Just outside the Garh of Chandelao village you will find a building hosting our Arts and Craft project; Sunder Rang. Here we work with the women of Chandelao in making traditional Rajasthani handicraft.
"Sunder Rang" means beautiful colors in Hindi; it symbolizes the colorful clothes of the women and the bright turbans of the men along with the richness in culture, crafts, people and traditions in Rajasthan, India. Rajasthan is a region famous for its diversity and richness in arts and crafts; however, the crafts persons face high competition from industrial production and many artisans cannot make a living out of their traditional profession anymore, making the disappearance of local crafts knowledge a possibility.
Our aim is to maintain and support the local craft skills and develop high quality products with unique Rajasthani designs, thus create a sustainable source of income for the women in Chandelao village.
In many ways, Rajasthan is still 'ancient' India. This means earning a living without leaving your village is difficult - especially for women. We have therefore, together with local women, created an arts and crafts center in the village of Chandelao, near Basecamp Rajasthan. The Basecamp Foundation partnership provides support to the organization through the promotion of Chandelao as a social-tourism destination. The Sunder Rang arts and crafts project was started on International Women's Day in 2007. An average of 20 women work at the center, producing traditional Rajasthani textiles and handicrafts items for both local and export markets. Our aim is to support the local craft skills and develop high quality products with unique Rajasthani designs and to create a sustainable source of income for the artisans. The project is run on a "fair trade" basis - paying the artisans a good daily wage for their work, caring about the environment and empowering the women in many ways. The earnings help the women generate income and provide for basic necessities. This community development project focuses on providing specific training, capacity building and local jobs linked with arts and crafts.
The Chandelao product line includes embroidery, clothes, accessories, home wares, and cushions. The products are made keeping the traditional touch in mind and every pattern/design will have a story to tell you. We specialize in aari-taari (embroidery found in this region), hand embroidery, sewing, weaving and bead work. The finished products are displayed in the 'Jhopadi', a traditional Rajasthani hut which showcases the cultural and artistic diversity of true Rajasthan. By creating local jobs and providing a platform for nurturing and developing local cultural knowledge and traditional skills, the project has already rendered a good reputation in the village and in surrounding areas, and is generating much-needed income to the women and their families.
For more information on Sunder Rang and its products, please visit the center web site at www.sunderrang.org.
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Chandelao Garh