Google Arts & Culture’s ‘Crafted In India’ initiative is a first of its kind program which covers crafts from across India, captured in an exhaustive online heritage library. Women on Wings’ partner Avani is one of the craft organizations that worked with the Google Arts & Culture team to put together a comprehensive set of articles that will provide in-depth knowledge of its crafts and work.
Discover India through its crafts
Crafts are an essential part of India’s rural economy and also play an important role in India’s history and communities across the country today. In partnership with India’s Ministry of Tourism – Incredible !ndia – and Dastkari Haat Samiti, Google launched ‘Crafted in India’ in October 2019 so more people from around the world can discover the beauty and heritage of crafts from all 29 states of India. Miss Jaya Jaitly, the President of Dastkari Haat Samiti, traveled around the country for two years to document and preserve the items in the ‘Crafted in India’ exhibition.
Celebrating artisans
Through over 280 online exhibitions, more than 11,000 videos and pictures, ‘Crafted in India’ also aims to celebrate the stories of artisan communities. “Through great imagery, we wanted to tell a deeper story of Indian crafts and its people. India proves itself as a country of multiple cultural stories that carry different traditions, communities, languages, style of dressing and lifestyles. I hope the world recognizes and honors these living traditions through the project,” Jaya Jaitly, President of Dastkari Haat Samiti, said.
Sustainable crafts of Avani
The online exhibition, brought together twenty cultural and crafts organizations, one of which being Women on Wings’ partner Avani. Nestled in the Kumaon region of the Indian Himalayan state of Uttarakhand, Avani is a community built on the principles of sustainability and local empowerment. Avani creates opportunities for rural women and men to find viable employment through a self-sufficient and environmentally sustainable supply chain. Every business decision related to Avani products, like e.g. all natural, homegrown dyes and handwoven fabrics, is guided by a strong responsibility toward environmental best practices and sensitivity to the cultural context of the villages where it works.
Since 2013 Women on Wings and Avani are partnering in scaling the organization so more rural women can find employment at Avani’s.
Picture: one of Avani’s many weavers
