Power to the people

Artisans and craftspeople across India have a new lease of life thanks to The People's Project by the Delhi-based Happy Hands Foundation. It offers craftsmen an online platform to build their brand, know their market and network with corporates, with a view to preserving ancient crafts

Artisans and craftspeople across India have a new lease of life thanks to The People's Project by the Delhi-based Happy Hands Foundation. It offers craftsmen an online platform to build their brand, know their market and network with corporates, with a view to preserving ancient crafts

When 24 year-old Medhavi Gandhi was doing her MBA in Communi-cations Management from Pune's Symbiosis Institute of Media and Communication, she worked on a UNESCO project which changed her life for good. She interacted with artisans across India and learned the uncomfortable truth that despite the awards and schemes, rural artisans are often confused about the road ahead. Even if their products are marketed abroad, the monetary benefits do not necessarily reach them.



Reach out
On July 2009, Gandhi became the founder and director of Happy Hands Foundation, which focuses on the development of artisans and craftsmen and the revival of arts, crafts and culture. As an offshoot of the Foundation, The People's Project was initiated in October 2010 with the aim of connecting artisans with the masses through numerous tools. T

he ultimate target was to make them independent. "Statistics show that over 200 traditional crafts are endangered and every year around 10% of craftsmen abandon their crafts for more lucrative ventures. The People's Project gets the artisans to experiment and find their strength," says Gandhi.

While their shop is located in Delhi's Hauz Khas area, they reach other regions through their interactive website. If you log on, you will be directed to the shops named after the artisans (such as Joshi Ji Ki Dukaan from Maharashtra). Once you click on it, you are directed to the products which can be ordered online.

Shop scan
Till date, they work with 500 artisan families spread across 11 states. Since they operate on a project basis, plenty of volunteers also sign up with them. The range of products includes crochet earrings, necklaces, key chains as well as Cherial magnets from Andhra Pradesh. "They are from the Cherial village of Andhra and are replicas of scrolls bought by the Banjaras (gypsies) from the Nakashis.

Stories from the Ramayana and the Mahabharata are etched on these; there are rare tribal versions too. Banjaras go from place to place chanting the story with the help of the scroll. We realised that people may not have space or money for an elaborate scroll, so instead, we turned them into magnets," reveals Gandhi. A similar thought led them to re-design the traditional Andhra leather puppets and turn them into bookmarks.

The brass Dokra figurines, ornate lamps, artistic door handles, jewellery from Orissa, Warli tribal art boxes, coasters and photo frames from Maharashtra are worth a look. Jute pouches and purses from West Bengal as well as puppets, bangles and Kagazi (lightweight) pottery from Rajasthan, with ashtrays and turtle-shaped pots, Buddhas and lamps are equally eye-catching. The North East is well represented with bags from Nagaland and Manipur and there are lamps from Tripura.

Apart from regional craftsmanship, The People's Project also gets the artists to collaborate with them in designing new products based on market research under Hamari Dukaan. It includes products with a contemporary twist such as Nimbu Mirchi hangings made from coir to ward off the evil eye. The hangings were made by a group of displaced women from Orissa.

On the other hand, Bamboozled is a bamboo penholder showcasing expressions of people from Nagaland, with each face telling a different story. If your memory needs to be honed they have a Go Fish series of games to help memorise Indian crafts and motifs. There are Raja Rani card games and jigsaw puzzles made from Gond paintings as well.

While their name may sound similar to the brand People Tree, Gandhi shrugs it off as pure coincidence. "They were here much before us and we belong to different tangents. We collaborate with a lot of brands and our aim is to broaden the artisan's perspective and make them think long-term. We are happy when they become independent," she says.

Email: info@happyhands.in / tpp@happyhands.in
Facebook link: www.facebook.com/#!/happyhandsf
Log on to: https://shopo.in/shop/thepeoplesproject# or https://people.happyhands.in/u00a0
Cost: Rs 40 to Rs 5,000

"Exciting news! Mid-day is now on WhatsApp Channels Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!