Hand Crafts have played a stunning role in shaping India’s culture. Hand crafts are more than just crafts. The artisan makes something by hand, yes, but puts his heart and a little bit of his soul into what he creates.
We then go on to form an immutable connection with these crafted weaves, prints and embroideries— as they silently inform our sensibilities and our choices. They get so intricately woven into the warp and weft of our everyday lives that we perhaps don’t even notice how they form our everyday choices and sacred symbols. Hand crafts are in your Ikat upholstered chair, the Chanderi curtains that blow gently in the wind, in the Rajasthani Kambhari piece hanging from your wall and even in that scalloped aari work dupatta you bring out only for special occasions.
Artisans have helped keep alive expressions of this intangible cultural heritage we resonate so strongly with. They represent a living breathing continual entity of traditions, technologies and vidya, which have survived the sands of time, sometimes spanning centuries!
For instance, Kantha is a centuries old art form of Bengal. It can be traced back to the pre-Vedic age (1500 B.C!). The art of stitching patchwork from rags or weaving them together with a simple running stitch, originated when poor women in rural Bengal wanted to renew old garments or quilts.
Over time, this generational artistry has evolved to tell intricate stories, folklore or snippets of history —rendering each finished piece an exclusive and eternal statement by an artisan. Deriving its name from the Sanskrit word for rags ‘Kontha’, what was once a means to renew old clothes, Kantha today is considered an exquisite range in the world of fashion.
Hand crafts – Surviving decades of neglect
Hand Crafts were once quite the champion in the story of Indian economy. In 1750, for instance, India supplied around a quarter of the world’s production of manufactured goods- which were largely confined to handicrafts. According to research quoted by S. Sivasubramanian in Income from the secondary Sector in India, even in 1947, eighty per cent of the workforce connected with the manufacturing activity, were employed in the handicraft sector.
As time passed, industrialization took over. Mass-produced machine-made goods pushed aside the artisans, who could not compete with these well-organized industrial units. Though the skills persisted silently, being handed down from one generation to the next, for a precarious time in the middle, many of these heritage handicrafts were hanging by a slender thread holding on for dear life. As the children of artisans migrated to cities to earn livelihoods, there were no more willing students left behind, sending several art forms, techniques and skills into oblivion. Lost forever.
A new age dawned - only to be interrupted by the pandemic The past several years have seen a push from the right quarters to revive the handicraft and handloom industries in India. Attempts by government bodies, private stakeholders and non-profit organizations alike have been to integrate these disorganized artisan clusters into the mainstream textile sector. The artisans though still not affluent, were finally beginning to merge into the worlds rhythm of demand, manufacturing, crafts fairs and working with cooperatives. Before the pandemic hit, the production of hand-woven fabric from India constituted 95 per cent of global production. (https://www.ibef.org/exports/handloom-industry-india.aspx).
The export of handloom products from India was valued at US$ 343.69 million in FY2018-19. In FY20 (till November 2019), the exports stood at US$ 226.05 million. The sudden impact of the pandemic pulled the rug from underneath their feet again. This made apparent the cracks in the current model and the need to build a more sustainable approach to nurture a community left largely neglected for over 50 years. In a short few week, the demand waned, the movement stopped, the crafts fairs dried up, and the money stopped. The artisans are back to struggling for their two meals a day. The sector that is the second-largest employment provider for the rural population of India, with over 4.3 million people involved in the production, came to a complete stand-still.
Certainly, a more sustainable approach is the need of the hour. Sustainable models require a deep shift in consumer behaviour Despite the sector’s potential and growing global outreach, consumption from the home markets continues to be staggered. There are limited takers from the large familiar customer base that exists at the doors of these handicraftsmen.
The new age Indian consumer is aware, conscientious, woke, sustainability-inclined, buys local, carbon-footprint conscious—then where is the lacuna? Fact is, there are multiple brands with ethnic, Indian, Swadesi flavours which are finding loyal patronage owing to high-visibility. Evidently a respect for the finesse and uniqueness of the hand spun and handcrafted already exists.
But are the fair wages, love and recognition reaching the artisans in Sitapur, or Chak or Bhuj? Is the shared higher response resulting in regular guaranteed wages, higher motivation, better healthcare and improved education systems for these communities? What do we need? Firstly, a new model that bridges the gap between the artisans and the consumers’ needs to be built, nurtured and strengthened. This is of utmost importance. Secondly, for those still lured by fast fashion, it is time to re-think our response.
Our behaviour as individual consumers leave an impact on the environment. Not only is the time ripe to want better, it is also imminent now to direct energies towards building new lifestyle choices. When the Indian consumers change the way they buy, there will be an expanding consumer base that makes greener choices, builds sustainable demands and supports local. The possibilities are limitless if we douse the intense potential of our artisan clusters with the intent to choose responsibly.