Me and a colleague of mine have started a social venture which goes by the name of "Fusion Craft". The venture aims at uplifting the Indian Handicraft and to help the poor artisans break from the vicious cycle of poverty and exploitation. Contrary to the governments approach of promoting the Indian Handicraft, which hepls only the exporters, our approach involves promoting the product handicraft in the Indian market by design intervention and efficient marketing strategy. We have done a lot of surveys and have found new ways and sectors which can be used to uplift the product handicraft. We look after the eductaion and social life of the artisans and their children so that they can get better education and can help the art reach its zenith.
I have fondness for Moradaad, a samll city in Uttar Pradesh state of India. The place has been famous for the brass artefacts and metal handwork. The artisans of the city are one of the most skilled and creative. There have been generations which have spent their life to sustain and spread the art in the world. Their illiteracy coupled with their lack of exposure to the outside world and absence of enough capital always keeps them at the mercy of the few exporters and local players. The exporters get projects from all over the world and they hire the artisans on contract basis paying them only labour charges and earning millions from exporting the same. There artisans who were forced to quit their jobs just in order to sustain their families. Most of the artisan community lives under utter poverty. Education and better social life is a distant dream for them and their children. The city and its artisan community has seen the pinnacle of success but today it crawls under utter poverty and exploitation. Some of the best and most skilful hands in the world are forced to work for less than $50 a month.
I want the artisan community of not only Moradabad but throughout the country to get back their due respect. The art which once ruled the world it seems has been declining and loosing its charm. When the handicraft of other countries form a good part in their GDP contribution, Indian Handicraft still lags behind.
