Objects of use. Objects of livelihood. Objects that are an extension of the human creativity. Objects that we call crafts.

Crafts are universal, an integral part of the human creativity and an idea that has shared a close relationship with the humankind. Craft is essentially applied creativity. It’s the process of turning the spark of an idea into something tangible and beautiful using your own hands, skills, aesthetic, and vision. It's a physical manifestation of thought, ideas, skills and culture.

The idea of craft as we fundamentally understand it is as an approach to production and a category of object that's provided livelihoods and supported many millions in India and abroad. The craft era that many considered history is now at the midst of a resurgence. Today, the idea of indigenous craft practices have re-emerged in the middle of a globalised, hyper-consumerist digital world. In a society that wants to re-evaluate its values, its purchasing patterns and look back at its disappearing cultural roots.

The theme of our system design project is craft perception. It's an apt topic that can be broken down and studied under the lense of systems thinking. We had a macro understanding of all our stakeholders and set the premise of our study around the urban user. And our big question: How do we change the perception of craft in an urban consumer?

We were keen to re-define, re-evaluate and re-look at the traditional means of craft consumption and craft experiences. We saw immense potential in bringing the craft process and the art of making to the forefront, giving it and its maker the much deserved acknowledgement and recognition. We saw the potential of craft as a medium to inculcate human values that we believed were necessary in a modern-day society. The project involved reinforcing the modern-day relevance of the many incredible indigenous practices and repackaging the concept of Indian craft.

Kalactive has been a journey of understanding the various aspects of craft and its perception in the Indian craft market. During the course of the project we built an understanding of craft values and purpose, studied the relevance and current market value of craft, and concluded with a design solution that aims to uplift the overall perception of craft.

Our project has focused on 5 key aspects of craft: The practice, the values, the maker, the user and the perception of craft.

India's craft sector occupies a viable socio-economic space within the country's developmental framework and possesses an enormous potential for employment generation, growth and wealth creation. The sector has the potential of stemming the rural to urban migration with a potential of creating a rural ecosystem of self sustainable economy. The craft sector in India is the second largest employment generator in India after agriculture. India being a tropical country offers a diverse range of resources spread across the country. Its climate, biodiversity and multiple cultural practices varies across the nation from east to west, north to south. Various crafts and craft techniques differ from one another and are informed by the different cultures, community and environment, making each craft unique to its region and people associated to it. Craft creation process undertakes use of simple tools and the raw materials available in the environment nearby. There are a number of concerns in the attempt to organise the sector for a 360 degree round development, from improving different areas concerning the craft's value chain to the craftsmen’s socio-economic condition.

One such concern is the craft production being seasonal and irregular in nature rendering the craftsmen out of work for a certain time being. The production being seasonal can owe to seasonality of the raw materials used, seasonality of the demand of the craft(festivals and ritualistic) or the reliance of the production process on certain feasible climatic conditions.

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A brief:

Handicraft in the present, has lost many of its utilitarian aspects and has been reduced to more of an aesthetic product, due to various reasons.

In India, post Independence, handicrafts had been given the ‘piggy’ status, presumed to be riding on the back of Tourism by producing goods for the souvenir industry; where as the same Tourism sector can become the most approachable medium to cater to a larger audience, and show a newer perspective of handicrafts.

About the project:

The project looks at the major elements of current tourism practices in India, and involvement of Handicrafts in the same through various channels.

By a brief research on craft experience providers, craftspeople, tourism managers, etc.), the project expands into a simple yet an effective design intervention on Craft Tourism, that focuses on uplifting the perception of Handicrafts in the existing Tourism sector.

It provides the tourists(or Guests, as we like to call them) with a participatory experience with the indigenous crafts.

The goal of the project outcome is to: induce awareness on the responsible and sustainable aspects of the craft making process, as well as its influence on the 'way of living'.

The team members had their primary focus on contributing to the craft sector, but also tried to bring in Empathy and Responsibility, towards: ourselves, people around us, and the environment.

Kala Safari

Kala Safari is a service model that brings the users a wholesome tour of certain identified regions of Indian handicrafts.

The initial service opens doors to the unseen tribes, locations and natural fiber handicrafts of Assam.

Why ASSAM?

Most of the regions in India are known for their cultural and traditional diversity, strong ethnicity and coherence with the surrounding geographical elements.

Assam is a state well known for its high quantity production of Natural Fibers and is still seen as a 'hidden gem' (as a part of the unraveled north eastern region of India), which has major regions, yet to be influenced by modern technology and trends.Thus, bringing out the traditional and tribal ways of living as a sustainable life and experiencing the presence of handicrafts in this process is something worth acknowledging.

Craft practice gives body exercise, it helps mental and physical health together, keeps the body active and fit. But sometimes it creates health issues as well. Through the research we got to know about some health issues regarding the craft practice. Some of those are common issues for various crafts and some of those are very specific problems raised by the particular craft practice. We found one very serious health issue in the craft practices which is Sandstone carving craft artisans got affected by the Silicosis disease.

In this craft Sandstone is the main material to be used,During the carving, cutting or drilling the sandstone it produces the dust particles which are called silica dust. While working on sandstone silica dust goes in the body. When silica dust enters the lungs, it causes inflammation which over time leads to the development of scar tissue that makes breathing difficult. After the 10 - 15 years of the practicing sandstone craft it becomes the Silicosis disease which has not the solution but it is preventable.

We are addressing this issue as a study of system design project, and taking Dhrangadhra village’s Sandstone craft as a case study. During field visit we got some insights which provided us as an opportunity area. Dhrangadhra village has a history and the tradition of the Sandstone craft. For many years people have been practicing the sandstone craft here, also stone mining happens in the nearby area of Dhrangadhra village. These all activities produce the silica dust and spreads in the air also some amount of silica includes in the ground. It goes in the body through the inhaling and drinking water of the ground.

We are Building the solution as a Health care service called ‘Shwas’, with the vision of making the environment healthy by stopping the dust particles to inhale at Stone industries, Mining industries and stone craft work places. Encourage the local people to come together and make our air better to live in. it includes the various products, policies and social involvement programs.