< Back |
Home » Our Investees » Craftizen
Craftizen
Hyderabad
- Alumni
At Craftizen, we play the role of Craft Architects, building bridges that connect the crafts sector to newer possibilities. Craftizen was founded in 2014 with the vision to help revive Indian craft and artisanal skills so that they remain an integral part of our cultural fabric. Our model enables craft-based skill development by offering support across the value-chain from training to design, production and marketing, including absorbing risk of inventory through assured buyback, to ensure sustainable livelihoods for our groups.
Duration of Support
2018-2019
Duration of Support
2018-2019
< Back |
Home » Our Investees » Craftizen
Craftizen
Hyderabad
- Alumni
At Craftizen, we play the role of Craft Architects, building bridges that connect the crafts sector to newer possibilities. Craftizen was founded in 2014 with the vision to help revive Indian craft and artisanal skills so that they remain an integral part of our cultural fabric. Our model enables craft-based skill development by offering support across the value-chain from training to design, production and marketing, including absorbing risk of inventory through assured buyback, to ensure sustainable livelihoods for our groups.
Duration of Support
2018-2019
SVP-Craftizen Partnership
For a duration of 1 year, SVP’s Hyderabad chapter funded Craftizen for a Green field project to up-cycle single-use plastic discards generated at the household level (largely by well-to-do communities). These discards were crafted into a range of functional and marketable products using craft skills in which we trained women from low-income communities in Hyderabad’s largest slum. We trained the women in a range of craft skills, starting with crochet and embroidery, moving onto fusing and other unique surfaces and finally tailoring. Different batches of women were taught different skills and these particular ones were selected since these are complementary skills and can be applied to other materials.
Story of success
SVP’s support and guidance were necessary to navigate the complexities of the Green field project. It took time to build confidence amongst the women in the community to stand up for their rights and be allowed to come to the centre. The stigma associated with working with plastic discards had to be addressed. Today the women consciously collect all fast food packets and plastic waste from their homes to bring to the centre. When India went into lockdown in March 2020, we received our first few bulk orders for masks through SVP’s network, with the timely support of the Hyderabad chapter’s General Manager. This provided a continuous income to our artisans, pushed us to scale our operations and improve our on-ground production readiness to cater to the market demands.