UCLA

Artisanal crafted goods like beer, cheese or textiles signify sustainable, local, and handmade production in global markets. Constituting alternatives to mass culture and mass production, these goods allow producers and consumers to see themselves as engaging ethical and authentic ways of living in our contemporary world. Looking at how artisanal products are designed and made in Kachchh, India, my dissertation explores how traditional artisans use intellectual property certifications, design and entrepreneurship to expand markets for their traditional crafts. Looking at the implementation of trade-not-aid development strategies and the increased use of design training programs that are targeted toward traditional artisans in India, this dissertation research looks at design as a political category important for understanding the stakes of ethical and authentic living in our contemporary world. Kachchh is renowned for its craft traditions of weaving, block printing, embroidery, leatherwork and pottery that are still practiced as a primary means of livelihood by many Kachchhi artisan communities. Ranging from high design to tourist trinkets, Kachchhi artisanal production circulates in both high and low-end artisanal markets. In a country where 25% of the rural population is poor, traditional artisanal production becomes an important site of rural economic revitalization. In India, artisanal production is the second largest contributor to the rural economy, after agriculture. The urgency for economic inclusion also stems from the historic social exclusion traditional artisan communities have faced, comprising as they do minorities, listed as Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, in the Indian census. In global artisanal markets, traditional artisans are expected to be entrepreneurs and leverage their social and historical marginality to expand markets for a community craft. Looking at shifts in craft technologies, trade-not-aid marketing strategies and collaborations between artisans and designers, I look at how artisanal production relates to industrial production and how it is entangled with global capitalism.