can also be created in the process of weaving, as is done most often with silks. The term brocade refers to any type of fabric woven with a raised pattern, though usually it indicates that gold or silver thread has been used. Ikats (another Malay term) are cloths whose warp or weft threads have been bound and resist dyed; both sides of the cloth have the same colour intensity. Double ikats are cloths in which both warp and weft threads have been bound
and resist dyed. When the weft threads are woven onto the loom, they combine with the warp to reveal a pattern of extraordinary density and complexity. Embroidery, in which a decorative needlework pattern is sewn onto the fabric, is another specialty of India. Âť Source: http://www.metmuseum.org/ Embroideries can be the work of women (as a pass time) as well as of male professionals.
Chikankari Embroidery, Lucknow Image: www.dsource.in
Bonda tribe, Orissa Image: Ingetje Tadros
Naga men, Nagaland Image: Manou
Kashida Embroidery, Kashmir Image: ethnicdukaan.com
Andhra Pradesh, Banjara people Image: Retlaw Snellac
Himachal Pradesh patterns
Block printing is a very popular process in India that uses a carved piece of wood to print different patterns on textile.
3. Preserving the tradition
To keep on making traditional textile, people have to pass the knowledge from generation to generation. As the society is evolving, people in villages tend to go to cities to expect to find better jobs and better lifestyle. Men come alone to cities away from their family to expect to find better jobs as tailors or embroiderers. They end up living in very poor conditions with a bad source of income and a very tiring life. It is better to keep empowering people in their own villages and allow them to continue with their traditional lifestyle. Those which don’t have the opportunity to go to school want their children to be educated to have a better job and a better future. “Karigars” (Hindi word for artisans) usually learn from their parents and don’t attend schools. They want their children to become engineers, teachers or doctors, not artisans. Working as an artisan in India is tough. Preserving the tradition means giving more recognition to artisans. Unfortunately, dressing traditionally can be a way of being discriminated. I remember my guide in Kutch telling me he would love to wear his traditional outfit from his villages but if he did that, people wouldn’t take him seriously in cities.
4. The issues of the industry
« Why does the majority of India’s 2nd largest employment sector fall into the low income segment? Why are there few numbers to reference these claims? Are we valuing craft correctly? What does this mean for the Modern Karigar? » Source : article « a looming issue » by Border and Fall http://www.borderandfall.com/karigar/ a-looming-issue/ Artisans are facing a lot of issues, first of all this fiddly job forces them to focus all day long, it is tiring for the body to keep a posture for a long time and the eyes to do repetitive work.. During the process of making the garment, they sometimes use chemical products that have damaging effects on the lungs. There are also a lot of abuses by employers who not always guarantee artisans fair wages and take advantage of them. It is also challenging for designers who want to work with craftspeople as they have to travel often to the villages to make sure the production is correctly done. Organisation in villages is different from one to another. They are dependent on farming and very often if a mishap occurs in their lives, production is delayed. Working with craftsmen and craftswomen, for NGOs, enterprises or designers means you have to be very flexible as well as be open to finding
different ways to motivate people to work. Only money is not motivation enough. Building trust with artisans is essential for a good result in the craft.
Image: Anamika Khanna SS16
5. Scope of Indian traditional textile in the international market
« The only thing constant about Fashion is Change » said Oscar Wilde As time change, so does fashion anywhere in the world. Even though we keep seeing how fashion takes its inspiration from the past eras, textile is a big industry and new fabrics and materials come out frequently. Either by recycling, or creating fabric that are more eco-friendly, there is always scope for innovation. Indian textile is very rich in tradition but it must reinvent tradition to preserve it. You cannot offer the same products for 50 years on the market. Indian textile needs to adapt itself to different markets and use its skills and pattern for a range of different products. Abroad some people could be a bit reluctant to see « imperfections » on the garment, with craft each piece is unique as its handmade and that’s what actually gives it beauty. Indian textile can be too colourful and too shiny for foreign tastes. Depending on which target the textile is for, it has to satisfy its demand. In this way, international buyers have to understand that they have to pay fair prices to support artisans and the techniques and at the same time, Indians have to be aware of the aesthetics.
Korra (http://korra.in/) is making jeans. It is making the effort to use natural or recycled raw material and each tailor makes the product from the beginning to the end. In Europe, people like stories, and it is grateful to know that there is somebody that gave his time to the piece you are wearing. This is the kind of approach that people appreciate abroad.
III Women empowerment in India
1. Status of women in the Indian society
India is a male-dominated society. « India’s poor performance on women’s empowerment and gender equality is reflected in many indicators. In many parts of the country, sex ratio has dropped to fewer than 850 females per 1000 males. India is ranked 132 out of 148 countries on Gender Inequality Index as per the 2013 Global Human Development Report. Women from disadvantaged groups such as Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and minorities in particular face discrimination, exploitation and limited employment opportunities. » - United Nations Development Program Being born a woman in a city and in a village is very different. Access to education is not equal everywhere in the country. As there is a lack of infrastructure in rural India, women from cities would more likely be educated if they come from a family that can afford it. They are facing way more difficulties than men in their everyday lives. Being a women means, even today, to be less powerful and capable than men. They are facing discrimination while finding jobs. It is frowned upon if a woman is too independent, even nowadays. Indian society remains really closeminded when it comes to giving more importance to career than family.
Especially in villages, some women wouldn’t be allowed to work as their role is to take care of the household. They are also facing domestic violence and rape. « Gender discrimination continues to be an enormous problem within Indian society. Traditional patriarchal norms have relegated women to secondary status within the household and workplace. This drastically affects women’s health, financial status, education, and political involvement. Women are commonly married young, quickly become mothers, and are then burdened by stringent domestic and financial responsibilities. They are frequently malnourished since women typically are the last member of a household to eat and the last to receive medical attention. Additionally, only 54 percent of Indian women are literate as compared to 76 percent of men. Women receive little schooling, and suffer from unfair and biased inheritance and divorce laws. These laws prevent women from accumulating substantial financial assets, making it difficult for women to establish their own security and autonomy.» Source: http://www.fsdinternational.org/ country/india/weissues
2. Being a woman in rural India
Rural India is very complex. The lifestyle in the countryside of India has remained the same for centuries. Each village has its own traditions and beliefs. As a result, the status of the women is different from one village to another depending on factors like caste and religion. In rural India, women are the ones taking care of the household while the husbands are working, in activities such as farming. They would cook the food for their husbands and children. They are dependent on their husbands. A lot depends on how conservative the community is. For example, in certain Muslim communities women are not allowed to work. In the countryside, women often have to stay in their village and if they need something from the city, men would go for them. Women in rural India are suffering from poverty and a lack of education. They also don’t really have access to healthcare unless they are not too far from a bigger town and can afford it. Even nowadays, families would rather have a son than a daughter. If they have a daughter, often she would be less privileged that the boys. For example if a family doesn’t have much food, they would feed the boy first.
Slowly, Indian mindset is changing and give more importance to women. They also have their role to play in developing the country and ending poverty. This is why education is so important.
« It has been said that, you teach a female and you build up a nation and truth can’t be closer than that. Women have always carried the burden of being a wife, mother, sister all on their own and we need not to explain how magnificently they have carried this position. » Source: http://www.indianchild.com/
3. Empowering women through traditional textile crafts
« Most women aren’t aware of women’s rights in India and other times their legal rights are not protected as they should be. Women empowerment plays a significant role in letting them know their rights. » http://www.womenempowermentinindia. com/women-rights-in-india/
NGOs are playing a key role in empowering women. They make sure the work on textile is done the right way and guarantee them regular incomes and good working conditions. The government is now supporting them more and more as it is a source of economic growth and a way for families to get extra incomes. In textile, women learn the skills from their parents. Depending on the kind of textile, sometimes they do not do the work directly but help their husband in doing it. During their free time, if they are able to work on crafts, it is a way for them to earn extra money and be a bit more financially independent. They have the knowledge from generations to generations. The issue remains in marketing themselves and not getting ripped off by middleman or people employing them. Alternative groups like Self Employed Women’s Association have been created to help poor women. « SEWA’s main goals are to organise women workers for full employment. Full employment means employment whereby workers obtain work security, income security, food security and social security (at least health care, child care and shelter). SEWA organises women to ensure that every family obtains full
employment. By self-reliance we mean that women should be autonomous and self-reliant, individually and collectively, both economically and in terms of their decision-making ability. » http://www.sewa.org/
4. Skills development for a better future
Skills development is essential for the craft to keep existing in this globalized world. It is not only about creative trainings. It is important to help women in villages to become aware about their rights, to know how to manage money, or be aware of the market prices. They need more education to get more independence. They are not able to market themselves. Either it is NGOs, enterprises, husbands or a middleman doing that for them. Their skills and traditional knowledge have to be given to their daughters. They don’t have enough exposure and sometimes are not aware of how fantastic their work is. There is so
much competition with textile that comes out of big factories. They need to be trained on how to diversify their craft. The NGO Kala Rashka in Kutch is doing such things. It is giving women the opportunity to be more creative by doing workshops with student or designers. The craft can be sometimes « too traditional » for people living in cities which are the potential buyers. That’s why they have to work on keeping the patterns and colours yet creating more. They have the technical and creative skills. What’s missing is an understanding of how to modernise it to suit the current demands. Being in remote places with a lack of exposure, it is very tough for them to understand contemporary trends.
IV Case study in Kutch
Kutch
For my field studies, I chose to go to Kutch, Gujarat to explore the diversity of communities and textiles.
Kutch is home to several pastoral communities, many of them seminomadic herders of camels and sheep. These communities are skilled in a variety of crafts such as embroidery, laquer-work, leather, pottery, patchwork, silverwork‌ Rabari, Megval, Jats, Sameja, Mutava, Pathan, Ahir, or Sodha all have a different style of embroidery.
Rabari Image: Mitchell Kanashkevich
Meghwal woman Image: Kimberley Coole
Kutch is very well known for its incredible embroideries and jewellery. Women are the ones making the embroideries during their spare time. They used to do it for themselves as they used to wear it everyday. Now some still wear it but in a simpler version of what it used to be. The most elaborate outfits are for weddings or ceremonies. Nowadays, making embroideries is a source of income. They are empowered by NGOs or designers.
1. Approach
For my research, my approach was inspired by Ideo field guide. It is basically a human-centered approach. ÂŤpeople who face problems are the one who hold the key to the answerÂť You first have to learn from people. You have to observe and look for inspiration in unexpected places How to better understand people? I took my time to build trust with people. I first had to observe the environment and way of living before asking questions. You have to be compassionate and understanding about their hopes and desires. As I have lived in India for many months now, it was easier for me to understand the culture even though it is very different from one village to another. How to create real impact? If you want to create impact, you first have to understand users. They are humans with hope, fears and needs. As a designer, while doing research you have to think of sustainability. How to come with viable solutions? (business wise as well as technologically). How to approach people? As there is a language barrier, I used a translator who was also my guide as he knew the villages as well as the local language. The difficulty was to ask questions while not being too
formal. It ended up being a very natural discussion as it can look scary for people if you have a camera and take notes. I only took a few pictures after building trust. It was important to be respectful to the people and their culture keeping the more personal questions for last.
E M PA T H Y OPTIMISM CREATIVE CONFIDENCE EMBRACING AMBIGUIT Y LISTENING SHARING
During my trip to Kutch, I met people from different backgrounds. I met people from different NGOs like Harsh (Khamir), Ami (Shrujan), Puneet (Qasab), Kala Raksha. I was really lucky to have Salim Wazir as a tour guide for the villages and as a translator. He has deep knowledge of the textile and culture of Kutch. He is also an antique textiles collector along with his father who has been doing this for more than 40 years now. I also met many women in different villages from different communities.
There are many different communities in Kutch which have an incredible textile richness.
Jat woman Image: Rudi Roels
2. Communities and their textile
Each community has its own techniques, design and colours of embroideries. There is usually one person in the village who draws the pattern. All patterns have a meaning. For example, the elephant is a symbol of health and the snake and the scorpion represents fertility. Women would embroider their outfit according to their needs. Rabaris use a lot of mirrors in their designs. Some people say it protects one from the evil eye. While another use of it, is that if a woman wears it, men know from far away a woman is coming. So they have to sit properly and look good for the woman.
Rabari They are nomadic camel herders 3 groups: Kachhis, Dhebarias, Vaagadias Rabari embroidery is famed for its bold, dramatic motifs chain stitched and studded with mirrors. Meghval Traditionally artisans, the men were leather workers, weavers and sometimes carpenters. 4 groups: Marvada, Gujara, Maheshvari and Charana Known for richly embroidered garments. Garasia Jat Islamic pastoralist originated north and west of the Subcontinent. Women wear a long red churi. Cross stitch embroidery
Zararwadi - Pathan community Women do embroidery when they have free time, usually for themselves. They look after the kids (don’t go to school). The husband are shepherds. They learn embroidery at 8 years old, and at 14 years old they become masters. It is a tradition passed on from mothers to daughters. They are muslims, but the women are strong and I have noticed that the men are quieter. They don’t do embroidery for a living. They do it only for themselves and for weddings or festivals. It is a very remote community with not much contact with the outside world. To me, if they start doing embroidery as business it is a risk that could change their lifestyle and their behaviours. My guide told me that often in other communities women don’t have much time to make there own crafts anymore. They are making things for others but losing traditions.
Sumrashar - Ahir Women do embroidery for eight hours a day. They were working for Shrujan and doing this work for a living.
Loriya - Sodha, Rajput (Pakistan) They are specialised in pakko work
Zura - Sodha camp The woman I met was making embroideries on saris or blouses for Shrujan (for 30 years) It was her only source of income as she is a widow. She was telling me if she had more money her needs would be to have a better house (with a proper roof). The money she was making was not enough for her. She couldn’t save anything. She was spending everything on her daily life needs. For her, it is important to keep the tradition but she doesn’t make enough money out of it.
Nirona class They were also making saris for Shrujan. Many women do it in the village, so they all sit together and work 8 hours a day. Their kids are going to school. One woman is the supervisor in the group. They wake up at 5am to take care of the house before working.
Samrashar - Jats Their embroidery style is called crossstitched embroidery work. They are a muslim community where the men are powerful. Only old ladies continue to wear those traditional patterns but everybody else wears them for weddings and festivals.
Organisation in the villages In some communities, they have proper houses with water and bathrooms while others have to go get the water from far away. The children of the women working for the NGO were going to school. In the village where they were not working for any NGO, the village was too far from schools. Young and old women all work together in the same space. Men are usually working so they are just around the women.
Family Typically, men are farming. Women stay at home and look after the house and kids. They have many children. They marry the people of the same community when they are around eighteen. Women stay in villages. If they want to do embroidery, the man goes to a village nearby to buy supplies for them. They don’t really have spare time but when they do they just rest.
Working conditions Women were doing embroideries outside, sitting on a blanket on the floor. They were sitting in the shade of a tree. They don’t have fans. They are do it all together and gossip at the same time (social activity). They have water. Each of them has her own piece to finish. Some women work 5 hours and decide when they can do it. Others do it for 8 hours a day every day (which results in a better income).
Ikat Image: Dries Van Noten SS10
3. How to reach the Indian and foreign market
Foreign market views India as a very cheap place to produce clothes and garment. In the textile industries, there is a lot of money for everybody except to the artisans‌ Buying with a positive impact is possible. Some NGOs are doing really good work to link craftswomen with the global market. Here is my research about the NGO I met.
Khamir They are empowering women for plastic weaving. In each craft, both men and women have an important role. Traditionally, men weave and pass on the tradition. Embroidery work is done by the women. They are promoting new material and eco friendly practices. Women can weave part time while working from home, The NGO’s workers said that it is easier to work with women than men as they have more compassion. Men let women work because they see that work as a new source of income (certain castes/ communities don’t want the women to work). Women get training from the NGO in colours and design (they have urban buyers so they have to be aware of people’s tastes).
Women interviews All the kids were going to school. They were living in quite decent accomodation. All of them looked happy, as they had the option to work from home. Some of them used to work as housemaids but now prefer doing weaving as they can take care of their houses while working. They usually join Khamir because the NGO provides them with all the materials they need. They work everyday except Sunday afternoons when they go with their families to parks or rest. They work about 5 hours a day. The women choose the colours of the bags they were making. The NGO teaches them basic skills in just one week of training. Their husbands are working in a town nearby(Bhuj). They want a better future for their children. They spend their money on the house and education. Some of them save the money in a bank account to use in the future. All of them lived in illegally constructed housing, so their biggest dream was to get a house they owned themselves.
Shrujan Shrujan is trying to modernise the traditional craft. They are working with over 3000 craftswomen from 10 different communities in 120 different villages. There is one artist in every village who designs the pattern. Then those are given to the NGO to prepares different patterns on fabric to give to the women along with a set of colours. This work is usually meant for their spare time and as a second source of income unless the woman is a widow.
KMVS, Qasab Women empowerment through embroideries. They work with different villages. They also help them with enhancing their livehood. They are trying to improve upon what the government is providing. They also trying to sharpen women’s professional skills like training them to respect deadlines. They work in 63 villages with 11 different ethnic communities. They are trying to train everybody to be entrepreneurs. The profit is put directly into the hands of the artisans. They have records through which they can track the work of any person. It is a social business which is self-sustainable. Women are the shareholders. They guarantee them more protection and help them with investing in their children’s future. The money they get is invested back in Kutch. They also ask those women what they would like to get. Sometimes they say jewelry. It is also a second source of income. They work 3 hours a day for 6 months. They have to maintain their lifestyles. There are deadlines but no pressure. Some issues can arise because of the old mindset of people.
Kala Rakhsa The aim of the NGO is to preserve tradition. They empower women in different communities such as Rabari, Meghval, Jats. Women choose the design and the colours they want to use to practice their creativity. They opened a design school with regular training to teach the artisans about preserving traditions in the modern world. 35% of profit on the final product goes directly to the artisans.
V Modernising the textile craft
1. Stakes
The struggle is to preserve the tradition and modernise it, without losing the origin of it. By modernizing, we tend to change the pattern or the colours. We are trying to make things more minimalistic. To me, the craftswomen are the only ones able to change the pattern and colour if they want to, because it comes from their past and history. They are the ones from generation to generation who know about meaning, colours and patterns. I don’t think it is good to tell them what they have to do in terms of design. The best we can do is to give them different kinds of support to make embroideries or small pieces, and then as designers we can reuse it. Preserving traditions doesn’t mean stealing them. To modernise the craft we have to first work closely with the artisans and understand more about their culture, the meaning and the history behind it. It is also great for people who buy the product to know there is a story behind the women who made it. We have to work together and not just take advantage of what we can make out of it. Modernising textile crafts should lead to the poor makers having better living conditions.
Image: Madame Hall
Image: Mirror work, Rashmi Varma
Image: Olivia Dar
2. What already exists
V Conclusion
How to preserve traditional Indian textile crafts in the context of globalisation? Developing a country and limiting poverty is a global challenge. Through women empowerment a lot can be done. It is also about educating more young girls in rural India about tradition. As the textile industry is already developed across India, it is a new challenge to help it evolve while working directly with craftswomen. There is a lot of scope for better practices as this sector is quite corrupt. The issue remains centered on finding a place in the global market for traditional Indian textile crafts. Some NGOs, designers and enterprises are already trying to do it, but often they don’t get the opportunity to understand better the aesthetics that could work more in foreign and contemporary markets.
VI Concepts
Concept 1 Online platform France/India
What
Where
Creating an online platform for women entrepreneurs to help craftswomen in India. It would help with connecting boutiques in France to NGOs, social enterprises or designers working using fair practices with Indian traditional textile craft.
Online platform (website)
Who Female owners of boutiques in France looking to source new products. NGOs and designers who want to keep the traditional Indian textile heritage and expand their business abroad and in the process, helping Indian craftswomen. Craftswomen are not direct users. (Lack of technology skills) Why In France, boutiques are more common than malls and French people are always looking for original beautiful things. They care about history and traditions. They are sensitive and would care about helping developing countries and supporting women. The aim would be to show the quality of craft and forget about the cheap crafty feel.
When Permanent service How Basically, the boutiques in France could log in on the website and discover products, designers and NGOs. They could shop, contact or collaborate and vice versa. Each boutique would have its profile (description, picture of the space, location, what they are looking for, which brands they already have, request NGOs/designers, a timeline with updates, shop). Each NGO/designer would have their profiles (description, location, about the workers and practices, pictures of their products with description and prices, request to boutiques to work with them).
Perspective and sustainability It is a platform that would work for France/India but could be easily extended to other countries. It would help Indian NGOs and designers to have feedback on their products to reach a Western market and guarantee better incomes to the craftswomen as well as bigger scope for innovation. The target is to help fight poverty among women with the help of women entrepreneurs. It could be extended to both genders. It could lead to workshops in India or organizing fairs in France. Strengths and weaknesses + Better income for artisans Visibility Raise awareness _ More competition for NGOs and designers A lot of work to gather the stakeholders Transparency (corruption in NGOs) Dependencies This platform would require listing all
the boutiques in France and convincing them to join this community. In India, it would require the designers and NGOs to register and make the effort to upload their work. A lot of them don’t have a website so it could help to find new customers. Impact Reaching global markets could help those craftswomen to get more profit and develop their skills. Thanks to that, they could become more independent and educate themselves and their children. Giving them different kinds of work would enhance their creativity. It would help to preserve the techniques and the tradition. Inspiration Etsy Facebook group Sangam - the Australia India Design Platform Craftisan.in Santa Fe international Folk Art Market
Concept 2 Aesthetics guide
What Creating a physical guide (magazine/ book) with different themes about European visions of Indian aesthetics. It would be about making Indian aesthetics evolve in textile while preserving the rich heritage and without losing the tradition. Who This guide would be for anybody who would like to preserve the craft and make it reach more people before Indian heritage is lost. (Students, designers, NGO...) Why In the context of globalisation, people tend to buy what’s cheaper while forgetting about tradition and handmade textile. This would be of help to designers and students in India who don’t have the opportunity to study abroad and develop an eye for a different aesthetic. India has a rich heritage in architecture, craft, advertising (hand-painted typography, for example). ex: very often a lot of patterns are mixed together or the embroideries are everywhere on the garment. This would
not work in Europe as customers there are looking for small details and a more minimalistic kind of aesthetics. Where Physical book/magazine When It could be introduced in classes, book fairs, contemporary museums and craft museums. How Through different chapters with different themes, explaining the kind of aesthetic people like in Europe nowadays. Also, could show good examples of how Indian designers succeeded in keeping the tradition, caring about sustainability, eco friendly textiles as well as helping artisans. Showing the importance of presentable branding and trying to give a luxurious feel to something crafty by telling stories about people along with focusing on fair trade.
Perspective and sustainability This book would be very subjective as it would be through my opinion and also interviews of different stakeholders of the current Indian traditional textile market. It could help but as trends are constantly evolving, it will have to be updated. It could lead to a monthly publication featuring artists and designers. This could build an interesting community of people sharing the same interest about preserving the crafts and indirectly help artisans to improve their lives. Strengths and weaknesses + New vision of aesthetics Lead to discussion Personal opinion living in India and coming from France Get feedback _ Subjective Doesn’t help artisans directly Dependencies I would have to base it on my own experience and of different
stakeholders in the traditional Indian textile market (designers, shop keepers, students, friends, bloggers...) Impact My personal experience would make the book a more accessible reading for students who wish to be closer to the expectation in textile and fashion in Western cultures, keeping the idea that the tradition has to remain alive. Inspiration I created my own page «Not Far From» to get feedback (on Facebook and Instagram) I posted about traditional textile and jewellery from different regions of India as well as different countries. I also brought back to France fabric, scarves, bags to show it to potential buyers. I got very positive feedback from the USA, England, Australia, France, Switzerland, Germany, Mexico, Guatemala and Colombia. Designers like Nor Black Nor White, Rashmi Varma, Bodice Border & Fall
Concept 3 Training truck
What
How
A truck would go from village to village with materials and designers or students on board to work on skill development for women in rural India.
The truck would go to into different villages (Rajasthan, Gujarat...). Students would learn (empathy) and develop solutions to improve the craft and improve people’s lifestyle. They could also provide training in finance or business. As the tradition is passed on from mothers to daughters, they could play games to enhance creativity of young girls.
Who Students of fashion or design school would run workshops in villages with this truck. They would learn about traditional textiles practices, patterns and colours. They would give artisans feedback to enhance their creativity. Why Nothing is better than learning in the field. It would force the student to think of preserving the heritage and empower artisans. Young generations have to care about solving poverty in rural India through empowerment. Where Rural India When School trips, volunteering, holidays
Perspective and sustainability
Dependencies
Skill development in villages is currently a relevant topic in Prime Minister Modi’s policies as well as that of helping women become more independent. Financially, this project could easily be financed by the government and the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC). It could be for Indian students but later on, for students from abroad could also be welcomed for collaborations. It would be good to build an advertising campaign on social media to give more visibility to the project and the women artisans. Create a physical store/online store out of those workshops would also be beneficial.
The university has to agree to do such a project. The interior of the truck has to be designed according to the needs. The students have to be motivated to learn about people and then teach. Women in villages have to feel that it is helpful and their husbands have to let them participate. As they are usually taking care of the house and the children, they don’t have much free time.
Strengths and weaknesses + Collaboration Social project Developing new products Passing knowledge onto new generations _ Costly
Impact This truck would give visibility to the women and their craft. It would help a transition for the craft into modernism. It would force the student to preserve Indian heritage and help poor people improve their designs and provide better incomes as their designs become more and more relevant. Inspiration Food trucks Hospital on wheels School on wheels
VII Bibliography
Books Patricia Rieff Anawalt, The worldwide history of dress Fair Trade Forum India, Skill, scale and speed to sustain and build self reliant India through fair trade approaches Declan Quigley, Tribes of India Rat Kapur Christi Saris, Tradition and Beyond Frances Kennet Ethnic Dress, A Comprehensive Guide to the Folk Costume of the World Articles Dr. G. Sandhya Rani, Dr.P. Neeraja, N. Rajani, An Analysis of Tribal Women’s Education in India K. Sujatha, Education of India schedules tribes Paramita Sarkar, Nilanjana Bairagi, Tribal Costume of Tripura, India: Witnessing Transformations Crispin Bates, Race, Caste and Tribe in Central India: The Early Origins of Indian Anthropometry Ministry of Tribals affairs, Government of India, Issues related to schedules tribes Lentz Center for Asian Culture, Color and Patters: Tribal and Contemporary Ikats of India and Laos Gummadi Naresh, Work Participation of Tribal Women in India: a development
perspective Veena Bhasin, Status of Tribal Women in India M.K. Bhasin, Genetics of Castes and Tribes of India: Indian Population Milieu Anjali Karolia & Baiahunlang Ladia, Traditional textiles and costumes of Karbi and Biate tribes of Meghalaya Web articles “Textile Industry in India” http://www. ibef.org/industry/textiles.aspx “Mass Fainting At Cambodia Factories Brings Country’s Textile Industry Under Scrutiny” http://www.ibtimes.com/ mass-fainting-cambodia-factoriesbrings-countrys-textile-industry-underscrutiny-1994128 “Child labour in the fashion supply chain” http://labs.theguardian.com/ unicef-child-labour/ “Gender Equity Issues in India” http:// www.fsdinternational.org/country/ india/weissues “Approach” https://www.ashoka.org/ approach “Giant bummer disclaimer” https:// www.thereformation.com/aboutus#fashion “Women in rural India” http://www. indianchild.com/women_of_rural_india. htm
“Women Rights in India” http://www. womenempowermentinindia.com/ women-rights-in-india/ “Indian designers reinterpret traditional textile art” http://www.bbc.com/news/ world-asia-india-32282069 “Indian clothing” http://www. indianmirror.com/culture/clothing/ clothing.html “Modernising Traditional Crafts in Alto Minho” http://enrd.ec.europa.eu/enrdstatic/policy-in-action/rdp_view/en/ view_project_6920_en.html “Classic ‘n’ contemporary” http://www. thehindu.com/features/friday-review/ crafts-council-of-india-focusseson-traditional-textiles-and-motifs/ article7636890.ece “Govt working towards modernising textile sector, says PM” http://www. thehindubusinessline.com/news/pmlikely-to-announce-mega-projects-forvaranasi/article6573717.ece “The Fabric of India: About the Exhibition” http://www.vam.ac.uk/ content/exhibitions/the-fabric-of-india/ about-the-exhibition/
The Reformation www.thereformation. com Artisans of Fashion http://www. artisansoffashion.com/ Nomadic Thread Society http:// nomadicthreadsociety.com/ Ix sandals http://www.ix-style.com/ Rashmi Varma http://www.rashmivarma. com/ Nor Black Nor White http:// norblacknorwhite.com/ Maxhosa http://www.maxhosa.co.za/ Wales Bonner http://www.walesbonner. net/ Bodice http://www.bodice.co.in/ Fab India http://www.fabindia.com/ Mangorains https://www.instagram. com/mangorains_thelabel Mercado Global http://www. mercadoglobal.org/
Websites
Museum
Brands
Museum Quality Textiles https://www. facebook.com/MuseumQualityTextiles/ International folk art alliance https:// www.facebook.com/folkartalliance/
Hiptipico https://www.hiptipico.com/ Naja http://www.naja.co/ Olivia Dar http://www.oliviadar.com/
NGO SEWA http://www.sewa.org/ Khamir http://www.khamir.org/ Kala Raksha http://www.kala-raksha. org/ Shrujan http://www.shrujan.org/
MET Museum http://www.metmuseum. org/ Fowler Museum http://www.fowler.ucla. edu/ Craft & Folk Art Museum http://www. cafam.org/ Others Fashion Revolution http:// fashionrevolution.org/ Border & Fall http://www.borderandfall. com/ Project Tribe http://www.projecttribe. org/home/ Comptoir Général http://www. lecomptoirgeneral.com/ Art News Africa https://www.facebook. com/ArtNewsAfrica Not Far From https://www.facebook. com/notfarfrom/ Okayafrica http://www.okayafrica.com/ Vogue India http://www.vogue.in/ Indian Trust for Rural Heritage and Development (ITRHD) http://www.itrhd. com/ Social entrepreneurs corps http:// socialentrepreneurcorps.com/ Manou https://wearabout.wordpress. com/ Videos “Cobra gypsies” “The Stuff of Self-confidence Women in the Indian Textile Industry”
“Handcrafted Textiles Come To Life in India | Steven Alan + west elm”
All pictures have been taken by myself except when it is mentionned.