Saving an Endangered Art: India's Handloom Heritage

The case is set in November 2021 and traces the journey of a unique women-led collective-Weavers Resource Bridge (led by Talish Ray and her fellow handloom enthusiasts)-that provided much-needed financial support to a community of weavers across India during the COVID-19 crisis. These weavers hailed from different parts of India and were masters of their art forms, but due to lack of capital and patronage, were slowly losing touch with their art because they were forced to take up other work to sustain themselves and their families. In the short span of six months, this volunteer group raised a whopping INR 15 million (about US$198,642). Because it was a time-intensive undertaking, only a limited number of weavers could be supported directly by the Bridge. Though they had exceeded the preset goal and helped the weavers become financially stable once again, the women from the Bridge wanted to ensure that the weavers continued to produce irreplaceable art, which was their forte, and find buyers regularly. As Ray thought of scaling up this initiative, an idea for a nonprofit emerged, whose goals would be to bridge the skill gap among artists and ready them for the 21st century marketplace while simultaneously educating patrons. This meant that processes had to be put in place for long-term sustainability and weavers had to be taught the technical skills to use online platforms and sustain sales across borders. Even as Ray wondered about the fundamental values that would guide this nonprofit and the operating model necessary to foster its growth, she worried about the nagging problem of capital. What Ray had achieved was just a drop in the ocean. How could these artisans be provisioned with the much-needed capital support to sustain their craft and ensure that this invaluable inter-generational knowledge was transmitted, contributing to the country's intangible cultural heritage?

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