Our vision

To facilitate transformation of small scale producers into entrepreneurs and create avenues for income generation among the disadvantaged communities in the mountain state.

Our Business

We believe that providing business development services (BDS) is imperative to improving market access of the poor. In doing so, one of the key needs is to bridge the gaps in the value chain between producers and the markets. At Studio Alaya, we act as socially concious business intermediaries who identify and strengthen backward and forward linkages for poor producers while operating in the market.

As a BDS provider, we engage with crafts & skills based small scale producers to build their entrepreneurial competencies through inputs in design, skills, infrastructure info, financial and business management literacy. We also facilitate market linkages for their products.

For marketing the crafts produced, we follow a for-profit market led approach while ensuring adequate returns to the producers.

Our Field Partners

Our partners in the field include non-profit, donor supported organisations such as Non Governmental Organisations, Artisan Cooperatives and State Government promoted livelihood development agencies aiming to alleviate rural poverty and create avenues for enterprise development. They are:

- Uttarakhand Bamboo & Fiber Development Board

- Rana Tharu Bans Evam Resha Hastshilpa Vikas Evam Vipnan Samiti

- Uttarakhand Parvatiya Ajeevika Sanvardhan Company, UPASaC, District Bageshwar. (UPASaC is a Section 25 company promoted by an IFAD supported Govt. of Uttarakhand project)

- SEWA Bharat Uttarakhand

Our Retail Outlet

Our retail outlet is located at 94, Old Rajpur, Dehradun, Uttarakhand. We also supply to various stores across the country.

To see examples of our product range, please visit our Products section.

Who we are

The name Studio Alaya is inspired from the Sanskrit word "Him (Snow)+ Alaya (Abode)= Himalaya (Abode of the Snow clad mountains)".

Based in Uttarakhand, a state in Northern India located in the Central Himalayas, Alaya Design Studio is registered as a for-profit private firm. It is promoted by a core team of professionals from the fields of Design and Development:

Joshua Paljor Hishey is Principal Designer at Studio Alaya. After graduating in Industrial Design from the Kendall College of Art & Design, Michigan, USA, he worked with various firms as a Product Designer. He returned to India in 2004 to establish a consultancy firm, providing design solutions to corporates, government agencies and non-government organizations. In 2005, concerned about the lack of employment avenues for local youth from disadvantaged backgrounds, Joshua initiated a furniture manufacturing enterprise training and providing employment to local youth. The enterprise continues to manufacture furniture and crafts in bamboo, wood, metal and textiles. Apart from leading design at Studio Alaya, Joshua also works as a volunteer and mentor for the local Tibetan community. Joshua was runner-up in the Young Design Entrepreneur Award 2009, a competition organized by the British Council India (http://www.britishcouncil.org/india-arts-iydey2007.htm) He also won a Fellowship from the Commutiny Youth Collective (http://www.commutiny.in/ccc.html) under which he has initiated 'Mauka' a platform to provide informal education to youth from less privileged backgrounds in English, Hindi, Computers and Graphic Design (http://maukacreatingopportunities.blogspot.com/)

Richa Ghansiyal joined Studio Alaya in early 2008 as Coordinator Programmes, Development Initiatives. She holds a Masters degree in Rural Development from the University of Sussex, UK. Prior to that she graduated in Industrial Design with specialization in Furniture from the National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad, India. She has worked across India on craft and livelihood development projects in various capacities. She was a recipient of the Ford Foundation International Fellowship in 2005. Richa's interests include non-formal education, sustainable livelihoods and development finance.