Since 2005 BESTSELLER FUND has supported Kala Raksha, the first design school for traditional artisans in the Indian desert Kutch, which is dedicated to the preservation of traditional arts.
Threads of History and Ethnicity
Kala Raksha’s aim is to revitalize the crafts and help the artisans adapt to new markets. The organization dovetails documentation of textile arts of Kutch with income generation, encouraging artisans to use their strengths to earn a fair income. The main focus is educating local artisans within micro-business, design, production, and marketing so that they can get a better price for their products. Kala Raksha is unique in their aim to create new independent small artisan companies. In that way they use their revolutionary concept involving people in presenting their own cultures.
Supporting bricks and pilot courses
BESTSELLER FUND supports Kala Raksha because it is an open organization admitting students regardless of age, religion, gender and race. During the years BESTSELLER FUND has supported Kala Raksha financially with building the design school complex, workshops for weaving, scholarships, block printing and dyeing, the student’s dormitory, offices and the director’s building as well as an exhibition hall.
Myriad of colorful textiles
The artisans of Kala Raksha produce a variety of the most exquisitely hand embroidered and patch worked products made in Kutch. The different traditional artisans use cloth, threads, and mirrors, the artisans create a myriad of textiles with images from their world. The embroidery styles are made by different ethnic groups who live side by side in the region.