The art of appliqué is practiced by women artisans who are part of large co-operatives, located in hot, arid, rural desert villages of Rajasthan & Kutch. Women from distant villages come once a week to the cooperative offices, submit their products and collect more raw materials to work on in their small homes or huts. Profits from this art help the overall development of the groups; they now have medical centers providing basic health services, solar electricity, schools for kids and vocational colleges for women.

In the intricate art form of appliqué, fabric is first cut into the desired shape using a chisel and hammer. The artisans then trace the base fabric where this cut fabric pattern is placed and then hand appliqué the pattern with small stitches. These skills have passed down through generations as part of tradition & livelihood source. Embroidery art forms were developed by women as a way to embellish their clothing and household items, and many girls in India grow up learning the craft from the elder women in their families. Every intricate form tells a story through patterns and colors, and each style is representative of an artisan’s community & region. Embroideries were considered so special that these were traditionally given as dowries.

SETU is committed to provide these artisans with employment and empowerment, focus on health, social and environmental sustainability….We have conducted a lot of development projects for these artisans such as sponsoring solar lights in 100+ homes, skill upgradation workshops, workshops on health, hygiene & nutrition, installing computer training centre for artisans, various health & eye check up camps etc.

Pl scroll below to check the products made by these artisans.