Methodology Followed

India is a diverse country so as Indian Crafts are. Each craft has its own story, it has followed its own journey. There are different cultures ,traditions and religions are associated with each craft. Also the craft of each state in India reflect the influence of different empires. Initially we had a lot of questions about how this crafts were born, how they are serving their purposes, what was its history, how these crafts flourished and many more. To understand the richness of craft wisdom we started with jotting down nuances of Indian crafts. To validate this understanding we started digging into different resources available on internet. But to get real life insights, we went on field visits, where we met different craft clusters, experts in the craft sectors and institutes which are working for betterment of Indian crafts. Following is an overview of a research methodology we followed for understanding Indian crafts.


The Big Research question

  • What are the different elements of craft industries which helps to function from year after year and how they are interrelated with each other.

  • What are the different challenges of the craft industries in today's context which hinders the craft industries to grow from micro to macro scope.

  • How different components are fulfilling their role play in a entire system.

Initial Phase: Brain storming exercise

OBJECTIVE:

Putting all the previous knowledge and understanding about the topic on the table to have a collective data to kick start putting the pieces together.

METHOD:

    • Entire class dumped words and ideas associated that came to mind within our knowledge related to craft.

    • One day session of the exercise carried out followed by moving forward to secondary research to have a clearer picture.

The Secondary Research

METHOD:

    • A list of published research papers on various subjects related to craft were collected.

    • Multiple research papers were assigned for reading by every individual in the class. A list was created for keeping note of which paper was read by which individual for our reference.

Coming up with Keywords

OBJECTIVE:

Keywords generation from the research paper

METHOD:

    • An excel sheet was created with individual column representing various sectors related to craft.

    • Keywords were created by every member from the contents based on the research paper. To better convey the ideas through keywords, a separate team was created to work on it while others continued to read papers and added points in the sheet.


The use of Miro Software

OBJECTIVE:

Use of a software tool for efficient keyword segregation and to leverage the ability to collaboratively working on the software simultaneously.

Keywords were transferred to Miro software by a team.

The keywords were categorized into clusters by a team. New keywords were added to the respective cluster.

Conducting Interviews

OBJECTIVE:

To conduct interviews of multiple stakeholders for better insights and understanding of different point of views on the subject to frame a complete picture.

METHOD:

    • All 16 were teamed up to do research, add keywords, to pull up the contacts of the stakeholders and to contact them for interviews.

1. Preparation of list of possible interviewees: A google sheet was prepared with categories of the people under various stakeholders

2. Questionnaires were prepared for the interview specifically after studying the background of the interviewees and framing right questions for efficient data gathering.

3. Contacts were gathered and interview was set by a group of two to three people per interviewee.

4. Transcripts of interview created and documented for reference.

5. Further keywords were derived from the interviewed transcript and added to Miro software clusters that were in progress on the side.

Site Visits

METHOD:

Alongside, site visits to nearby craft fairs, organisations, museums, etc were conducted for Interviewing other stakeholders involved for a better understanding of the system.

Secondary Research question

  1. How is the definition of craft defined world wide?

Knowing about Craft in Indian context ?

  1. What is craft ?

  2. What does craft mean to India ?

  3. Craft then and now?

  4. What are the different way of categorising Crafts in India ?

  5. Role of gender in craft making ?

  6. What are the seasonal craft?What is the ecosystem around it ?

  7. How Ministry of India see the craft industries in present context ?

  8. What craft means today to urban and rural Indian ?

  9. What are the External influences on the Indian craft sector ?

  10. New definition of craft for new India -future of craft?

Knowing about the craftsman and other stack holders ?

  1. Who is a craftsman ? is it different from artisan ?issue Faced by craftsman

  2. How you will define master craftsman ? Who qualifies to give this designation ?

  3. Who are the stack holder beyond the craftsman? what are their role play in craft industries.

  4. What are the issues and challenges between the stakeholders?

  5. Which institutes and organisations support the craft?

What encourages the craft sector ?

  1. Why is it important to preserve the craft?

  2. Idle Instruments- Why?

  3. What are the features that differentiates one craft from another? What are the intention behind each craft?

  4. How to encourage Interaction and collaboration among the craft communities?

  5. Who is funding the crafts?

What are the new challenges faced in 2020?

  1. What are the issues faced by craftsmen in this era?

  2. What hindered the artisans desire to remain in sector?

Who encourages the craft ?how it is been encourages strategically different levels?

What is the Role of designer in craft sector ?

  1. What are the opportunity in craft sector for designer?

What are the schemes available that support artisans?

  1. What are the criteria to avail the schemes?

  2. What is the criteria for certification and quality check?

System Mapping

OBJECTIVE:

To study, understand and map out the relationship between the various stakeholders involved in the craft and the kind of effect one has on the other in the current context.

METHOD:

  • Multiple drafts of relationship charts were made to map out the system

  • After much multiple variations of the mapping, the final system mapping was done in Miro software.

  • The class was divided into different teams for various deliverable such as System map, Cue card for documenting questionnaire, Video presentation, Graphic representation and research paper documentation.

  1. Opportunity Listing with the help of the gigamap - gaps in the relationships.

Reviews

OBJECTIVE:

To get a feedback on the work status, ways of improvement and new and different perspectives of approaching the system studies and areas of intervention.

Guest review personalities include:

  • Mid-review of the system mapping by Gayathri menon.

  • Final review on the updated presentation by RamakrishnaRao.