Somewhere, someone did a rain dance ...

And Gujarat listened.

 

Kutch is a drought-prone area yet over the last 4 days it has had more rain than it typically gets in an entire year!  The unrelenting rain, combined with the thunder and lightning caused a complete power outage for more than 56 hours (except of course for the ever bright power plants that did not lose power once!) … hence the delay in getting a new blog post up online.

View of the rain from my room



The sheer volume of water has caused a lot of damage to the town and to KRV – one of the walls to the outdoor studio collapsed into the well, the grounds looked like giant swimming pools, roads have been destroyed and trees uprooted; however the good news is that the local dam that was completely empty is now full and the rain was a welcome relief to several farmers who were able to use and disperse the water without it destroying their crops.

Meals at KRV are prepared on gas cookers (much like camping equipment) so food was ok, however no power means no lights and no fans … so we had candlelit (or torch lit) dinners and did what we could to combat the humidity.

 

Most of my friends and family believe I am permanently attached to my phone and computer (which is probably a fairly accurate description), so I know they will be amused that the lack of power meant zero battery and technology – an IPAD may be a fantastic space saving device for travellers - but seriously what good are the dozens of “books” contained within when it won’t turn on! 

The show must go on!

The classroom was pitch black and the downpour meant outside was not an option – but that is no excuse to skip class!  Shwetha, the visiting teacher got creative & created a make-shift classroom huddled under the awnings near our bedrooms ... and the girls celebrated on the roof once the rain finally stopped. 

I cannot possibly explain how amazing all these women are!

Lakuben and Javaben are both Rabari women who do traditional embroidery.  Lakuben has made a collection primarily of accessories – handbags and necklaces and Javaben has concentrated primarily on a children’s clothing collection.   They can sit there for hours; talking and laughing while stitching the most intricate designs.

 

 

 

Zakiya, is 19 and a very talented, intelligent and ambitious Bandhani artisan who wants to be a young female entrepreneur, running her own business and selling her fashion designs.  She has taken this traditional craft and applied a really contemporary look and feel.

Again, if you – like me have never heard of Bandhani let me give you my very quick and uneducated overview.  Bandhani is a “tie and dye” craft that is traditionally made up of square dots created by pinching the fabric and wrapping it tightly with twine which can then resist the dye and creates a crippled effect with the fabric.  Each dot has to be tied individually and if they want multiple colours then each garment must be pinched, tied and dyed several times – this can mean that it takes 2-4 days per piece!

 

 

 

Zakiya has taken a really fresh and contemporary approach to her craft and is using new techniques to create different looks which I think are really amazing.

For example for this kaftan she painted lines of grey and pink dye, then pinched and tied the outer ring of each circle (to protect the colour) and discharged the dye in the middle of the circle to bring it back to white, leaving enough to create this lovely effect.

 

For this top she died the whole thing grey, then tied it to make one big circle at the back (protecting it so it would remain grey), discharged the colour from the rest of the top to bring it back to white before re-dying it to make it blue.  She then individually tied each of these dots and discharged the colour to make the star … seriously impressive!

Shwetha is fantastic!  She is a trained designer and runs her own business based in Bangalore in addition to working with many NGO organisations that empower artisans & the handcrafts sector.  Last year she was selected to be part of the Goldman Sachs women entrepreneur program and underwent an intensive education program similar to a mini-MBA.  Judy and I are going to enlist her to be part of the teaching faculty for the business program we are developing.

Lakshmi (which stands for “goddess of wealth” – how cool is that!) and Lakhiben are permanent faculty and help with translation and comprehension of the skills.  There are lots of different languages, so although Gujarti  is the local language, some students and teachers speak Kutchi or Hindi so translation is necessary.

What has been so inspiring is watching how these women interact, respect and learn from one another, despite differences in age, traditions, religions, language and crafts.  They spend all day laughing, providing constructive feedback and encouraging each other. 

FACT: 

Learning is the fastest way to empower people and give them confidence!

It is so lovely watching them talk about their craft and their designs with such pride and I am truly honoured and touched to be a part of something so special.  Lots more has happened over the last few days while there has been no power so I will add a few more blog posts & photos shortly.