The Phulkari Workshop

Phulkari refers to the folk embroidery of the Punjab. Although Phulkari means floral work, the designs include not only flowers but also cover motifs and geometrical shapes. The main characteristics of Phulkari embroidery are use of darn stitch on the wrong side of coarse cotton cloth with colored silken thread. Punjabi women create innumerable alluring and interesting designs and patterns by their skillful manipulation of the darn stitch. The Phulkari continues to be an integral part of Punjabi weddings to the present day and many women are involved in the activity of making Phulkari which also acts as a source of income for them.

A similar group of women artisans were identified by our team members in the district of Rupnagar around Morinda block who have expertise as well as experience in making and designing Phulkari. However, it was yet to be ascertained if their products were market-ready. In order to assess their skills, the team organized a workshop in Gurudwara Sahib at Boor Majra village on 13th June, 2022.

Mr. Jayant Bhojia, who is an eminent alumnus of NID, Ahmedabad, was invited as the lead designer and trainer to conduct the workshop. He is a craft designer who specializes in textiles. In addition to that,

? ?Mr. Sanjeev Kumar, LDH NABARD

?? Mr. Mohit Kumar, DPM SRLM

?? Mr. Karan, RSETI

?? Mr. Mangesh and Ms. Sukriti from Ambuja Foundation

?? Representatives of Baaz Welfare Trust - NGO working with artisans in Rupnagar district

? ?Representatives of Mehar Baba Charitable Trust - NGO working in the adjoining district of Fatehgarh Sahib

had also joined the event. The event was also graced by Mr. Rajesh Jain, Director – Livelihoods, GT Bharat LLP and Dr. Renu Jain, who is an expert on Non-Farm and Micro-Economics.?

The workshop was attended by 71 artisans from nearby villages. Transportation service was also arranged for these artisans by the team.?

The event commenced at 10:30 AM with a brief introduction of the guests followed by their speeches in which they spoke about their respective organizations and shared some relevant information about Phulkari, Producer Organizations, market linkages, formation of SHGs and its benefits along with schemes associated with them. Shortly after, Mr. Jayant started the workshop. The flow of the work shop was such:

·??????Extensive discussion on Phulkari and motif: A brief history of Phulkari, its cultural significance, views of artisans about Phulkari and potential to generate revenue from Phulkari were discussed.

·??????Demonstration of samples made by artisans: The participants were asked to bring some of their best work and demonstrate in the workshop.

·??????Live demonstration of pre-production phase: The participants were demonstrated the entire process of pre-production phase which includes designing a motif on a tracing paper, pinning it on the cloth and finally dying.

This was just the 1st half of the session after which the guests and all the participants were asked to have lunch which was also arranged by the team. Subsequently, the workshop resumed at 2:00 PM and the flow of the event was something like this:

·??????Embroidery: Post lunch, the participants were instructed to start working on embroidery which was to be evaluated later by the participants themselves collectively.

·??????Demonstration of products by NGOs: In the meanwhile, the representatives of Mehar Baba Charitable Trust and Baaz Welfare Trust displayed their products. They have diversified their product portfolio and some of the new additions to their list of products are Phulkari file holders, Phulkari bookmarks etc. It was really inspiring for the participants. There is a lot of potential in these products for corporate gifting and generating revenue.

·??????Categorization and evaluation: The last phase of the workshop was evaluation of the samples prepared by the participants. In the end a total of 24 samples were received. Out of these 24, 6 were determined as A -category products, 11 were determined as B - category products and 7 were determined as C- category products. The evaluation was based on the basis of color combination.

·??????Feedback from instructor: Mr. Jayant elaborated about the desirable features which pushed 6 products into A – category. He also emphasized on following the right approach for color combination which will further push the artisans from B-category to A-category.?

The workshop ended with a vote of thanks to all the guests who made the workshop a huge success with their valuable inputs. In the end, the team extended a special thanks to Mr. Narinder Bedi (a local opinion leader), Mr. Sukhdev Singh (Sarpanch of Boor Majra, Mr. Bhoota Singh and lastly Mrs. Sukhdev Kaur.

After the event was over, few of the participants were asked to give a feedback and their major learnings. Some of the key takeaways were:

·??????The importance of colors, their classification into warm and cold, what they signify and lastly what is the right approach for color combination.

·??????Tracing of motifs, pinning and dying.

·??????SHGs formation and its benefits.

·??????An introduction to Producer organizations and role of GT Bharat LLP in promotion of POs.?

In conclusion, the event was a huge success was covered in a local newspaper as well. :-)