ART AND CRAFT OF LAKHPATI DIDIS

Owned and led by women, this company uses fibres like bamboo and sal leaves to produce craftwork, providing sustenance to thousands of poor families in rural India

- By AJAY SUKUMARAN

The story of Greenkraft doesn't start with one person with a bright spark; rather, it was a phenomenon of many women coming together to announce their craftsmanship to the world—lifestyle products and home accessories from natural fibre raw material. Their goal: to ensure items made by women artisans have access to the formal economy. Today, miraculously, they are a global brand. Miraculous because it’s on the back of craftwork produced by 3,500 women artisans from marginalised communities in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Odisha. Greenkraft Producer Company Ltd, born in 2012 as a brainchild of the Industree Crafts Foundation, brings them together at its 22 Mutual Benefit Trust (MBT) centres. They receive training here, and they are also shareholders. The effect is life-transforming, and that quiet magic lends a glow to the gallery of items at Greenkraft’s online store: lamps and lanterns, string lights, wall hangings and torans, all aimed at the Diwali and Christmas festive sales.