To help Indian artisans preserve their art and their way of life, MyMela has partnered with non-profit, Asha Handicrafts. Based in Mumbai, Asha was founded in 1975 with the goal of encouraging the sustainable growth of the handicrafts industry in India through Fair Trade practices.

Asha’s mission is two-fold: to provide a market for handicrafts produced by its artisan groups while promoting the economic and social welfare of its artisan communities. Presently, Asha works with more than 1000 artisans living in many different regions of India. These artisans are divided into artist groups based on their particular skills and workplace affiliation.

When Chanda Shroff went on a famine relief mission to the Kutch region of Gujarat state in 1969, the last thing she expected to do was to found a company. Nevertheless, when she arrived she was surprised to discover that in this culturally diverse and geographically arid region, rural women have excelled in the craft of embroidery for generations. Originally created by girls preparing their

dowries, each tribal group in the region had its own particular style of embroidery and lexicon of stitches and motifs. Seeing the hardships of these women and the delicate beauty of the art they created, Chanda and her family were inspired to develop Shrujan as a philanthropic venture to protect and preserve this craft while empowering the women who practiced it.

Chanda Shroff started by giving raw materials like thread and fabric to women embroiderers, encouraging them to create their own pieces and promising them a market for their products. To help raise money for the new company, the women made a series of beautifully embroidered saris for Chanda Schroff to auction off in Mumbai. All of the profits were then reinvested into Shrujan so it could begin to grow – and grow it did. Shrujan gradually spread to more villages and came to represent a multitude of distinct tribal groups producing many different products in a variety of embroidery styles.

In 2006, Shroff became a laureate of the renowned Rolex Awards for Enterprise, having been recognized as an enterprising individual on a global level. Even today, along with overseeing the operations of Shrujan, she still visits the homes of her women embroiderers, inquiring about their families, their lives and advising them on their designs and techniques. At 78 years old, Shroff seems to have more energy than a sprightly teenager and it doesn’t look like she’s ready to hang up her boots just yet.

Shrujan itself is just as sprightly as its founder, always looking to learn, grow and offer a helping hand in any way that it can. Today, Shrujan works with 16 different styles of embroidery done by 3,500 women across 100 villages located in and around the Kutch desert. Shroff’s efforts and dedication to the cause of preserving Kutchi embroidery has resulted in the financial emancipation of many women. Shrujan’s women embroiderers are now able to contribute to their family’s income, while sharing with the world a craft that was previously known only in this remote, arid part of the country.

Nestled amongst the foothills of the Himalayas in northern India, lies Kumaon, one of the most beautiful and untouched regions of the country. According to Hindu mythology, Lord Shiva called these mountains home and it is therefore a spiritual center for pilgrims and visitors. Here, at the base of the towering mountain range called Panchachuli, or ‘five brothers,’ live the village women who have banded together to form the cooperative known as Panchachuli Women Weavers. Here they manufacture and market beautiful pashmina and lambswool scarves and stoles made from the highly prized wool of Tibetan goats.

The goal of the cooperative is to facilitate the economic and social independence of the women of this region using the traditional arts of weaving and knitting. Women who once spent their days in back-breaking menial tasks, like collecting firewood and herding livestock, can now earn a living through skilled labor and thus elevate their position in their families and in the larger community.

Instrumental in the development of this cooperative has been Mukti Datta, a visionary activist of mixed Indian and Belgian parentage who grew up in these mountainous forests. As a young woman, Mukti helped mobilize local villagers against the degradation of the forest environment caused by poachers, timber companies and ineffective government policies. Through their efforts a large portion of the Kumaon foothills was declared a protected wildlife preserve in 1988.

As she grew to know the local people of this area, Mukti began to envision a different life for the women; one in which they were given the respect due them and could participate fully in community decisions that influenced their lives. A chance meeting with Kunthi Martiola, a female master weaver from the nomadic Bhotia tribe, gave Mukti the opportunity for which she was searching. With Kunthi’s help she founded Panchachuli Women Weavers in 1990, offering spinning, weaving and knitting workshops to revive traditional skills that had fallen into disuse.

However, it was not until 1995, when relations between India and China improved, that Mukti could obtain a steady supply of the coveted wool from Tibetan goats from which pashmina, or cashmere, is spun. This supremely fine and soft wool comes from the throat and stomach hair of pashmina goats that are raised in the high plateaus of Tibet. Protected by their thick coats, the goats are able to survive the freezing temperatures of the Himalayan winters. When spring comes, their coats shed and the fine pashmina hair is combed out and collected by nomadic shepherds. Since clothing made from pashmina is highly prized around the world for its soft and lightweight warmth, the women weavers of Panchachuli saw pashmina as the key to making their beautiful wool products truly exceptional. So in 1995, Mukti and two other adventurous young women made the 300 mile trek over the high Himalayan passes from India into Tibet and secured their first consignment of 1000 lbs of pashmina wool from the nomads. Since then, they have access to a regular supply of pashmina during the summer months when the mountain passes are open. Working all year round, the women prepare the wool by cleaning, carding, spinning and dyeing it in preparation for being woven or knitted into exquisite scarves, stoles and other winter accessories.

In the southernmost tip of the state of Maharashtra lies the kingdom of Sawantwadi. Flanked by the erstwhile Portugese colony of Goa to the west and the state of Karnataka to the south, Sawantwadi is the only remaining place in India where the art of ganjifa painting is still practiced. Ganjifa and related decorative arts practiced in Sawantwadi are a true expression of the successful blending of cultures and traditions that characterizes this diverse region of the country.

The word ganjifa comes from the ancient Persian word ganjifeh and refers to the round playing cards used in card games by the Mughal emperors who first invaded India in the 16th century. For the next 300 years ganjifa card games were popular with kings and courtiers as well as among the general populace. The original Persian card game was quickly adapted to Hindu mythology and came to be played with a pack of 96 cards with ten suits representing the ten reincarnations of the god Vishnu.

It is thought that the art form of hand painting the round ganjifa playing cards originated in east central India in what now comprises the states of West Bengal, Orissa and Andhra Pradesh. How then, did it flourish in Sawantwadi? The story of ganjifa painting is intimately connected with the story of the royal family that has ruled Sawantwadi since the 1600’s. During the 17th and 18th centuries, Brahmin scholars would travel from the east to the Kingdom of Sawantwadi where the ruling family, the Bhonsles, were themselves authorities on the ancient Hindu texts and regularly hosted visiting scholars. It is likely that the craft of hand painted lacquerware was introduced to the kingdom by these visitors during this time. During this same period, painters from Goa were brought to Sawantwadi, presumably to learn the ganjifa technique, and they brought with them their own style of painting which incorporated floral motifs reminiscent of the decorative arts of Portugal and Spain. The happy marriage of these techniques and styles, encouraged by the patronage of the royal family, resulted in a flourishing community of artisans whose products, from ganjifa cards to home décor items, were in demand throughout the country.

Trained in workshops and schools founded by the Bhonsles, lacquerware artists developed three distinct styles: Chitrakatha paintings depicting human figures engaged in various activities; temple paintings featuring Hindu gods and goddesses, usually seated in contemplation; and Ganjifa paintings that tell the stories of the ten incarnations of Lord Vishnu on round playing cards. Vivid hues of orange, red or black traditionally form the base colors and the attention given to precision in the decorative motifs of authentic pieces is extraordinary. Items exclusively decorated with colorful floral motifs in the Portugese manner form a charming and unique style of their own.

As is often the case with a widely popular line, lacquerware artisan groups continued to innovate both in terms of style and objects in response to an intensely competitive environment. Over time this resulted in a degradation of the traditional technique so that by the early decades of the 20th century, lacquerware workshops were producing cheap toys, wooden fruit and other inexpensive and poorly made items. Only a handful of skilled ganjifa painters remained.