The Indian crafts are a repository of culture, heritage, and traditional wisdom. Anchored in indigenous knowledge, diversity, environmental care, community engagement and livelihood, they exemplify socio-ecological integration. The traditional craft community, custodian of this legacy, have passed it from one generation to another and ensured the continuity and economic value the practice brings to the region. These include the Prajapati and Kumbhar communities, the traditional potters of India. With the emergence of mass-produced industry, traditional craft practices were severely affected, disrupting rural economies, and resulting in the loss of cultural connections and regional heritage. As a result, the Potter was disengaged from their context and, hence, the market. Additionally, in recent years, potter communities have been facing challenges from the loss of natural resources, such as good quality clay and fuel and loss of skills.
Established in the early 1960s to fill the country’s design needs, the National Institute of Design remains deeply engaged with traditional craft communities. While design education hugely benefited from this rich repository of culture and heritage, NID also identified the pressing issues that the sector has been impacted by and undertook initiatives to preserve, promote, and innovate through design interventions. “The Rural University” experiment and initiative of IIM Ahmedabad and NID Ahmedabad, with the leather workers and the weavers of Jawaja of Rajasthan, set the tone for the NIDs interaction with the Indian craft sector. It sets the design pedagogy and objectives, such as facilitating self-reliance and dignified life for the community through the practice of handmade.
After establishing the broader objectives for the craft sector, the presentation further informed the audience about the process and the pedagogy adapted for design interventions specific to the tribal artisans of the Tangkhul Naga tribe practicing Longpi pottery in the hills of Manipur under the USTTAD scheme of the Ministry of Minority Affairs, Government of India. While the material, techniques, and processes of making the black pottery were documented in detail, the field research also brought about the material culture and other elements that contribute to the ecosystem within which the pottery has evolved and perfected.
The potter’s welfare is central. The process emphasized bringing the community’s collective and individual voices to the forefront, translating them into opportunities for future development. The community is constantly looking for avenues to express individuality and explore new dimensions of the craft while seeking inspiration from tradition. However, despite the ingenuity and the abiding belief in tradition, the tribe’s sense of pride, ownership, agency and conviction to continue needs support from multiple stakeholders.