Online Exhibition on Desi Oon, Dec 2020
The Centre for Pastoralism held ‘Living Lightly’ online exhibition and sale in December 2020, showcasing the fleece to fibre narrative of local wool from the pastoralists of India.
Wool artisans are integral to pastoral practices, cultures and economies. For centuries, herders, hand spinners, weavers, felters and dyers have, together, nurtured the fibre and crafted objects of immense utility and elegance. Today, while shepherds in India strew their migratory routes with discarded wool, for want of a market, India’s wool requirements are met largely by imported wool, embedded in commercial production systems which have hurt the indigenous economy of pastoral.
Patanwadi Wool Jacket by Khamir. Image Credits: Nipun Prabhakar
This online exhibition and sale sought to shine the spotlight on a selection of curated handcrafted wool products which straddle across a range of pastoral ecologies, artisanship and community interbeing. By going online at a time when the world introspected and contemplated the "new normal" pastoralists could show how they inhabit time and space, work and leisure; the possibilities of resilience they hold in a world endangered by climate change. If revived, the local wool creative industry can engage millions in rural India and can lead a global shift towards green production.
This online exhibition was also an opportunity to connect pastoralists and artisans - who are increasingly recognizing the need to restore their wool economy - with designers and some of India’s best craft organizations, all of whom are trying to breathe new life into an entire value chain of indigenous wool across India; From Avani, Peoli, Aana Jaana, Kulvi WHIMS in the Western Himalayas, to Mitan and Earthen Tunes in the vast and varied Deccan plateau, and Rangsutra and Khamir in the arid terrains of western India.
Avani
Nestled in the Kumaon region of Uttarakhand, Avani is a community built on the principles of sustainability and local empowerment. Fusing traditional techniques with sustainable technologies, Avani's talented farmers and artisans produce exquisite, one-of-a-kind textiles and lifestyle products using 100% natural materials, including plant-derived dyes, sustainably harvested indigo, and locally-produced silk and wool.
Peoli
Also based in the Kumaon hills, Peoli is a design studio based in Almora. It is an initiative by two textile design graduates from the National Institute of Design, Abhinav Dhoundiyal and Vasanthi Veluri, who work with the women artisans of Almora to develop a range of handmade, natural-dyed woollen and cotton products.
Aana Jaana
Aana Jaana is an initiative by Jen Hoover who works directly with herders, weavers, and knitters to develop new markets for their wool and woollen products. Jen is a hobby spinner-knitter-weaver turned interdisciplinary researcher with a B.A. in Anthropology and M.S. in Textiles.
Kullvi WHIMS
Kullvi WHIMS is a self-help group formed by nine women artisans of Naggar village in Kullu Valley. The women are all traditional artisans, who work with the local wool and learnt spinning, weaving, knitting and crochet from their family members and have mostly practised their crafts for their own needs. It is promoted by Nisha Subramanium, who has been working with traditional weaving and pastoral communities in Himachal Pradesh for more than 8 years and has worked to reinterpret the traditional pattu in the forms of stoles, shawls, and blankets.
Rangsutra
Rangsutra is a company owned by a community of over two thousand artisans across rural India. It acts as a bridge between rural artisans and global consumers in order to develop sustainable livelihoods and revive India’s rich craft heritage. They believe that their communities of artisans, particularly women, deserve economic opportunities, and they aim to keep alive the rich tradition of their craftsmanship in a rapidly changing urban market.
Khamir
Khamir is a platform for the crafts, heritage and cultural ecology of the Kachchh region of Gujarat. Instituted after the earthquake of 2001, it is a space for engagement and development of Kachchh's rich creative industries.
Vankar Vishram Valji
Shamjibhai, who brands his enterprise with the name of his father, Vankar Vishram Valji, is grandmaster-like in his treatment of the fibre and perception of weaving craft. No wonder, he is an inspiration to the entire community of weavers in Kutch. His work is an example of unwavering belief in traditions, a keen sense of design, and chutzpah in pushing the boundaries of craft.
Mitan
Mitan, based in North Karnataka, promotes craft-based, sustainable livelihood projects for women who had previously depended on seasonal wage-based labour and migration to cities for work. The women have revived and mastered many of North Karnataka's craft traditions and techniques such as indigo dyeing of the neelgars, folk stitch and joinery of the Nadafs, felting, spinning and the kambal weaving techniques of the sheepherding communities.
Earthen Tunes
Founded by the alumni of the National Institute of Design-Ahmedabad, Earthen Tunes is a social enterprise trying to build a better India for the future. Equipped with the tools of Design Thinking and Product Design, Earthen Tunes is presently trying to empower farmers and rural artisans through footwear made of indigenous wool and other natural materials.