Artisan Organizations of Bhuj

I used all day today to visit various organizations that promote and preserve artisan work in Kutch. They work with variety of textiles, embroidery and some involve other crafts such as beading and woodwork.

First stop was an artisan park that is in the form of a large village which is meant to be a one stop shop for the various arts of Kutch. It is called Hiralaxmi Memorial Craft park which is about 20-30 mins from Bhuj. At first glance I was not quite sure where I was as I had expected to see lots of tourists and artisans. On the contrary, the park was empty barring a few local tourists like me and most of the artisans were not to be seen. My friend and guide mentioned the artisans not being economically satisfied with the set up, which is why a lot of huts were empty. I hid my disappointment but I did manage to see some hand embroidered purses, beaded jewelry, as well as Kharad which is a dying art of weaving camel and other local wool into carpets. Kharad is typical to the area and the weavers create beautiful geometric patterns as they weave. The artisan Dayabhai is one of the very few families practicing this art anymore. I almost picked his black and white rug which was stunning and had no artificial colors. I also happened to see an example of Mashru weaving which is only done in Gujarat. The weavers blend colorful cotton and wool yarns to create a typical striped print that is done on a pit loom. It is mostly worn by women as blouses under sarees.

Check out the video showing the embroidered purses,beaded jewelry (artisan Meena in background), Kharad carpet and artisan Dayabhai, and Mashru weaving handloom and sample.

I also visited Shrujan, Khamir and Qasab which are organizations driving the development and preservation of textile arts. Stay tuned for more details on them.