I
will be rattling on a whole lot more about Kala Raksha in a couple of
months' time when I have been and experienced it for myself. At the
moment I am in awe of the scope and quality of the work carried out
there and feel hugely privileged to be able to be a part of it for a
little while.
There are several strands to the Trust's work, including a well established design school, Kala Raksha Vidhyalaya, retail and trade sales, an incredible museum (online too) documenting work such as these examples here, and workshops for you and me with its graduates in textile crafts including weaving, block printing, batik, bandhani, embroidery, appliqué and patchwork.
I have adapted the following from the Trust's website and borrowed the images from their museum
Established as a trust in 1993, and comprising artisans, community members, and experts in the
fields of art, design, rural management and museums, Kala Raksha
works with nearly 1,000 embroidery artisans of seven ethnic communities.
Kala
Raksha is located in Sumrasar Sheikh, 25 km north of
Bhuj in Gujarat. Here,
the museum, production unit, shop and guest house inhabit
structures that adapt traditional architecture to contemporary function.
A model for community development, the centre is locally managed
and
operates with solar power.
Kala Raksha means "Art Preservation." The Trust aims to preserve
traditional arts of the region by making them culturally and
economically viable. Trust activities are artisan driven. Without
artisans there can be no traditional arts. Kala Raksha encourages community members to work
together toward the goal of self sufficiency. Generating income through
their traditions, community members can realize their strengths and
maintain their identity as they develop.
