Organisations That Support Women Artisans In India

As per the latest Indian handicrafts census, 56.13 per cent of artisans are women. For a community that accounts for more than half of Indian artisans, one rarely thinks of a woman when they picture an artisan. That said, women continue to carve their path forward with textile and handcraft skills with a helpful community of organisations whose aim is to support women artisans. Here are a few that you can support.

Sadhna

Established in 1988, Sadhna came into existence to provide alternative income sources to women in South Rajasthan. Crafts like Patchwork, Appliqué and Tanka embroidery were introduced to women, to create a strong artisan community of women. Today, Sadhna supports over 600 artisans from rural, tribal and urban poor communities of Udaipur and Rajsamand Districts in Rajasthan and includes numerous clusters within the districts.

Trishul

Trishul is a non-profit that aims at empowering women and girl children through skill development and educational activities. The NGO’s Trishul Women Empowerment Program (TWEP) was established to support less-privileged women from rural areas and urban slums by training and skill development programs and reviving traditional art and handicrafts in the process. Their workshops include hand embroidery, painting methods like Madhubani and Warli, basic stitching, handcrafted jewellery, bags, and hand-painted greeting cards. The organisation is based in Mumbai.

Shrujan

Established by Chanda Shroff in 1969 to lend a helping hand to women in a Kutch village during its fourth year of drought, Shrujan has grown to become a family of over three thousand five hundred craftswomen today. The Shrujan artisan community includes women from 12 different communities across Kutch and Banaskantha, with expertise in different embroidery styles.

Today over three thousand five hundred craftswomen, spread over a hundred and twenty remote villages across Kutch, are part of the Shrujan family.

Happy Threads

The Happy Threads initiative was launched by NGO ‘Supermoms4u’, which works towards women empowerment in 2016. The initiative was inspired by Dr Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin's desire to enable women to use their crafts and skills productively. The initiative enables numerous women in economically challenged situations to gain financial independence through their craft and handiwork skills. The initiative expands its activities across many areas in the country including Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan and more.