Artisan Aid India
Towards cultural preservation and financial empowerment of local Artisans of Odisha
During my visits to Odisha with my family, I encountered the most incredible stone carvings, and colorful Pattachitra paintings that are deeply rooted in the region's cultural heritage. The craftsmanship of these artisans left me in awe—not just because of their skill, but because of the deep cultural stories they carry through their art. It made me realize that these art forms are not just beautiful objects; they are a living, breathing part of India’s rich heritage that needs to be preserved for future generations. After many conversations with the Artisans, I realised that they were facing many problems and were struggling to make ends meet, while striving to keep their heritage alive. Preserving their traditional art was critical to their survival. I decided to create this digital platform to share their stories and showcase their art to a wider, more urban customer base. I also introduced them to the concept of micro loans and assisted them through the application process. This initiative not only provided the artisans with financial stability to support their families but also empowered them to continue practicing and sharing their invaluable cultural traditions.
About Raghurajpur - A Heritage village in Odisha
Quick Facts .....
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Raghurajpur is a quiet village in Puri district, Odisha. It is located on the southern banks of river Bhargavi in an idyllic setting among groves of coconut, palm and other tropical trees.
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There are about 120 houses decorated with mural paintings, indicating that the artists and the family residing there are engaged in crafts works.
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The families cherish the art legacy of their ancestors.
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Each house is like an art gallery or an open museum and the artists can be seen working in their verandas.
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It is well known for its Pattchitra paintings, stone sculptures, masks, palm leaf paintings, wood carvings, wooden toys, cow dung toys, paper mache, and traditional masks
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Some of the Artisans here are also National award winners
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After a 2 year research project, in 2000, Raghurajpur was chosen by INTACH to be developed as Odisha's first Heritage Village .
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On interviewing several Artisans, I found that despite the Government and Non Governmental Organisations being involved in the area, the Artisans still faced many problems.....
Heritage Art - Patttachitra Paintings
Pattchitra Paintings of Odisha are handed down from one generation to the next and their origin dates back to the 12th century. Pattachitra paintings are based on Hindu mythology and specially inspired by Vaishnavism (worship of Lord Vishnu and his avatars) which is associated with Lord Jagannath. Lord Jagannath (“Lord of the Universe”), inspires religion, life and activity of the people of Odisha. The three deities – Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Goddess Subhadra – are worshipped in every Hindu household in the state of Odisha . Besides Lord Jagannath, most of the themes of traditional Pattachitra are devoted to Lord Krishna and folk tales from Ramayana and Mahabharata.
Process and Colours - The artwork is done on seven layers of cloth that have been cut into discs and properly hardened. Traditional Raghurajpur artists use organic colors. The process begins with a piece of cloth that has been washed and dried. A special gum is prepared by boiling ground tamarind seeds (soaked in hot water prior to grinding). This gummy paste is spread over the cloth. Another piece of cloth of the same size and dimensions is placed over it before the gum dries up. The tamarind gum is applied on this cloth. Once the gum dries, a mix of the tamarind gum and powdered white stone (made of conch shells) is applied on both sides of the cloth. It’s left to dry till it becomes hard. Then, it’s polished with a small pebble to give it a smooth leathery finish. When the canvas is ready for painting, the outlines are sketched in light colour. A decorative border is drawn on all sides to give it a frame like look. Intricate pictures of various gods, goddesses, and mythological scenes with ornamentation of flowers, trees and animals are then painted. The artists are so expert in the line that they simply draw directly with the brush either in light red or yellow. Then the colours, prepared using natural ingredients, are filled in. These colours are primarily white, red, yellow, blue, green and black. The soot of burning lamps and coconut shells serves for black, white is prepared from powder of conch shell, while the shades and hues of red, yellow, blue and green are obtained from plant leaves, flower petals, fruits and ground rocks etc.
These are some of the paintings that the Artisans showed us...
Heritage Art - Sculptures
Stone carvings date back to 13th century A.D. This traditional art has been passed down over many generations and entire families are skilled in the technique. There are more than 5000 artisans in Odisha who practice this art. Stone sculptures are mainly of gods Krishna and Radha, Laxmi, Vishnu, Durga, Buddha and Ganesha. Stone art is not only for images but also to make household products mainly out of sandstone while granite is used for the images. Sometimes the artisans are also involved in making images or statues for installing in temples. Three different types of stones are used - hard granite, semi hard stone and soft stone. Carvers like to use the soft stone as they can use simple tools to work with. The artisans skilled in this craft are known as ‘Maharanas’. The brown sand stones are mainly used for bigger statues for outdoor purpose. They are cheaper in price. The black granite is the hardest of all. The artisans live in areas where there is an abundance stone as the stones are very heavy and difficult to transport.
These are some of the sculptures the Artisans showed us...
Heritage Art - Toys, Masks, Other Crafts
Artisans here specialise in making eco friendly art works such as masks, decorative bottles, and toys from waste items. Traditional skills combined with waste items such as discarded liquor bottles, coconut shells, newspapers, paper wastes, clothes, cow dung etc. are used by several artists here to create new artefacts like paper-mâché masks, figurines of gods, goddesses, animals and toys for kids.
These are some of the Crafts the Artisans showed us..
Interviews and Voices of the Artisans.....
press on each picture to hear what the Artisans had to say...
What we heard....
The main problems faced by the Artisans were :
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Absence of organised markets - The Artisans main customer base is limited to small craft bazaars in different cities, pop-up markets organised around festivals in Orissa, and other parts of India. Invitations to these markets are on a one off basis by individual connects with NGO's and other government organisations. Sometimes the artisans are able to source individual orders for their paintings etc, but primarily through their own connects made at craft bazaars etc, or through visitors to the heritage village. They are unable to reach a wider audience or urban markets in a structured way where they could get higher prices for their art.
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Inability to source Online markets via Facebook, Instagram or a Website due to lack of education and training.
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Difficult to interact with the urban customer due to language constraints - most of the Artisans speak the local language
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Sourcing of good quality raw material is difficult as not available easily
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Presence of middlemen - Middlemen buy their craft at low prices and sell at much higher prices in the cities
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Cheaper factory made products, mass produced, flood the craft bazaars and local markets
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Infrastructure problems in the village - visitors find it difficult to even reach the Heritage Village due to bad roads, not proper signs on the roads etc.
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Lack of access to finance - Loans given by the government are cumbersome and have excessive paperwork and formalities, which they are unable to do, and hence have to resort to local money lenders who charge a very high rate of interest.
What we did .....
In response to the above issues, faced by the Artisans, the State and Central Government and Non Governmental Organisations (NGO's) have made attempts to address the hardships through training programmes, self help groups, helping the Artisans in procuring good quality raw materials and invitations to Government organised markets. However, despite the collective attempts, Artisans continue to face many challenges. The spectre of low wages, limited market access, and difficulty in securing loans continue to haunt them at every step. It is important to note that some of these efforts do take many years to show impact.
However, each of us needs to be a part of and contribute to the cultural preservation of our heritage. Reviving the traditional arts is not just about preserving the past, it’s about investing in a vibrant future. Hence, by supporting these initiatives we can ensure that India’s artistic legacy continues for generations to come.
Via this digital platform of Artisan Aid India, I was able to introduce and showcase their art to a wider urban audience, and help in empowering the Artisans by introducing additional sources of income. I also connected them with small micro finance companies to introduce the concept of micro loans.
Specifically, through this platform, I was able to -
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Showcase the art and crafts of the Artisans of Raghurajpur to event organisers at upscale venues in Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore. This led to them being invited to showcase their Paintings, Sculptures and Crafts at several events and private shows in Mumbai and Bangalore.
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Connect with some Corporates and Hotels and introduce the idea of using their art in hotel reception areas (paintings) and for corporate gifting (miniature paintings / trays / statues etc) during festivals.
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Introduce the Artisans to eco conscious Fashion designers for individualised orders for garments, since all colour and paints used were organic and made from natural substances.
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Introduce and secured orders from Wedding planners for designs on invitation cards.
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helped with a crowdfunding campaign of support several Artisans
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Partnered with a micro loan provider to develop simplified loan applications, introduced there to about 100 plus artisans, which led to many of them applying for microloan financing.