Threads of Life

Art history/ Historiography, Crafts, Handlooms, Art

Threads of Life

Edwards, Eiluned

Over the past thirty years there has been a considerable expansion of income-generation projects based in economically depressed areas of India. One such project, The Shrujan Trust focuses on embroidery, which it aptly promotes as the 'threads of life.' Based in the Kachchh district m western Gujarat, it also works with women in other parts of the state. Shrujan has developed a range of high quality goods that feature traditional embroidery but appeal to urban consumers, Indian and foreign. Working for Shrujan has given thousands of women a regular income, often making them the family's main breadwinner. Importantly, the work does not bring the women into conflict with the social code of their communities and is compatible with their domestic commitments. Shrujan aimed to address rural poverty, but the choice of medium - embroidery - has forced the organisation to address issues of heritage, tradition and identity. The market for the traditional embroideries of Kachchh, which were made for dowry, has developed in tandem with new, commercial work. Little old work is left as dealers bought container loads of embroideries for the tourist centres of Rajasthan, Delhi and Mumbai, and overseas. Selling a dowry bag, or a quilt, or a wedding blouse brought immediate but meagre returns. Distress sales have caused the accumulated dowries of generations of women to disappear. Shrujan started in l969 when Kachchh district was ...
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