https://www.facebook.com/gestures.in/
www.gestures.in
Gestures by Kriti team
– an artisanal and community livelihood support initiative
“Wearing your politics on your sleeve, literally, doesn’t mean a loss of fashionableness
Telling the world that you care about artisan, weaver and women’s groups in Odisha, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal by wearing clothes produced by them doesn’t mean a dip in your coolness quotient”
Founded in 1999, the Kriti team (a
not-for-profit organisation) independently began the initiation and incubation
of a community made enterprise for preserving the artisanal and craft heritage
of our country, for conserving the environment and supporting community
producers’ livelihoods—GESTURES. Our aim is to produce ethically and create a
consumer culture that will not harm human beings or the environment, by way of
the products they buy from us.
The Gestures logo represents the tree
of life which connects us to the earth and universe in more than one way.
We work closely with community
organisations and committed individuals in identifying and partnering with
weavers, artisans and community producers who can handcraft and revive lost
crafts as also work with contemporary design ideas. This is an initiative to
share ‘a gift’ to the self and others – products for the body, mind and soul -
that are eco-friendly and ethically produced across rural & urban
landscapes all over India. All the products at Gestures are good quality in
terms of raw materials and manufacturing, as they are hand woven and
handcrafted by local talented artisans and producer groups who are part of the
recovery of lost skills and crafts.
The ‘Gestures’ products are not
limited to any one type or class, in fact, these products range from stationary
to cosmetics, toys to stoles and shawls, home décor to t-shirts, organic foods
to jewellery, gifts to art and more. They represent the diversity of artisans,
weavers, producers and users and symbolise the coming together of many
‘gestures’—from Delhi, Bihar, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand,
Kerala, Punjab, Odisha, Maharashtra, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Uttar
Pradesh. These marginal and low-income artisans and communities of women and
men, young and old, differently abled and heritage based artists are trained in
their local crafts and production, and represent what India stands for—a life
of caring and sharing. Gestures brings the entire skill set of Indian
creativity and heritage at one place, www.gestures.in
Your purchase at
Gestures will enable these artisans, weavers and communities have decent work
opportunities, earn a secure livelihood and build their lives, which we all
agree is a right for everyone—to have access to good education, food, health
and housing. The earnings from these product sales are directly given to the
community producer groups when you buy from Gestures.
Come shop and support
Gestures and make your ecofootprint in building a clean, green and happy
environment, while also allowing yourself to lead a healthy and sustainable
‘life’work’style.
The India Runway Week 2017 Collection from Gestures by Kriti team
Handwoven Cotton and Silk Stoles,
Dupattas and Sarees by weavers from
West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh and Odisha.
Rabha Cotton
Weaves, West Bengal
Rabhas are a relatively unknown tribal
community residing in the districts bordering Assam and West Bengal and belong
to the Indo-Mongoloid group. In West Bengal, they are forest dwellers spread
across the forests of Duars region of north Bengal. Traditionally they depend
on agriculture and non-timber forest produce. Rabhas are shy in nature and
rarely connect with the outside world. Rabha women are traditionally skilled in
extra weaves with colourful and flowing floral and geographical patterns. It
was a part of their cultural expression. They still weave but mostly for their
own use and for their own festivals such as marriages. Living isolated in the
forest villages, with no external support and lack of market opportunities,
Rabha women have not been able to transform their exquisite weaving skills to a
livelihood option. Partnerships with local groups is making it possible to
revive this traditional Rabha Weave, providing them an opportunity not only to
continue with their weaving but also earn their livelihood through marketing
support and revive their cultural expression at the same time. The initiative
is in its infancy, started in early 2014, with a group of women in one of the
forest villages of Buxa forests. This year, the women of Mendabari forest
village of the Chilapata forests have joined this initiative. Currently, the
community of weavers are creating Stoles, Dupattas, Sarongs and Sarees, but
have endless possibilities.
Baragaon
Weaves, Uttar Pradesh
Inspired by the
village of Baragaon and the life of the weavers near Lucknow, we work with
local partners to assist weavers in distress—especially as they struggle under
the onslaught of mechanisation and exploitative middlemen, providing them
capacity building, design development and marketing assistance. The effort
ensures that weavers are given just and dignified wages, their handloom weaving
craft is respected and handloom weaving becomes fashionable. The complete
collection currently includes handwoven pure Cotton Fabric, Stoles, Dupattas,
Sarees, Men’s Shirts and Kurtas.
Banarasi
Silk Weaves, Varanasi
The
handwoven silk stoles are by Bachalal Maurya, National and State Awardee,
Handloom Weaver, Varanasi. He is a skilled artisan, who inherited the art of
weaving from his ancestors. The resident of Chhahi village, Sarnath, is a
Geographical Indication (GI) and handloom mark registered artisan, with a
wide assortment of products such as Stoles, sarees, running material and suits.
His speciality, the Kabir Doha stole
was presented to PM Modi on the eve of National Handloom Day, 2015!
Contemporary
Ikat Silk Weaves (Stoles)
Ikat
weaving is locally called Bandha (meaning ‘to tie’) in Odisha, the largest
centre for intricate and fine curvilinear ikat designs (popular across the
world as Sambalpuri Ikats). The Ikat technique requires the yarns to be tied
and dyed repeatedly in accordance to the design to bring about the desired
colours at the desired places and ultimately with the simple interlacement of
the threads the design is produced on the fabric. The work of a local design
studio in Odisha with weavers who had stopped weaving or were migrating is
finding its way to Gestures by Kriti. The complete collection includes stoles,
dupattas and sarees.
Coordinates:
011-26027845/ 26033088
https://krititeam.blogspot/com
Facebook: @Gestures.in
Instagram:
@Gestures.in
About the film: Chess is a popular pastime in this neighbourhood in Bhopal, with roadside games bringing together men to challenge each other in friendly and sometimes unfriendly matches. But for some, the pawns include morality and religion, causing tensions to erupt when a tournament gets underway. Against this backdrop, a domestic worker with a secret hobby, a former journalist struggling with married life and a young woman in love, all find themselves pushing boundaries and challenging the rules of the game. 
About the film club: Kriti Film Club is an educational initiative of a not-for-profit organisation 'Kriti team'. It screens and shares documentary films on development, environment and socially relevant issues, in an effort to influence mindsets and behaviour towards an equitous, just and peaceful world. It also curates issue based film festivals and organises neighbourhood, school, college or institutional film shows. The Kriti Film Club has been screening regularly and independently since 2000.
