Some examples of such member-driven explorations are :

In 2021, CD pioneered Craft-based NFTs!

Our member, Ekibeki spearheaded a collaborative art project ‘Hand in Hand’ where contemporary painters worked alongside traditional artisans to create pieces that told a story of the strength of our culture. The entire collaboration was nurtured remotely during the pandemic and is a testament to the creative synergies of these artists, separated by geographies but connected with art!

FDCI and Lakmé Fashion Week then partnered with Creative Dignity and Ekibeki, to convert these pieces into artisanal NFTs that were launched on WazirX NFT, a NFT marketplace.

Goddess of the Sea : Rupsona Chitrakar X Deepti Nair

Lockdown Dreams : Dulari Devi X Ayesha Brocha

Goonj : Choti Tekam X Farhat Datta

Jugalbandi : Choti Tekam X Farhat Datta

23 Steps To Divinity : Thilak Reddy X Uttara Joshi

Stitching a Kantha collaboration together!

In 2023, Sonia Parshad Bhanndari, a CD member who is also part of the Advisory Council, agreed to experiment with the Kantha embroidery of West Bengal in a methodology that would enable excellence, art and new utility through collaborative innovation with artisans, designers, researchers and many other creative practitioners! Her company, Padmini VNA is supporting the project. 

Indian Ceramics Triennale, 2024

In 2023, Priya Krishnamurthy of 200 Million Artisans approached CD to represent traditional potters at the Indian Ceramics Triennale. CD engaged Raju Sutar and Rajesh Kulkarni to curate the installation that makes a statement about the divisions of art and craft, the resilience and dynamism of traditional handmade practices. The curators have worked with potters in the Kutch and Warak clusters to work on better clay mixes and firing techniques and to tell their story in an evocative installation – Lost & Found. 

“Potters in Kutch and Warak have a thriving local and tourist market, despite the alternatives. The question is how long the practice will continue to sustain unless potters get enough value and work in the craft. In times of challenges with raw materials and markets, opportunities to innovate are few and need to be actively enabled. Lost and Found has been one such experiment.”

– Meera Goradia

The Triennale is open from 19th January 2024 to 31st March 2024 at Arthshila, New Delhi. 

The Lost & Found installation curated by Rajesh Kulkarni and Raju Sutar

The experimental process of Lost & Found

Scenes from the Kutch cluster

Scenes from the Warak cluster

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Consistent data on the strength of the sector, the demographics, range of practices, nature of employment etc is crucial for advocacy and policy discussions. Similarly directories with artisan profiles and portfolios of work can open-up new market connections for these makers, a directory of market places, showcase opportunities, etc help the makers proactively create their economic spaces. Live databases of events and opportunities in the sector make connecting people with culture easier and make the sector accessible.

The CD artisan directory is our effort to showcase profiles of various craft practitioners in the country and connect them directly with the new age audiences, the What’s on section here shares exciting happenings in the sector, our efforts to build databases of offline and online marketplaces aims to connect economies in the sector!

In the spirit of open source collaborativeness, CD will continue to build relevant databases for the sector ranging from listing verified ecosystem stakeholders to resources relevant for the sector facilitated with active connections and information access. Watch this space, and let’s build these data banks together!

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Since 2020, the CD network has attempted to create markets in new spaces for creative enterprises spanning digital platforms, campaigns, collective branding, nurturing diverse buyers, aggregating and curating corporate orders, and curating new forms of showcases. All of these have been through multifarious collaborations and partners across the ecosystem.

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Covid-relief Impact : 

INR 1.50 CR was disbursed for food and medical relief.

13,070 artisan families supported through relief and awareness material.

As the pandemic abated and there was a new normal, it was felt that creative enterprises and creative producers have always been coping with sudden setbacks like illness, or social obligations that eat into working capital or lack access to a small fund for developing new collections. Subsequently, CD continued the relief fund but linked recovery with it. 

The CD Craft Care Relief and Recovery Fund is supported by philanthropists, CD members and a carry forward of the funds collected during covid. Its mandate is to respond quickly to a crisis or an impediment that affects recovery or progress. These are often very small tickets. This Fund is structured to disperse amounts that range from Rs.5000 – Rs.50,000 as the cap. A creative producer, enterprise or organization can apply with their need, which could be any of the below:

1. A sudden illness or hospitalization.
2. A setback in the business due to natural disasters, or order cancellation.
3. Upgradation of workshed, tools and equipment.
4. A grant for developing a new collection.
5. A market risk that the entrepreneur/producer/organization would like to take.
6. Any other related factor to be considered case to case.

The SOP is simple. The application has to be recommended and verified by any 1-2 CD members and photographs, audio messages or documents of the problem need to be uploaded. A distress committee composed of CD members takes a decision within 7 days after which the dispersal is done. Post the usage of the fund, photographs of the completed result need to be uploaded again. 

Craft Care Impact : 

INR 7 Lacs was disbursed for Craft Care.

150 artisan families supported through the fund.

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Markets have been shifting since Covid. There is an increase in awareness about handmade and traceable products as well as a mandate for global retailers to shift to more carbon efficient supply chains.

The handmade sector is challenged at the supply chain level due to uncertainty of raw materials, economies of scale and self-organized supply chains. The diversity of the sector demands customization and aggregation rather than replication. Suitable models for this need to be developed. 

There is a need for the next generation of artisan entrepreneurs to understand these shifts, prepare for the new market demands, upgrade skills, and develop responsible benchmarks of practice both as entrepreneurs and at the cluster level. This will enable employment in the rural economy and position the handmade sector as part of a regenerative economy. 

With (CEL Creative Enterprise Lab) program , CD as a network, is building a nimble entrepreneurship development program accessible across India through its partners and members that addresses key areas like digital marketing, design, entrepreneurship, supply chain management, value addition and infrastructure. This will be supported by mentorship and market access. The program will comprise a series of related training modules and value addition at the cluster level along with appropriate capital and market access.

Stay tuned to know more about the journeys of these artisan enterprises with CD and beyond!

1. Reach artisan entrepreneurs of textile and non-textile handmade practices who need new skills for growing their enterprises. 

2. Skilling the artisan entrepreneurs in various skills for better efficiency and scaling of the enterprise

3. Develop a systematic methodology of enterprise development that artisan entrepreneurs can access across India.

4. Strengthening non-farm opportunities for sustainable employment in rural economies. Farming is seasonal and it is critical for families to find other means of employment. 

5. Enhancing traditional skills and knowledge with new technologies. 

6. Create appropriate and sustainable market access for artisan entrepreneurs.

7. Increase in perceived value of production will lead to increase in income levels over a defined period.

8. Develop open source resources, modules and methodologies of working towards development of creative enterprises, for the sector to adopt and adapt.

May 2023 onwards the CEL
connected with 318 new artisans through artisan outreach activities.

trained 89 last mile artisans and 70 artisan entrepreneurs through 10+ workshops.

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Any change in the ecology can have a profound impact on the largely rural handmade sector as well as the region’s socio-cultural-economic ecosystems. Unmitigated climate change and fragile biodiversity are growing concerns particularly as its effects are unequal and disproportionately impact the vulnerable

The Indian handmade sector achieves at least 10 of the 17 SDGs, including responsible consumption and production, gender equality and climate action. Creative Dignity believes that the next challenge to address is the climate crisis. The alarmingly quick progress of the climate crisis calls for a network of localized and community action. Traditional handmade practices and their creative producers can play a role in promoting local know-how, developing locally sustainable solutions, fostering resilience, and addressing climate change at ground zero.

CD’s CraftXClimate initiative shows how craft practices today can be positioned as models that serve to mitigate the impact of the climate crisis. Through this initiative we would like to bring to light the practices that have been sustainable in the past, the changes that have occurred and the solutions that creative producers, experts and practitioners are working on to mitigate climate crises.

CraftXClimate is based on research and interviews with artisans, groups and enterprises. The initiative has begun with a series of dialogues and masterclasses

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