Yearly, KRV educates 30 artisans of Kutch, India- many non-literate women, in design. The course is practical and relevant. Graduates are confident and capable to successfully reach new markets.
KRV addresses the low education and income levels, subsidy dependency, and loss of aesthetic vibrancy among traditional artisans of Kutch, India. KRV challenges the unsatisfactory solution of factory-model craft production. Providing design education and opportunities for problem solving and decision making enables artisans to find their strength and use their creativity. Being an artist becomes the best choice rather than the last resort.
We run a design school for traditional artisans, teaching the content of urban institutes in local language and culture. On graduating, one weaver Dayalal said, “The fears we had of the survival of our craft in the industrial marketplace are gone.”
The project serves all artisans of Kutch, up to 50,000. It restores the artisan’s ability to create effectively and reach the market directly. Thus traditional craft becomes genuinely sustainable, and social status and income are raised.
This project has provided additional documentation in a PDF file (projdoc.pdf).
