Artisan Originals
Manchaha
Manchaha, a hindi word popular in our weaving community, means “expression of my heart”, and is a sustainable development initiative where weavers get to design their own rug for the first time ever. It taps into the untamed fashion in rural India by nurturing their creative potential and transforms a community from exploitation to empowerment. Each rug, hand-made with more than 200,000 knots, is the story of its creator – with emotions, dreams, and personality.
Through the initiative rural men and women with, at best, the absolute basics of education, have stunned the world with original designs matching the calibre of global professionals. This social innovation has uniquely sustained the dying age-old art of hand knotting by renewing the passion for weaving, through unfiltered expression. It has targeted economic transformation through regular income and by instilling confidence. Each rug is also made using leftover hand-spun yarn batches, which reduces industry-wide wastage that had no solution, and makes its colour palette as unique as its design. It is a remarkable example of sustainable production – reusing and revival from waste, the problem becoming its own solution.
The initiative, conceptualised by Kavita Chaudhary (Design Director, Jaipur Rugs) has won eight prestigious global design awards such as the German Design Award, Elle Décor Award, Carpet Design Award, IF Design Award, Kyoorious Design Award and European Product Design Award, all while going up against mega design houses and billion-dollar product companies from across the globe.
Empowerment to a discriminated rural India, empowerment to women, sustaining the dying art of hand-knotting through passion, sustainable development all woven together into one-of-a-kind rug designs that can connect hearts world over.
Leheriya Ki Kalpana
by Manisha
Wool and Bamboo Silk
5x8ft
Aandhi
by Sumitra
Wool and Bamboo Silk
6x9ft
Safarnama
by Rajjo
Wool and Bamboo Silk
5x8ft
Kufri
by Suman
Wool and Bamboo Silk
4x6ft
Aas Paas
Weaver-designer Manju Devi from Dhanota village won four awards for her Manchaha rug AAS PAAS. Manju is inspired by her surroundings, like her chulha and traditionally painted walls. She has brought to life the patterns formed by cow dung covering the floors and walls of her village homes.
Samriddhi
by Mamta
Silk
3x5ft
Kudrat
by Dhafali and Sugna
Wool and Bamboo Silk
4x6ft
Aakar by
Lachma Devi
Wool and Bamboo Silk
5x8ft
