If you’ve been keeping up with my recent posts, you’ll know I am currently in India on the project CraftHER by Swara - Voice of Women. Last week, we finished up the fourth week out of six (time is moving so quickly)! Located in Kerala, India, the project is centred around traditional Indian handicrafts in various trades and the amplification of the talented women artisans in these spaces. Our project cohort, comprised of six students from universities worldwide, is travelling around Kerala and working with different partner organizations.
In week 4, we partnered with Archana Women’s Centre in Kottayam. Archana provides training for women in a wide range of trades, including (but certainly not limited to) carpentry, masonry, tailoring, welding, and much more. They also provide support, upskilling, and financial support for women to start and continue their own enterprises. Despite heavy rains and flooding, we met so many incredible women entrepreneurs this week from Archana!
They say a picture tells a thousand words, and I agree! I feel the best way to capture CraftHER week 4 is through a digital scrapbook, including some of the 800 photos that I took during the week.
Chapter 1 - Archana's Women's Centre
Pictured here is Archana Women’s Centre! This building was designed and constructed by women. They call it a “monument to women’s skills.” The statue standing in front of the building was designed and constructed by the incredible Jayshree P.K! On our first day, we met Jayshree, and she gave us the advice:
Use your space!
This advice was embodied by all of the incredible women we met with Archana.
Chapter 2 - Flooding Chronicles
This week, we saw the river quickly consume, completely take over, and then spit out the backyard of where we are staying. After this experience, I think I finally understand what flash flooding means. Seeing this really showcased how quickly flooding can occur and how quickly it can dry up (if and only if the rain subsides). Luckily, our accommodation stayed completely dry, and we (mostly) managed to stay dry.
16 July - 9:07 am
16 July - 1:31 pm
17 July - 9:45 am
20 July - 12:11 pm
Chapter 3 - Spices Galord
On one of our days with Archana, we visited their spice grinding unit, where they clean, dry, and grind pure, high-quality spices. When we visited the unit, the delicious, strong smell of the spices immediately hit my nose. I’ve never seen so much chilli power in one place at once. We learned about their production process and how this unit functions. Later in the week, we saw these amazing spices sold at an Archana Rural Mart, allowing us to see the lifecycle of the spices from starting ingredients to ground spice to retail products.
Chapter 4 - Carpentry
While working with Archana, we met Omana! She is one of the first woman carpenters in India. We met her earlier in the week on our first day at Archana, and we learned about her story. Her passion and drive to keep learning and creating are palpable and shine through her work, like this incredible crib she made from memory - not to sell but to keep learning new skills. Her pieces are thoughtful, like the rounded edges on the crib, so it is child-safe. It was such a pleasure to see her in action in her element at her shop.
Chapter 5 - The Final Day with Archana
On our final day with Archana, we presented marketing content that we had put together based on our experiences to the Archana team. It was lovely collaborating with the fabulous, enterprising women at Archana. It was such an honour having the opportunity to meet and learn from these women!
CraftHER is a proprietary project bringing scholars from around the world to study the intersection of traditional craft, feminism, and women’s amplification in Kerala, India. Created by Swara: Voice of Women, the project was established in 2024 with a cohort of 6 scholars but hopes to expand in forthcoming years. Follow @craftherbyswara on Instagram for more details and to follow along on our journey!