STUDIO ALAYA
94 Old Rajpur
Dehradun Uttarakhand
India
ph: +911356537205
fax: +911352733416
info
Producers - our partners
Our Partners in Design, Production & Marketing
Studio Alaya networks with craft & skill based producer groups and enterprises as partners in design, production & marketing. They are:
Youth Carpenters making Wood & Bamboo furniture
In 2005, a collective of unemployed local youth from Rajpur, Dehradun were provided training in making of Contemporary Furniture & Accessories in eco-friendly Bamboo. Today, the enterprise continues to be mentored through Studio Alaya in the production of furniture & accessories in Bamboo as well as Wood & Metal.
Rana Tharus of Terai making Natural Fiber Crafts
Studio Alaya provides Design & Marketing linkages to the Cooperative of Artisans from the tribal community of Rana Tharus from the Terai region of Uttarakhand. Traditionally the Rana Tharus made baskets out of seasonal grasses such as Kansi, Seenk, Motha, Pateri etc. Today in a joint initiative of Studio Alaya & the Uttarakhand Bamboo & Fiber Development Board, the product range has been diversified to include bags, cushions, trays etc. made for contemporary markets.
SHG of Home based women tailors making products in Recycled Textiles
In a joint initiative of Studio Alaya and Sewa Bharat Uttarakhand, Self Help Groups of home based women tailors in Gandhigram slum of Dehradun have initiated a micro enterprise making tailored products out of textile waste. The range includes accessories such as bags, belts and cushion covers, all made out of Recycled textile, basically waste textile pieces called Chindi.
Tamta artisan SHGs making Handcrafted Copperware
Handcrafted copperware craft has been produced for centuries by the Tamta community in District Bageshwar, Uttarakhand. However due to receding demand in traditional products, their market is declining, threatening their livelihoods. Studio Alaya has partnered with UPASAC Bageshwar, a Section 25 company promoted by Ajeevika, an IFAD promoted Govt. of Uttarakhand livelihood improvement project in the Himalayas in order to diversify the skill and product range of these craftspersons and ensure access to new markets.Hill communities making Natural Fiber Textiles
Uttarakhand has unique plant origin textile fibers such as Industrial Hemp and Himalayan Nettle. The tradition to weave ropes and cloth out of these fibers dates back to hundreds of years. Today, Studio Alaya is working with the Uttarakhand Bamboo & Fiber Development Board to revive the craft heritage and improve the livelihood prospects of the indigenous communities in the districts of Chamoli and Pithoragarh who are still engaged in this labour intensive unique craft tradition. Currently in R&D phase, the product range includes Hemp and Nettle Stoles, Cushions, Jackets as well as yardage.
Status of Craft & Skill based production
Craft sector being largely unorganized and informal is hampered with constraints such as erratic supply of raw material, high costs of transportation, lack of skills, inadequate infrastructure and poor technical, financial and business management literacy.
At the same time, craft as an income generation alternative seems attractive to rural mountain environments due to availability of local natural resources, low requirement of intensive technology and high engagement of labour.
Similarly for informal sector producers in urban areas, such enterprises can be the basis of livelihood, provided the inadequacies of capital, technology and skill are supported through adequate entrepreneurial inputs.
Studio Alaya endeavors to build the infrastructural, institutional and individual capacity of such rural and urban craft and skill based producers through design and skill trainings, enterprise building inputs, facilitation of linkages with financial institutions and marketing promotion agencies.
Improving Access to Markets for the Producers
Studio Alaya also focuses on improving access to markets for these producers by promoting among them an understanding on market trends, creation and empowerment of value chains, better management and organization to make craft and skill based production more market focused.
Fair Enterprise
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. For marketing of the crafts produced, we follow a for-profit market led approach while ensuring adequate returns to the producers.
For more information, please visit our Products section.
STUDIO ALAYA
94 Old Rajpur
Dehradun Uttarakhand
India
ph: +911356537205
fax: +911352733416
info
