In the early 2000s, Rangsutra, an artisan-owned craft company known for creating handmade products for brands like Fabindia, IKEA, and other global retailers, was established when 1,000 artisans contributed Rs 1,000 each to be part of a brand whose core mission is to uplift rural artisans by connecting them to global markets.
Developing the clusters took time—in Kashmir, it took three years; in Hardoi it took five. The artisans develop their own colours and weave their own cotton – rarely do they outsource it. Following its exhibition at Triveni Kala Sangam, Rangsutra brought ‘Crafting Change – Apni Kala, Apni Awaaz', supported by HCL Foundation, to The Kunj, a space that brings together craft, Indian heritage, and contemporary design within a premium retail and cultural environment. Now in its final leg and set to conclude over the next few days, the ongoing showcase has created an immersive platform for conversations around craft, sustainability, design, and the future of handmade traditions.
The initiative has focused on creating a participatory and experiential engagement with craft through workshops, discussions, artisan interactions, and curated displays.
At Kunj, the best of the works were on display – a white cotton kurta with Chikankari weaving of Gujarat motifs, checkered shirts, part of an experimental collection, bags, wall hangings and cushion covers. The cotton is breathable and the design contemporary.
On the occasion, Mr William N. Bissell, Managing Director, Fabindia, said, “The values at Rangsutra epitomise those of working with craft communities in a fair and equitable manner, helping them develop their skills, and giving them access to markets, orders, designs, and raw materials. This is the core of what Fabindia was created to do.”
Rangsutra outsources yarn as raw material; the fabric is woven by the artisans, followed by the embroidery. The weaving and handwork happens at the village clusters. For every village cluster there is a production hub, where the material comes in and is distributed accordingly as per capacity and planning. Richa from the Rangsutra team members say that almost every artisan of each cluster is a shareholder in the company. "Sumita Ghose, for example, often says that she has co-founded the organisation with the 1,000 other artisans," says one of them.
Dariya Bai, a young woman in her 20s, has been practising the craft for the past eight years in Pugal, a remote village near Bikaner. Like her mother, she says that she also wants to continue with the brand forever. The women of Pugal carry the scar of migration during the 1971 war and the economic uncertainty that came with it.
Similarly in Barmer, Srinagar, Chhattisgarh, and several other states, these women artisans have transformed their traditional art into tools of economic independence and cultural preservation.