DELHI CRAFTS COUNCIL

Delhi Crafts Council is a registered, voluntary non-profit organization working for the promotion and development of traditional artisans and craft skills in a contemporary environment. Sustainable livelihoods is the Council’s first priority, in a sector recognized as the second largest source of employment in India after agriculture. This is supported by emphasis on marketing, design, identification of and support to young talent as well as design and marketing intervention for the revival of languishing crafts.

Delhi Crafts Council is affiliated to the Crafts Council of India and to the World Crafts Council. The Council was founded by Smt Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay in 1967 and takes its inspiration from her extraordinary contribution to the awareness and promotion of crafts in India. Over the years, DCC has helped represent the country and its artisans across India and overseas, often in partnership with other craft activists and the Government of India.

DCC’s activities include design and marketing development as the means for helping craft communities to achieve a quality of life through responding to changing market trends. The Council has made several path-breaking development contributions including those in stone and metal crafts, sanjhi paper-cut work, zardozi, terracotta, tilu grass, recycled paper and kathwa patchwork. These and other innovations are showcased at the Kamala outlet in New Delhi, established jointly by the Crafts Council of India and DCC.

Today, Kamala is recognized as one of India’s finest sources of craft excellence, where innovations by young artisans and other organizations are regularly featured. Many of these artisans have received the Kamaladevi Puraskar, an annual DCC scholarship to encourage young talent to remain and flourish within the craft sector. Revival and Documentation efforts are exemplified by DCC’s work with the Chamba Rumal, a tradition of Himachal Pradesh which was languishing and has now created an awareness at the national and international level. The Chamba Rumal project has been one of the many efforts by DCC at craft research aimed at development, marketing and livelihoods.