meet the
artisans

For nearly 23 million artisans in India, handicraft has
not merely been a livelihood, it has been life itself.

Through age-old practices rural craftspeople have been telling stories about their day-to-day lives, their hopes and their history. Sadly, every few years many of the country’s artisans abandon the crafts that have been central to their lives, in search of more lucrative employment.

At matsya, we aim not only to keep these waning traditions alive, but to breathe new life into the work of rural artisans.

Our efforts at present are focused in the Kutch region of Gujarat, India, where we’ve partnered with various NGOs. Together, we work closely with nearly 2000 women (across 112 villages) engaged in such crafts as embroidery, patchwork and more. We are also working with artisans creating tribal folk paintings across Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal.

Our work with artisans involves organizing training programs, through which we introduce them to modern production standards and contemporary design aesthetics, identifying buyers and markets for the products created and creating or identifying platforms where the artisans, their work and their stories can be featured.

For further information e-mail us at matsyacrafts@gmail.com

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