We support the communities through incubation of artisan enterprises, skill enhancement trainings, educational opportunities, and the nurturing of entrepreneurial and managerial talent.
Desi Oon Cluster
Western Rajasthan has been home to pastoral sheep rearers and artisans working with wool. Their traditional lifestyle, closely intertwined with the land and the changing seasons, is increasingly under pressure, and the communities are getting further marginalised.
Rangsutra Foundation, in collaboration with Urmul Setu Sansthan and Centre for Pastoralism, works in a wool cluster located on the pastoral route of herding communities in Bikaner district. The vision is to support the value chain of local desi wool at each stage from fibre to end product – thus engaging with the pastoral herders, the spinners of local wool, and the weavers who fashion fabrics out of it.
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Kosa Silk Cluster
In Raigarh district of Chhattisgarh, we work with Kosala Livelihood and Social Foundation to support a cluster of traditional silk artisans. In an ecosystem highly controlled by traders and middlemen, we seek to organise and strengthen artisans to engage with the market on better terms. Design guidance and market support build on the unique character of the kosa tussar silk of the cluster and the skills of the artisans.
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Embroidery, Block Printing and Stitching Cluster
In villages of Ambavane cluster in Pune district of Maharashtra, Rangsutra Foundation, supported by Sterlite Tech Foundation, trains local women in embroidery, block printing and stitching, to enable them to earn sustainable livelihoods.
The cluster seeks to establish composite units where the women skilled in various crafts also understand production and quality processes so that they can meet the requirements of the market.
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Weaving Cluster
In Manipur, Rangsutra Foundation is involved with a group of women weavers to set up a sustainable weaving cluster that gives artisans a meaningful livelihood.
Partnering with Control Arms Foundation of India and Manipur Women Gun Survivors Network, we have worked closely with skilled and motivated artisans who have the vision to see their craft as a path to economic security.
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Tussar Silk Cluster
Bhandara district of Maharashtra lies in the tussar producing belt of central India. With competition from mill and power loom fabrics and synthetic fibres, silk spinning and weaving artisans are leaving their traditional occupation in search of alternative livelihoods.
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Chikankari Cluster
The HCL Foundation and Rangsutra Foundation partnership began in 2019 to upgrade chikankari artisans' skills and connect them with production orders. Despite a pause during the Covid pandemic, HCL Foundation continued supporting artisans by building stitching capacities.
In 2023, the partnership resumed with a 1-year project to enhance artisans' skills and market access. In Akbarpur Talu and Rithwa villages, 75 artisans focused on chikankari, while 15 women in Atiya village handled stitching orders. The project generated around Rs 10 lakhs in wages and Rs 25 lakhs in order value, and Akbarpur Talu became a hub for cutting, finishing, and packing. The goal is to create employment and develop a new chikankari cluster, now registered as Ekta Hasthkala Samiti.
