Kala Gouda Arts Festival : Craft Melas for Indian NGOs, new work caring for the earth, we see Stree Shakti

(above: signage in MESH's fair trade shop showcasing India's new national Fair Trade brand - this weaver produces the Awaz Table Linen Collection in a Leprosy Colony outside of Delhi)

Every time I go to India I’m often moving around a lot visiting organizations, collecting stories and so busy spending time with people and  that I don’t have much time to share those stories with you, our supporters.

There are so many beautiful community development programs we are connected to here, learning from, supporting, nurturing and building upon that this time, it is about the stories. It is about documenting and sharing the social change that’s happening on the ground here, the life and culture of the people and more about the work we do here in India so that you too can learn, live through our experiences and find more ways that you too can be more involved.

I commit to you to share one blog a week of the Awaz 3-month work in India.

It was a beautiful blessing that this time my arrival was routed through Mumbai in Southern India as the annual Kala Gouda Arts Festival was happening.  I was most excited to know that I could see one of our artisan partners, Stree Shakti, at this exhibition. 

From the beginning, it was my work with Stree Shakti in 2008 in Purkal Village in the Himalayas that inspired me to start Awaz. I spent 6 months working with Mr. and Mrs. Swamy from the early beginnings of this income generation program for widowed and marginalized women helping to grow and expand their work. From a crowded home filled with women stitching and quilting, Stree Shakti (meaning Women’s Power) now boasts 100 women organized into 10 Self Help Groups who now have their own production center and on-site day care center to host their work. 

I spear headed a Capital Campaign for their Production Center in 2008 and with great joy, we found a donor who made a kind donation to fund the building in honor of their son who past away. 

They now are struggling to keep up with production and are seeking funding for a new training program for 50 new women. 

While I’m here, I intend to help garner support for this program and use any donations to Awaz to provide a grant to the new training program. Please consider a small donation through our website to help lift more women out of poverty in India.

I met Maneet, Vicky and Akash representing Stree Shakti at their stall. Their beautiful handcrafted quilts, pillow covers and fashion accessories stand out amongst all other stalls. When there are so many groups doing weaving and blockprinting and every other traditional craft, they’re one of the only doing hand quilted products. They’ve now achieved the Craftmark, authentic Indian handcraft labeling for their quilting and their work is renown throughout India.

The Growth with Fair Trade for Stree Shakti

They’ve been sourcing better quality fabrics and working hard on quality control over the years that have improved the look of their products  - instantly I can see the growth in their work.

This is truly one of the best feelings experiencing the growth and success of a group you’ve worked so closely with.

After I finally convinced Mr. and Mrs. Swamy to join the Fair Trade movement in India in 2010, the women and the organization are benefiting so much more.

They’re store on site has become part of the new national Fair Trade branded shops and is bringing more customers on a daily basis.

They’re staff have undergone more trainings, they’re part of annual fair trade celebrations, they’re invited to more product development workshops and are now part of this larger network filled with resources and experience to help them grow.

We sponsored a design training from Jaya, an experienced textile designer who works with artisan groups, to help the organization develop Production Plans, implement better management and controls and develop new products with better quality fabrics and prints.

Read more about this workshop from Jaya her self here.

At their stall, I got to catch up on their latest designs and work.

Their Baby Quilts are one of their key products we offer and I saw many new themes we’ll start offering to our customers, including this new fabulous Birthday theme.

Their pillow covers were decorated with intricate hand embroidery of elephants and kalamkari block print fabrics and other modern themes that looked fabulous.  We have a custom order from a store in Portland to implement some designs on pillows with this group while we’re here.

The scarves or “stoles” that Jaya developed with Maneet, their new Designer, were displayed nicely with beautiful embroidery and prints. They’re a unique accessory that showcases the best of India’s craft that I think we’ll order a few of this time. For the last few years, Jaya has been in touch with our groups sharing her knowledge and experience to guide them in whatever way she can and we’re very thankful.

Nowadays Stree Shakti, like many of the groups we work with, are attending some 10-15 exhibitions a year to sell their work in some of the biggest cities all over India. These art and craft exhibitions or “melas” as they are called in India serve as platform for NGOs and craft organizations to get exposure and showcase their work.  “Mela” is a Sanskrit word meaning “gathering,” and it’s used to describe all kinds of get-togethers in India. Many buyers interested in Indian craft come specifically for these melas to source their goods and make connections. Dastkar, whom we learned about during our first visit to India in 2005, has been one of the core organizations in India working to preserve and promote traditional craft for a long time - they now organize great craft melas all over India.

Most of all though, I love these melas because they serve as great opportunities for the women to travel outside of their communities and interact with the customers about their work. They get the feedback and feel the praise for what they do. This in itself is empowering for the women. The women can’t travel all the time, but many times they do. Sadhna, another group we work with, sponsors annual Exposure Trips for women to go outside and visit other women’s organizations to learn and experience their work.

This mela was very exciting and fresh. It’s been two years since my last trip to India and the country has grown so much, not to mention the inflation.

There were many NGOs and also individual artisans and small businesses, like Farmer’s Markets in the U.S., displaying their new, cutting edge, handcrafted work.

In addition to many works of art like this addressing different social issues, as more and more young people are getting involved in activism.

From organizations promoting environmental conservation and recycling to eco-friendly kids toys and games, it was great to see all the good work and people thinking in new ways.