Royalties for Artisans

Block printing is an ancient way of decorating the surface of the fabric by hand using hand-carved blocks (from wood, metal or combining both materials). The craft developed over centuries in different communities across India (and other places in the world). To achieve the final result, the process requires the collaboration of different communities – farmers growing plants used for natural dyes and fiber, block makers who carve wooden blocks, Dhobi (washers), Rangrez (dyers) and Chhipa (printers) among others. Many traditional patterns were developed within the communities and reflecting their beliefs and ways of life.

From a cultural and intellectual perspective, the knowledge and practice of a craft belong to the source communities, often being passed down from generation to generation. Often times outsiders take only the technique and designs without recognizing the intellectual and cultural rights of the community. We believe this behavior is culturally unethical. It depletes the intangible cultural heritage of the community, devalues the knowledge of craftspeople and reduces artisans to simple factors of production.

In order to work ethically with Indigenous crafts communities, it is important to consider artisans as equal knowledge partners and recognize their legal rights. Facilitating co-creation and amplifying the creative voice of the artisans enables them to reclaim ownership of their craft heritage. Such an approach also has the power to inspire the new generation of craftspeople and avert the extinction of craft techniques.

Our aim is to support the artisans so they can, in today’s world of post-colonialism, anthropocén, and ecocide, reclaim their rightful ownership of various craft practices and designs.