Kala Raksha Vidhyalaya

After the first three days at the Kala Raksha Sumrasar location, we were picked up by Judy Frater, founder of Kala Raksha, and driven off to their Vidhyalaya (Artisan Design School). Judy was extremely welcoming and on the ride over gave us an in-depth description of how the organization came into fruition in ’93 and how it has grown throughout the years. The Vidhyalaya, which had its first year of classes seven years ago, is a design school intended to educate traditional artisans. The men enrolled at the school are either weavers, block printers or bhandani artists, while the women are embroiderers skilled in one of the seven styles (Suf, Khaarek, Paako, Rabari, Jat, Mutavas, and Patchwork).

The year-long program now has six intensive two week sessions: 1. Colour: Sourcing from Heritage and Nature, 2. Basic Design, Sourcing from Nature and Heritage, 3. Market Orientation, 4. Concept, Communication, Projects, 5. Finishing and Collection Development, 6. Presentation. These courses allow the artisans to gain an understanding of how their traditional art can have a place in the current market. They are constantly encouraged to experiment and to develop their own design aesthetic and style. For the artisans of Kala Raksha, the artisan and designer are one in the same. They are the true owners of their work. Often times with handmade crafts, the artisan makes a product that is designed by someone else, and is thereby reduced to a labourer. Kala Raksha empowers women by providing them with the skills to make innovative design decisions. In fact, the organization has trademarked Artisan Design and is hoping that more artisan organizations will understand its value and implement it into their own working structures.

We spent most of our time getting to know the embroidery artisans currently enrolled at the school and a few of the graduates. The school accepts women of all ages, from girls in their early teens to women in their eighties. We were pleased to find that they were all quite eager to share their stories with us, especially the older Rabari women. Lakhiben, a graduate and mentor at Kala Raksha, invited us to her home one evening for her video interview and a cup of tea. Athina, Kiyoye, Judy, and I piled into the Kala Raksha van and drove to the nearby village. We set up the camera and gathered around Lakhiben and a collection of her embroidered pieces that she pulled from her closets. Being a woman full of life and spirit, Lakhiben had a lot to share with us. She talked about balancing her duties as a mother, her responsibilities as a mentor and her work as an embroiderer for Kala Raksha. Having only been able to attend school until the fourth grade, she picked up the needle at a very young age. She expressed, “the needle is part of my soul. It is what I do, what I know.” With the help of the teachers at the Vidhyalaya, she believes that she gained the confidence to talk about her own work and to express herself. “Everyone’s hand is different even though they receive the same teachings at school, everyone takes it in differently and produces diverse work.”

The embroiderers of Kala Raksha are all truly vibrant characters, all eager to express who they are as creative individuals. We are so grateful to have met these extremely talented women and to have had the opportunity to document their stories, we are so excited to share them with you!

Thank you for reading!

Bella, Athina, and Kiyoye