After 35 years of exporting traditional Indian wares to improve lives in rural India, Karigar, a retail outlet of International Fair Trade Association member Asha Handicrafts, brings its range to Mumbai shoppers
After 35 years of exporting traditional Indian wares to improve lives in rural India, Karigar, a retail outlet of International Fair Trade Association member Asha Handicrafts, brings its range to Mumbai shoppers
It wasn't the spirit of charity that drew us into Karigar, it was the novel display of intricately-carved clocks and chests in the shop's window that did it. Store manager Anas Shaikh says Asha Handicrafts, an export-oriented fair-trade firm whose profits sponsored the medical care, education, financial assistance and subsistence of Indian craftsmen, had branched out to form Karigar (means "artisan"). "There are nine rules that form the protocol of a fair trade organisation. We don't employ child labour, and profits are ploughed back to improve the lives of artisans.
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Horn and bone bowl from Sarai Tarin, a tiny village in Uttar Pradesh (Rs 499 onwards) |
Charity is not, however, the only reason to shop here; the craftsmanship is their USP. Rosewood corner tables adorned with Warli art using the Dokra technique, for instance, were gorgeously crafted and reasonably priced at Rs 5,995 onwards, as were wooden lamp-bases crafted using the same technique (Rs 1,495 onwards). We loved what the manager described as a series of "antique-finish station clocks" priced at Rs 1,395 onwards.
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Wooden puzzle cum trinket box (Rs 190) |
Whether you are looking for a keychain, a pocket-sized mirror or a rear-view-mirror ornament, you'll find interesting varieties here (Rs 15 to Rs 45).u00a0 The store also stocks pure silver jewellery (Rs 115 onwards), recycled-paper planners (Rs 150 onwards), foldable, oriental-style paper-lamps (Rs 250 onwards), pure silk bed sets (Rs 2,495), rugs and dhurries (Rs 1,995 onwards), animal-horn bowls (Rs 499 onwards), Feng Shui ornaments and aromatherapy oils (Rs 250 onwards).
Log on to https://www.karigar.in/ to see how the project aids artisans, some of them widows and divorcees
At: Shop No. HSU G12A at Palladium, High Street Phoenix, Lower Parel.
Call: 24980066, 24980067.
Open from 10.30 am to 9 pm, Monday to Friday, 10.30 am to 9.30 pm on weekends
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