Ka-Sha has partnered with Raaha Consulting and their newest offering Loom and Hand to launch the The Artisan Shop, which is a movement for collective action to support our Weavers and Artisans, by giving access to consumers globally to buy directly from the makers. The artisan and handmade economy is severely impacted by the shutdowns as a result of the second wave of Covid-19 in India. They are not just dealing with disease, shortage of medication and oxygen and loss of life, but also with cancelled orders and economic insecurity. The donations and relief pouring in is significant, but the weavers and artisans want to continue to work, to grow their business, to be able to continue doing what they love and feel empowered through sales. Recently Raaha managed to raised $4000/ INR 3,00,000 in three days to support the supply of ration kits and medicines for Artisan families.
Their support was extended to women artisans and families that are looking after unwell family members at home. Ruhi Handloom, Samoolam, Swara Voice of Women, Mahashakti Seva Kendra (MSK), Pattachitra Art cluster in Raghurajpur, Puri, Orissa, are some of the amazing women-led organizations they have helped in this tumultuous time. The online shop will be active for 30 days, starting May 17th, 2021.
The main intent of the initiative is to use the sales to sustain livelihoods of the community during this hour of distress. The label identified the urgent needs of a direct revenue channel which would help in reducing deadstock and inventory, increase sales and revenue, promote a more open form of the economy, keep the looms and workshops running to prevent the artforms from dying down and most importantly help the consumer develop a personal relation with the one making their clothes through a transparent process.
Abdul Ahad Ganaie Master Artisan, Tilla Embroidery Wakura district, Ganderbal, Jammu
Telling us about how things will essentially function, the team at Ka-sha tells us, 'We have identified weavers and clusters that have deadstock and excess inventory lying around. Our aim is to not incourage them to invest in newer products but rather to help sell what is lying around. Our network partners will have proper quality checks going on and then with the help of internal resources they have collected, images, details and prices will go up on the web shop, which acts as a catalogue for the artisans,'
The final steps will include the team helping the artisans packaging and shipping the products, once a sale is made. The domestic orders would be shipped by the artisans themselves and the international shipping will be taken care of by Ka-sha from their head office in Pune, to ease the process further and help those in certain regions where there is no easy access to international courier servies. The label also further vows to pay the artists in three working days itself.
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Date 12-05-2021