(Raising the voice of traditional crafts)
Craftivism India is a voice and an initiative that strives to pave the way from the first rung to the final stage to work firmly to promote Indian traditional handicrafts. Craftivism India is dedicated to organizing grassroots handicrafts and artisans across India, providing them with mastery in their skills and promoting their handicrafts, so that no art and artisan should remain hidden or undermined. The handicraft culture in India has made an enormous journey through a long line of inheritance and has passed this implicit knowledge as part of ancestral heritage. The present generation of craftspeople is involved in crafts because of the legacy they have, and it was there in their family. Since their childhood days, they were exposed to the craft and its knowledge without attaining any degree in it. They observe first, then learn, and then practice it daily to get skilled.
Lack of recognition and awareness has relegated the artisan to the margins of extinction today. Among them, the elderly artisans, especially women artisans, are mostly affected. Some development organizations do take a certain degree of interest in the promotion and safeguarding of the artisans and their handicrafts. But the changing market structure crunch in resources and government apathy combined in an onslaught on their tottering citadels.
Craftivism India is determined to provide a comprehensive approach towards the sector to secure the cultural identity and livelihood of such artisans. It’s very unfortunate to see that Indian Craft is suffering from an approach that is more based on Charity rather than competencies. We have seen craftspeople selling their handicrafts as if they are begging us to buy their products. This is all because the skills and the knowledge systems related to crafts continue to be informal, inadequately protected, poorly documented, socially and culturally disadvantaged, and poorly adaptive. The decentralized sector of the handicraft industry employs a significant number of artisans, which runs into millions, and mostly rural industries characterized by limited capacity to generate even sustainable income, and a vast majority of artisans suffer from poverty, lack of access to social services, illiteracy, exploitation by middlemen, and extremely low social status. The influence of the Chinese market and machine-made crafts has exposed crafts to the exploitation of a different kind and has taken up a huge share of the market for handmade products.
Today, in a time of modernization and innovation, these handicraft gems have started to fade, due to which the economic condition of handicrafts and artisans has become very lamentable. To have a positive impact and economic development in their life, Craftivism India is working closely with them and is trying very hard to bring a significant change in their life and handicrafts through its various innovative and supportive programs and initiatives. Craftivism India focuses more on the handicrafts made by elderly artisans, with a special focus on elderly women involved in handicrafts. Indian Handicraft is a hidden treasure that still needs to be explored and exposed globally. The one reason in the history of India that was called the Golden Bird was its hidden treasures in the form of its rich handicrafts. It’s high time to save this rich heritage from losing its age-old glory. The ongoing struggle to protect this ancient heritage, which has been a major source of livelihood for millions of people and their cultural identity, needs a renaissance. Significant support and attention can uplift the dying craft culture in our country, along with artisans transnationally associated with it and still struggling hard to keep their ancestral heritage alive by passing it on to their generations, no matter how many hardships they face in terms of issues related to their sustenance and affordability. Craftivism India is committed to strengthening the craftspeople of India in building their lost confidence in handicrafts and protecting our ancient heritage.
Craftivism India is not just an initiative – it is a movement, a voice, and a promise. It strives to pave the way for India’s artisans, from the very first rung to the final stage, so that they not only survive but truly prosper.
For centuries, Indian handicrafts have been more than objects of beauty – they have been soulful inheritances, silently passed down through generations, carried in the wrinkled hands of our elders, especially our women artisans, who learnt not in classrooms, but by watching, practicing, and living the art since childhood. Yet today, these priceless gems of heritage stand at the margins of extinction.
Why? Because of a lack of recognition, awareness, and support, artisans have been forced into the shadows. Many are reduced to selling their work as though begging for dignity, their identity crushed by middlemen, modern machine-made imitations, and market exploitation. Elderly women artisans, the torchbearers of our ancient skills, are the most abandoned. This is not just economic neglect – it is cultural injustice.
India was once called the Golden Bird because of its treasures of craft, skill, and tradition. Today, the same treasures are fading into silence. Our artisans suffer poverty, illiteracy, exploitation, and invisibility. And yet, despite all hardships, they continue to weave, carve, paint, and create – not because it is business, but because it is their breath, their blood, their legacy.
At Craftivism India, we refuse to see crafts as charity. This is not about pity; it is about pride. It is about recognizing the dignity, resilience, and unmatched excellence of our craftspeople. It is about restoring confidence in their hands and faith in their artistry.
We are determined to give artisans not only a platform but also a shield – to secure their cultural identity, safeguard their livelihoods, and showcase their heritage globally. Through innovative programs, mentorship, promotion, and solidarity, we want to create a future where no artisan is invisible, no craft is forgotten, and no heritage is lost.
This is a renaissance we must ignite. A responsibility we must carry. Because every thread woven, every stone carved, every stroke painted is not just craft – it is India’s soul made visible.
Craftivism India is committed to ensuring that the soul never fades.