Five women entrepreneurs reviving endangered crafts

India's traditional handicrafts are a repository of cultural heritage, and women have been their guardians for centuries. From handlooms to embroideries and painting to quilting, women have played an important role in craft preservation by passing the skills from one generation to the next. 

According to the International Trade Centre, women make up more than 80 percent of the handicraft workforce in India. 

However, over the years, their contribution rarely brought them financial independence or recognition. This is because they lacked direct market access and remained dependent on intermediaries who paid them a pittance while keeping the lion’s share of revenues.

As a result, most artisans stopped practising their crafts, leading to their decline or extinction altogether. 

This narrative of exploitation is now being changed by a clutch of women craft entrepreneurs who are empowering women through training in contemporary designs and providing a fair price and market access. 

These art entrepreneurs are taking regional crafts to a global audience. This has led to a revival of traditional crafts like Khes weaving, Chamba Rumal, Toda embroidery, handloom weaving from various states, metal crafts, pottery and many other art forms. 

Here are five women entrepreneurs who have revived declining or endangered crafts through skill development, market access and fair pricing:

1. Kiran Singh, Khes Weaving, Punjab

Hand-woven Khes (a cotton bedspread), once part of every Punjabi woman’s wedding trousseau, gave way to rough pieces from power looms in the last few decades. Beginning in 2017, Kiran R Singh has revived the craft while empowering rural women through her brand Balwaar. The weavers earn Rs15,000 to Rs20,000 per month. Balwaar has 29 looms. It sells handwoven Khes, durries, embroidered table linen, cushion covers and handcrafted charpoys in India and abroad. 

Here’s her story: From Naval Wives Welfare Association to working with rural women, how Kiran Singh revived Punjab’s traditional hand-woven Khes

2. Sheela Powell, Toda Embroidery, Tamil Nadu

Toda embroidery is the traditional craft practised by women of the Toda tribe residing in the Nilgiris in Tamil Nadu. Toda embroidery motifs are based on nature like animals, insects, birds, flowers, and even architectural designs. Most girls learn the craft from a young age from their mothers.

However, the younger generation lost interest in continuing the embroidery due to a lack of financial returns. Sheela Powell’s enterprise Sholam in Ooty (Udhagamandalam), Tamil Nadu, stepped in to provide them with a platform for sale and to document the tribal embroidery art for eternity. The products are sold online and to tourists.

The story in detail: Toda embroidery: Preserving tribal craft from the Nilgiris stitch by stitch

3. Rubi Rakshit, Muslin Weaving, West Bengal

Rubi is working to revive the craft of muslin weaving. She founded the non-profit MG Gram Udyog Seva Sansthan (MGGSS) in 2010 to work with the weavers in Memari and other villages of the East Burdwan district in West Bengal. 

She has created a complete chain of sustainability. From procuring organic climate-friendly cotton to spinning, weaving and sales, the processes do not require electricity, generate local livelihood and leave a minimal carbon footprint. She has made weavers independent, preserved their craft, and helped them find a market for their products. MGGSS provides sustainable employment to more than 250 families. 

Her story: How this Bengal woman is reviving traditional muslin weaving

4. Pritikana Goswami, Nakshi Kantha Embroidery, West Bengal

Kantha was traditionally done in homes by women in Bengal and Bangladesh who stitched several layers of discarded sarees, dhotis, lungis or rags to make bedspreads, quilts and bags. However, the art was lost in time. An old sample given to Pritikana led her to replicate the stitches and bring back the craft to life by training others. 

From not having the money to buy milk for her baby to the Padma Shri award in 2023, Pritkana Goswami has travelled a journey few can endure. While reviving the long-lost Nakshi Kantha needlework, she has also created livelihood opportunities for women.

Here’s her story: Living in poverty, how Pritikana Goswami revived Nakshi Kantha embroidery

5. Sushmita Kaneri, Revived 13 art forms, Maharashtra

Sushmita Kaneri set up Gullakaari in 2023 to provide sustainable livelihoods to artisans. It has revived 13 art forms across nine states and has created a network of 1000-plus artisans who make eco-friendly functional products in contemporary designs.

Her non-profit Gullakaari provides a platform for artisans to earn a livelihood by selling their products for corporate, personal or bulk gifting. The art forms revived by Gullakaari include Nirmal painting (Telangana), Tholu Bommalata or leather puppetry (Andhra Pradesh), Kavad (Rajasthan), Gond art (Madhya Pradesh), Mat weaving (West Bengal), Miniature painting/Wood carving (Rajasthan), Terracotta art (West Bengal), Exotic candle making (tribal community in Maharashtra) and Chittara (Karnataka).

Read more here: Software engineer revives endangered art forms; annual revenues hit Rs50 lakh in just 2 years

(US Anu is a Madurai-based writer. She specialises in stories around human interest, environment and art and culture.)

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