Poornima massaging ash water into cow dung treated yarn, Kotpad, 2023
The Kotpad Project
ISTITUTO MARANGONI LONDON X ISTITUTO MARANGONI MUMBAI
X CREATIVE BEE X KOTPAD DYERS AND WEAVERS
HOW MIGHT INTERNATIONAL DESIGN SCHOOLS HELP TO PRESERVE AND PROMOTE TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE SYSTEMS?
A one-year collaborative project, between Istituto Marangoni Mumbai, Istituto Marangoni London, Hyderabad-based Creative Bee, and the dyeing and weaving artisans of Kotpad has begun. Kotpad is a predominantly tribal village in a remote region of Odisha, India, close to the border with Chhattisgarh. IMM and IML were invited into the collaboration by Creative Bee, who have worked with the Kotpad artisans for many years. The scope of the project was agreed with all parties, and the initial fact-finding stage completed. The Kotpad artisans face multiple challenges in continuing their ancient and distinctive craft: the women produce a beautiful, natural, dark red dye from the roots of the aal tree; the men weave complex and symbolic patterns and motifs, using the historic practice of pit-loom weaving.
Lalita Samrat dyeing cotton with aal, Kotpad, 2023
Master weaver Jagabandhu Samrat, Kotpad 2023
Aal-dyed cotton yarn drying, Kotpad, 2023
A traditional Kotpad shawl, Kotpad 2023
PROJECT PLANNING
CONTEXT
Western fashion exemplifies a particular paradigm of modernity that has been imposed on non-Western clothing cultures, undermining local expressions and systems of fashion and thus leading to what has been termed ‘fashion sacrifice zones’ (Niessen, 2020: 864, Escobar, 2018, Cheang et al, 2021, Torretta and Reistma, 2019). Fashion sacrifice zones are cultures whose identity – as expressed through clothing and/or specific materials and techniques - has become obscured or even erased (directly or indirectly) by Western fashion (Niessen, 2020: 864). Consequently, the textile traditions of Kotpad are endangered: there are now only a small number of people left with the knowledge and skill to continue this sustainable textile practice.
THE PROJECT
The IML and IM Mumbai researchers are documenting the histories, local context, value chain, materials, technique, processes and products created by the Kotapd artisans, producing a short documentary and a coffee table book, as well as supporting them with product development for the sustainable luxury market, through student projects and tutor engagement. From a research perspective, the project provides a vital lens through which to examine the complex issues that are effectively strangling this indigenous textile culture and will try to develop a good practice model for supportive intervention.
CHALLENGES IDENTIFIED
RESEARCH ACTIVITIES TO DATE
A field trip to Kotpad in November 2023, by Mevin Murden from IM Mumbai and Kirsten Scott from IML included a film crew and photographer, as well as Bina Rao and her husband Kesav Rao from Creative Bee. Multiple interviews were conducted with Kotpad aal-dyers and weavers, as well as with the youth in the community and other local stakeholders, with extensive film and photo documentation of their processes and the socio-cultural-environmental factors that are impacting their craft. The team included Saloni Lakhia, from the United Nations Institute for Training and Research, who did an initial needs assessment and will coordinate with stakeholders to propose capacity-building programmes for the community in literacy, numeracy, entrepreneurship, IT skills and e-commerce.
The most pressing needs - identified by the artisans and by Creative Bee - are to record all processes so there is a detailed record for posterity, and then to support the artisans in finding new markets for their work that attract a higher price point.
Students and tutors at IML were able to draw on research conducted by a tutor team in a second field visit, on consultation with Creative Bee and the artisans of Kotpad to develop a series of interventions that aim to support the preservation of the craft in the short-medium term.
While visiting Kotpad some team members delivered some initial training on e-commerce and social media, as well as on packaging and branding that may help to emphasise the incredible luxury of this endangered craft.
In addition, students at IML were able to direct questions to the Kotpad artisans through intermediaries in the village. This enabled the research team and students on our MA Responsible Fashion programme to gain crucial insights into local context, the challenges and obstacles faced by the Kotpad artisans and their communities, and the implications of these in developing appropriate recommendations.
Researchers conducted a series of one to one interviews with the women dyers and male weavers, as well as group discussions with local youth. Rich detail was also gained through observation and informal, ad hoc conversations with local community members.
Business students at IM Mumbai have created a logo for the Kotpad artisans and set up their instagram account @purushottam_kotpad.
PROPOSAL FOR KOTPAD
FOLLOW UP ACTIVITIES
In stage 2, textile design students in Mumbai are developing textile designs within parameters set by the artisans; fashion design students in Mumbai and London have created small collections that incorporate some Kotpad fabrics; MA Buying students in London have developed range plans for commercially viable clothing using Kotpad fabrics. A team of film makers and photographers from IM Mumbai have created a mini-documentary on the people and processes, and a beautiful, illustrated book will be published about the artisans and their work, to raise awareness.
KOTPAD VIDEO
REFERENCES
Cheang, S., De Greef, E. and Takagi, Y. (2021). Rethinking Fashion Globalization. London: Bloomsbury Visual Arts.
Escobar, A. (2018). Designs for the Pluriverse: Radical Interdependence, Autonomy, and the Making of Worlds. Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press
Niessen, S. (2020). ‘Fashion, its Sacrifice Zone, and Sustainability’. Fashion Theory, 24(6), 859-877
Torretta, N. B., & Reitsma, L. (2019). ‘Design, power and colonisation: decolonial and antioppressive explorations on three approaches for Design for Sustainability’. Proceedings of the Academy for Design Innovation Management Conference 2019. Retrieved on December 2, 2023, from https://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-161779
Yin, R. (2018). Case Study Research and Applications: Design and Methods. London: Sage Publications Ltd.
REFERENCES
Cheang, S., De Greef, E. and Takagi, Y. (2021). Rethinking Fashion Globalization. London: Bloomsbury Visual Arts.
Escobar, A. (2018). Designs for the Pluriverse: Radical Interdependence, Autonomy, and the Making of Worlds. Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press
Niessen, S. (2020). ‘Fashion, its Sacrifice Zone, and Sustainability’. Fashion Theory, 24(6), 859-877
Torretta, N. B., & Reitsma, L. (2019). ‘Design, power and colonisation: decolonial and antioppressive explorations on three approaches for Design for Sustainability’. Proceedings of the Academy for Design Innovation Management Conference 2019. Retrieved on December 2, 2023, from https://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-161779
Yin, R. (2018). Case Study Research and Applications: Design and Methods. London: Sage Publications Ltd.