Sunder Rang - Handicraft from Chandelao

Rajasthan has a rich heritage in producing high quality Arts & Crafts. Silver, jewellery, weaving, embroidery and block printing work from the region is sophisticated and known all over the world.

Partners: Loch Rang (NGO), Village of Chandelao and Basecamp Explorer

Background:
Rajasthan has a rich heritage in producing high quality Arts & Crafts. Silver, jewellery, weaving, embroidery and block printing work from the region is sophisticated and known all over the world. The current status of such production is very scarce in the village of Chandelao due to change of traditional values. Daily life is now concentrated in farming. The handicraft work once rich and diverse in the area is gradually succumbing to the advances in technology and the pressures of new, cheaper mass produced items on the market. Individual artisans find it increasingly hard to survive by making traditional items, and to compensate that they style their design to fit the tastes of a Western market abandoning the traditional designs.

Aims:
To create a sustainable employment opportunity for women in rural Chandelao
To revitalize and promote local Rajasthani arts & crafts

The results:
An Arts & Crafts Centre has been built adjacent to Basecamp Rajasthan, measuring 80 square meters. The centre is designed as a traditional Chandelao village house. In the middle, the traditional kitchen (jhompa) has become the shop, the living rooms have become the five workshops and the granary is the washroom and storage. The inner courtyard (aangan) is slightly elevated and is used as a display area for spacious crafts like carpets. The mud courtyards are decorated with traditional floor paintings. The colour of the entire building harmonizes with the traditional earth colours of other houses in Chandelao and the Gahr itself. The flat roof will be used for water collection and is also possible for placement of solar panels for power and solar heaters for washing. The development of the interior design, the purchasing of furniture and equipment for weaving, block printing and embroidery ongoing. A plan for operations, the selection of the participants, the fair trade aspect, has been set up in co operation with Loch Rang, local NGO, the villagers and Basecamp Explorer. Success factors from surrounding Arts & Crafts projects have been investigated and added.

The way forward

We aim to:

• source and employ a project manager, preferably a woman
• source and employ young and needy local Chandelao women from different casts
• finalise the Arts & Craft centre and officially open it in March 2007
• invite experienced local artisans for training in different handicraft techniques
• start production of high quality traditional Rajasthani handicraft
• developing a brand name and logotype
• develop marketing tools such as a small leaflet
• open the Arts & Crafts shop for Basecamp Rajasthan guests

To read more about this project please visit www.sunderrang.com
It is possible to sponsor and take an active part in Sunder Rang Handicraft project.
Contact: anna@basecampexplorer.com