Tantipara – The Revival of a Weaving Town

Four hours from Kolkata, in the Birbhum district, lies the village of Tantipara. The town’s name means “the weavers’ village”. For many years, it has been an important centre for weaving with Tussar silk – a special type of silk produced by larvae that live wild in the forests of India and other countries.

However, it had become difficult to make a living from weaving alone. Artisans in the village began using chemical dyes and mixing their Tussar silk with polyester-filled silk imported from Korea and China. This diluted the long-standing silk and weaving tradition and harmed both the environment and the workers handling the dyeing process.

“The poorer quality made it even harder to sell the products at a fair price, and slowly many artisans shifted to unskilled and poorly paid labour,” explains Abeer Chakravarty, Project Coordinator and CEO of Ahead Initiatives in India.

Ahead Initiatives and iiINTERest in Denmark therefore set out to mobilise the artisans, support them in creating more sustainable and higher-quality products, and help revive the local craft traditions in Tantipara.

“It was important for us to help improve the artisans’ lives and their status in the community, and to make weaving far more attractive — also for the younger generation,” Abeer says. “At the same time, we wanted to help them build a production that protects the environment and avoids releasing harmful chemicals into nature.”

To make weaving a viable source of income, craftspeople need both strong technical skills and the ability to market their products. And it certainly helps when they organise and support one another. Abeer explains:

“We helped nine people form an artisan group. It was their own idea. We began by training a larger group of 120 women in embroidery design so they could create more competitive products and earn an additional income. But some of them wanted to go further.

I never finished school. I worked as a flower decorator but earned very little. Now I am a skilled artisan who can earn my own money and support my parents.

Together, iiINTERest and Ahead Initiatives trained the small group in weaving techniques and inspired them to develop their own designs and methods. The group also received support to establish themselves as a production enterprise, giving them a stronger collective voice.

“I never finished school. I worked as a flower decorator but earned very little. Now I am a skilled artisan who can earn my own money and help my parents,” says Nanigopal ‘Badshah’ Malakar, one of the founders of the new production unit.

“We trained them in pricing their products so they can earn a fair income. We also discussed how to find new customers. We focus on helping them open the right doors and build their brand,” says Abeer from Ahead Initiatives.

Abeer emphasises that iiINTERest has played a unique role. “The relationship between the village artisans and the team from iiINTERest is remarkable. It is magical to see how people from a remote Indian village who do not speak English and people from Denmark can build such a close connection.”

The collaboration has yielded results. The small group now manages daily production on their own, while iiINTERest and Ahead Initiatives continue to support them with inspiration for development, design, and marketing.

The women’s status in their community — and their self-respect — has taken a huge leap forward. They have gained a stronger voice.

But what difference does it make that nine people have become skilled, professional artisans with a stable income?

“Initiatives like these create ripple effects,” Abeer explains. “The women already contribute to their families’ finances and have more influence in household decisions. They also see that it is possible to take the next step — to become an artisan and earn a living from it — because the artisan group serves as an inspiring example. It also resonates strongly with the younger generation. The women’s status in their community and their self-respect have taken a huge leap forward. They have gained a stronger voice.”

Jyotsna Karmakar, artisan and member of the production unit, has no doubts: “I am a transformed person! I not only gained skills and became a professional. My new abilities helped me get selected by the Fair-Trade Institute for a scholarship, and I travelled to other cities for training for the first time in my life.”