Artisans by Design: An Odyssey of Education for Textile Artisans in India

A firsthand account of the development of Kala Raksha Vidhyalaya—the first design school for traditional artisans in India—and its evolution to present day Somaiya Kala Vidya with personal stories of its students and its effect on their lives as well as on India's cultural and economic development.

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A firsthand account of the development of Kala Raksha Vidhyalaya—the first design school for traditional artisans in India—and its evolution to present-day Somaiya Kala Vidya with personal stories of its students and its effect on their lives as well as on India's cultural and economic development. 



Somaiya Kala Vidya was conceived as a place where textile artisans in the Kutch District—a rugged arid region of western India known for its rich craft traditions—could learn design, business, and management in hands-on ways that strengthened their traditional knowledge, explore ecological methods of creating, and discover ways to connect to contemporary markets while sustaining their cultural heritage. Artisans by Design presents intimate stories of more than 20 artisans (intertwined with the author's story), detailing how their education brought them personal fulfillment, increased social and economic status, and an understanding of sustainability.



Readers will learn

• how Somaiya Kala Vidya and Kala Raksha Vidhyalaya affected the lives and work of artisan students, both individually and as part of the larger craft communities of the Kutch District;

• the challenges and triumphs of founding, running, and maintaining the school; and

• how outside forces—societal, political, environmental, and cultural—profoundly impacted the school and each student.



More than 200 color photographs of the artisans and their work bring you an intimate view of this unique institution and the lives and works of its graduates.