Ensures fair living wage for producers
Discloses the community being impacted
Created using handcrafted methods
Biodegradable or environment friendly
Uses portion of proceeds to give back to the community
Craft Speaks works with artisans, individuals or collectives, and provides avenues for not only scaling their enterprise through market linkages, but also enables them to become streamlined and scale in the formal economic workforce. At present, the brand works with six craft forms - Kalamkari from Andhra Pradesh, Cheriyal, Naikpod and Lambani embroidery from Telangana, Durries from Warangal, Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh and Dokra/ Bell-Metal Craft from Chhattisgarh. Each product is designed and sourced as per the modern aesthetic of the customer, while also ensuring that the essence of the craft is held in sanctity.
Purpose
Craft Speaks was started with a passion and interest to share the stories of craftsmen and their creations - most of which are ingrained in the cultural fabric of the country. On learning the stories of artisans, access to linkages and comprehension of building sustainable enterprises with a potential to scale surfaced as a major challenge. It is to address this problem statement that the business model of Craft Speaks has evolved. The brand also commits to share a percentage of the products back to the artisans, either in the form of a cash bonus or in terms of investment in their health and well-being.
People
The main groups that are supported under the brand story are artisans across India. The present nature of support is towards enterprise development and access to linkages. The business model however encompasses a holistic vision to integrate financial linkages and development of infrastructure to reduce drudgery, increase efficiency, productivity and the overall ease of doing business.
Planet
In the Durrie making process, wool and cotton are sourced directly from farmers as raw materials. In the Kalamkari production process, Mangal Giri cotton, Bangalore Silk fabrics, and some natural dyes are directly sourced from weavers. These linkages contribute positively to local value chains.
