Megha Das

Mahatma Gandhi said - "A country remains poor in wealth both materially and intellectually if it does not develop its handicrafts and its industries. It lives a lazy parasitic life by importing all the manufactured articles from outside ".

Amounee, aims to finally realize this ideal for our artisans by providing them with a digital platform to interact with buyers directly, eliminating middlemen entirely, hence empowering them.

The primary objective is to connect artisans directly to the urban market via a digital platform where nationwide clients can conveniently establish communication and business with the rural artisans.

These Artists get remunerated fairly with no middlemen to manipulate prices. City dwelling urban Indians get access to 100% authentic handcrafted products emerging straight from the heart of India. All taking place in the comfort of their living rooms.

Kirti Goel

P-TAL aims at reviving the dying craft form of the indigenous Thatheras community of Jandiala Guru, Amritsar.

The Thatheras of Jandiala Guru are a community of skilled craftsmen who specialize in the traditional technique of making hand crafted brass,copper and bell metal utensils by hammering metal sheets. This unique craft of the Thatheras of Jandiala Guru in Amritsar is the first craft of India to be inscribed in the UNESCO 's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2014. As time passed, due to the onset of changing culture and modernised tastes, the Thatheras lost their stature.

Like the Thatheras, P-TAL is an epitome of making tradition a trend, preserving legacy through legal entity converting practice into perfection thus moulding the vessels of hope!

The primary aim is to revive and resuscitate the traditional Thathiar craft of hammering brass and copper into utensils.

With this aim in mind, the team adopted a dual-faceted approach of developing aesthetic products for niche markets, and utility based products for the mass markets. The intent is to develop products which are pleasing to the eyes, and at the same time have utility for consumers, and with this, p-tal plans to venture into different genres of products, such as home decor, cutlery, furniture, etc.

For making the craft sustainable, their long term goal is to involve the next generation of the community in this craft, by showing them the lucrativeness of the craft and its immense untapped potential in the domestic as well as international market.

Kailash Tulsi Gajara

Megastore is an online marketplace, a platform where the customers can search from a plethora of available options. They specialize in authentic handicraft products where artisans and producers can sell directly to customers. Megastores have come up with some incredible initiative to step into the leading e-commerce market. Being customer-centric they have developed a platform for encouraging and empowering our producers and customers. It has provided customers with a feature where they can shop directly from the craftsmen.

The team has come up with some of the new categories of products in the e-commerce industry. Handicrafts have the essence of our country craftsmen's hard work and talent. Megastores present craftsmen with exposure and opportunity to grow their business and stand out in the global market. The consumers also can access the stories behind every artisan's struggle and their inspiring life histories.

Hitesh, Omkar and Abha

Desi Hangover is a brand which positions itself as an

'When you walk out of our store, you don't walk out with just a shoe, but a story. A story that goes well beyond "Ethically Sourced Upcycled Leather". A story that makes its way to one of the most industrious corners of the country - KOLHAPUR', says Hitesh, the founder of Desi Hangover.

Kolhapur is a village of traditional artisan cobblers who had lost their livelihood to the mass production revolution. 20,000+ families of rural cobbler communities in the district of Kolhapur and Belgaum are facing the possibility of extinction due to their inability to adapt to the changing times and reach the right market for their craft, pushing several of them to end their lives or migrate to nearby towns and settle for meagre jobs. Desi Hangover is solving the issue by developing a modern ecosystem through infusion of technology, skilling , and providing access to world-class resources.

Every DesiHangover shoe creates new opportunities, new hope and HELPS THIS COMMUNITY STITCH TOGETHER A WHOLE NEW LIFE

Abhishek Pathak

Greenwear presents a new age of sustainable fashion which follows the concept of Khadi (household-based production), which is powered by renewable energy resources to create high-quality affordable textiles and garments. The goal is zero defects in products and zero emissions required in the production process. By being present throughout the supply chain of their offered products to ensure the highest quality to their customers, while at the same time directly benefiting the livelihood of their employees through increased financial security and stability.

In 2018, Abhishek started Greenwear, a sustainable fashion company that uses renewable energy resources to create high-quality affordable textiles and garments.

Greenwear aims to benefit the livelihoods of their employees through increased financial security and stability. The company purchases yarn from a network of women using solar charkas - domestic spinning wheels used primarily for spinning cotton into yarn. The yarn is then woven into fabric by Greenwear's ecosystem of 400 weavers.

Alka Sharma

Aavaran is a journey started to uphold rural indigenous communities and preserve their traditional craft.

Aavaran, based out of Udaipur Rajasthan is known for its contemporised (Dabu) Mud resist hand block prints. Aavarans attempt is to evolve the traditional 'Dabu' mud resist technique of printing, specifically the indigo-dyed 'phentiya' print which is a staple of Mewar Region while constantly innovating on design and quality.

Aavaran aims to promote and evolve traditional crafts while economically empowering low income crafts people and other stakeholders in the value chain. Aavaran enables rural, indigenous artisan communities to become economically self reliable as well as ensure the sustainability of traditional craft techniques and skills that they practice. They provide a great opportunity for the craftspeople to pursue and connect to their own hidden skills.

Kusum Tiwari and Prabha Gahtori

Started in 1998 by Kusum G. Tiwari and Prabha Gahtori, Mura Collective is a label that experiments with natural and safe chemical dyes on woven handloom textiles. But what Mura is really known for is their Shibori innovations in indigo. Over the last eight years, Mura has established itself as a signature Shibori specialist with a dream-team of weavers, dyers and helpers.

Mura Collective, which has done pioneering work in the Shibori Craft and Natural dyes, that has inspired many young designers to take up Shibori and Natural dyes as a basis for their design. They were the first producers of Shibori products for mainstream markets. A platform PANCHATATTVA which was created recently, as a result of a challenge faced in marketing authentic high-quality crafts in Europe. Mura has got the UNESCO Seal of Excellence four times.

Madhulika Choudhary

Mulberry one was set up by Madhulika in Bareta Village, Bihar and is in the business of producing sustainable Mulberry silk fabric. This is a Soil-to-Silk project. They use eco-friendly methods that respect the environment, biodiversity and the people who make it using traditional sericulture methods, traditional spinning and weaving methods without compromising on the quality of the fabric. This is a zero-waste method of producing silk fabric where everything is recycled and reused.

The uniqueness of this fabric lies in how it is produced and that it can be adapted for any use by dyeing, printing and embroidery. It can be used as a neutral base or a canvas for various projects. It forms the perfect foundation for any eco-friendly outfit.

Mulberry One Silk is surprisingly breathable and efficiently keeps sweat away and lets your body cool down allowing it to regulate its temperature naturally and you never overheat.

As the mulberry plantation has not been treated with pesticides and chemical fertilisers, the yarn and fabric have not been treated with chemicals- you don't have to worry about coming in contact with toxins when you wear mulberry fabric.

Sarita and Sarika

Launched in 2007, Karomi works with over a hundred rural and urban artisans across Bengal to create a premium and yet-to-be experienced aesthetic in the Indian handloom sector.

"The distance between the weaving village and the main city was about 250 kms. After several months of reaching out, we made contact with a single weaver to explore various weaving techniques on the loom. Unfortunately, the weaver was not only unaware of the true potential of his own loom but also weary of stepping out of his comfort zone of "plain weave". But consistent hard work, patience and perseverance won the day and in a matter of months this same weaver was producing work that stunned him and left him proud." fondly remembers Sarika, one of the co-founders.

"Before long we had a dyer, finisher and quite a few weavers to realise the Karomi dream." Using the traditional pit-loom method of weaving, their specialty lies in employing the age-old technique of "Jamdani" weave (an extra weft weaving style unique to Bengal), that appeals to the more discerning. Strongly rooted in the textile traditions of our country, Karomi seamlessly weaves the old and new, colours and composition, technique and innovation. The design mission is to bridge classic and contemporary to create concept handlooms. They work with natural fibres - silk, wool, cotton and linen. The yarns are always hand-dyed, occasionally with natural dyes. Karomi also works on hand-block printing and kantha embroidery.

In recognition of innovation and quality in handloom weaving, Karomi received the UNESCO Award of Excellence for Handicrafts - Jamdani stoles in 2012 and 2014.

Jaimon Jose and Anuradha

Indi Collage is an exhibition gallery for selected design lines and art products. This is a space for designers from across the country and citizens of Delhi to engage in colourful dialogues. To talk about your product and even more, your story, art and brand.

Indi Collage provides Provide Fractional retail spaces to help craft & design brands expand into new premium markets and grow their customer base without incurring high overheads in renting out expensive physical spaces.

Currently, the Indi Collage is located only at Hauz Khas in South Delhi.

Eobin George

Perfit is a 3D scanning and digitization solutions company from Kerala working with e-commerce sellers to rapidly digitize inventory for their websites. Perfit started operations in early 2016 when they were working on full body 3D scanning systems for fashion and fitness industries. They are currently also working with sellers in various platforms around the world.

Perfit manufactures automated photo-booth units for rapid digitization of products for e-commerce. They offer customers a prepaid model based on the number of SKUs scanned.

Ruma Devi and Vikram

GVCS, Barmer is a non-governmental, non-profit, non-political and social welfare association which was founded for the upliftment of women, Dalits and marginalised communities in the region. It was established on 7th July, 1998 and has been working on a broad spectrum of rural development activities since then.The core area of focus has been livelihood generation for the women of the region. GVCS has promoted handicrafts as a viable means of creating home - based employment that provides them with a steady source of income from the security of their home environment. Other programmes managed by GVCS includes SHG formation, flood relief, fodder for drought affected cattle and education programmes for child & women. GVCS believes that true development can only happen when all sections of the village community and community based organisations are involved in the decision-making process. Hence, it encourages equal participation of all in the creation and implementation of its programmes

The Artisans Alliance of Jawaja (AAJ)

The Artisans Alliance of Jawaja (AAJ) represents an association of leather workers (Jawaja Leather Association, or JLA) and weavers (Jawaja Weavers Association, or JWA) located in the Jawaja block of Ajmer District in Rajasthan. Established in 1976, AAJ has a history of more than 40 years, and a national and international reputation for the quality of its hand-made products as well as for the experiment in self-reliance which its extraordinary history represents. Today, Jawajaa is a respected craft brand in an increasingly competitive global market for handmade products that use heritage skills to meet contemporary needs.

Every Jawaja product is entirely handmade in India using natural materials. The Jawaja range includes a classic collection which has been in demand for over three decades, as well as new collections created in an artisan designer partnership that is the hallmark of AAJ.

AAJ, and its two Associations, is managed by the artisans themselves through a democratic system of governance that is linked to its history. The artisans of Jawaja were the catalysts for "The Rural University" experiment in education for self-reliance that began in 1975 under the leadership of the late Prof Ravi J Matthai, the first full-time Director of the celebrated Indian Institute of Management (Ahmedabad). That experiment linked the artisans with contemporary disciplines and institutions of knowledge, including IIMA and the National Institute of Design (NID), in a relationship of mutual learning and mutual respect. The Rural Universities experiment at Jawaja has had a far-reaching influence, well beyond the craft sector.

Padma Shri Gulshan Nanda - Chairperson

Commitment to Kashmir (CtoK), a Charitable Trust, registered in 2011 under the Trust Act of India, was launched the same year by the late L.C. Jain - activist, economist, Gandhian, and a lover of craftspeople.

CtoK provides innovative and holistic hands-on support to a new young generation of Kashmiri craftspeople; helping them infuse traditional craft practices with new energy through capacity building workshops, design development mentoring, and opening marketing avenues.

The objective of CtoK is Poverty alleviation and craft revival by aiding the creation and development of small businesses, owned and operated by artisans engaged in the production of traditional Kashmiri crafts and redefine the handicrafts sector by empowering craft leaders with the required skills and resources to meet changing market needs.