Collaborations frequently have innovative consequences. Discover the textiles created by the Bagh printing community in conjunction with Womenweave, a Charitable Trust devoted to teaching weaving skills to rural women in Madhya Pradesh.  Sally Holkar, co-founder of Rehwa, established this new co-operative in 2003 with ‘the belief that weaving provides [women with] a dignified and remunerative income earning opportunity’.

Given the prominence of hand-loomed cloth in Madhya Pradesh, Holkar decided to teach hand-spinning and weaving cotton khadi, the textured fabric ennobled by Mahatma Gandhi. Experiments with stamping patterns onto this cloth followed. In 2011, under Holkar’s guidance, Design graduate, Geeta Patil, furthered production by reinterpreting traditional motifs using the artisan’s vintage blocks. The resulting collection of stunning stoles and scarves is currently on view. Taking a ‘fresh approach to traditional aesthetics’, and a  growing network of sales venues, Holkar hopes to stabilise the printing community of Bagh with increased production and sales.