Exploring the Intricate Embroidery of Gujarat’s Historic Mochi Community
Tyabji, Laila
September, 2023
Mochi embroideries, which have found their way into museums the world over, are the topic of 'The Shoemaker's Stitch' by Shilpa Shah and Rosemary Crill.
A example of Mochi embroidery from the book, 'The Shoemaker's Stitch'.
In the early 1990s, I began travelling regularly to Banaskantha in Gujarat, developing garments and soft furnishings for the Self-Employed Women’s Organisation (SEWA) with the women artisans in the region. Most were pastoral people, living in villages within a 100 kilometre circumference, their husbands mainly agrarian labour or cattle herders.
The area was a desolate, salty waste, prone to periodic droughts, extremely poor. Radhanpur was the nearest town. In one section, linked by winding lanes, were the small dark homes of the Mochi community. Traditional shoemakers once employed by royalty, they were now perilously poor, as fewer and fewer people ordered their beautifully embroidered leather juthis, preferring branded, industrially-manufactured shoes, or even plastic sandals.
The advent of the motor car also marked the demise of their elaborately embroidered leather trappings for elephants, horses and camels.
In order to eke out a living, the Mochis turned their hands to making generic embroidered ornamental wall hangings and cushions – in fabric rather than leather – for local traders and GURJARI, the Gujarat State Handicrafts Corporation. Few other employment opportunities existed.
A...
A example of Mochi embroidery from the book, 'The Shoemaker's Stitch'.
In the early 1990s, I began travelling regularly to Banaskantha in Gujarat, developing garments and soft furnishings for the Self-Employed Women’s Organisation (SEWA) with the women artisans in the region. Most were pastoral people, living in villages within a 100 kilometre circumference, their husbands mainly agrarian labour or cattle herders.
The area was a desolate, salty waste, prone to periodic droughts, extremely poor. Radhanpur was the nearest town. In one section, linked by winding lanes, were the small dark homes of the Mochi community. Traditional shoemakers once employed by royalty, they were now perilously poor, as fewer and fewer people ordered their beautifully embroidered leather juthis, preferring branded, industrially-manufactured shoes, or even plastic sandals.
The advent of the motor car also marked the demise of their elaborately embroidered leather trappings for elephants, horses and camels.
In order to eke out a living, the Mochis turned their hands to making generic embroidered ornamental wall hangings and cushions – in fabric rather than leather – for local traders and GURJARI, the Gujarat State Handicrafts Corporation. Few other employment opportunities existed.
A...
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