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Christmas at RIDE
Through the generosity of family and friends from the UK, Australia and Germany giving to our ‘Alternative Christmas’ appeal we raised enough money to buy over 130 gifts which were yesterday donated...
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Kishkinda Trust, Hampi
‘At The Kishkinda Trust (TKT) in Anegundi, CONSERVATION empowers communities and creates a way of life that considers culture as an intangible element permeating all activities in life- ranging from...
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Kalamkari
Last month I accompanied N.J.Bond to visit a town called Kalaastri in Andhra Pradesh, it is a temple town famous for Kalamkari fabric art – the art of painting directly onto fabric using natural plant...
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A Humbling Day at Work
This week RIDE (Rural Institute for Development Education), the NGO I volunteer with, carried out a program for a group of 15 women who are all day labourers from the village of Arpakkam in...
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Preserving Traditional Sari Design
The Weavers Service Centre in Kanchipuram is bursting with master craftsmen employed by the government of India (as part of the Ministry of Textiles) to push their craft to the limits, research...
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Colourful Market Life
Images taken at various vegetable markets I’ve visited in India. The post Colourful Market Life appeared first on .
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Freehand Batik with Sekar Art
Last week I went to visit S.Sekar Art to follow up on some scarves I have commissioned to be made.I met S.Sekar at a recent Co-optex Textile fair and loved the colours and flair in his work, so was...
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Sari Scarf Project
The sari scarf initiative has finally taken off! After receiving interest from one of RIDE’s supporters to sell our products in their home countries a few months ago, we have since pushed forward with...
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Temple Art
An abandoned Jain temple in Wayanad, Kerala, where we sheltered from the rain during a monsoon downpour while on a guided walk with the owner of the farm we were staying on. The carvings have been so...
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Batik Indigo Dyeing
Indigo Dyeing + no gloves = blue hands!Batik printing blockHaving a go at Batik printing - heating the blockHaving a go at Batik printing - trying out a repeatWatching the expertDyeing the fabric in...
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Floral Decay at Tipu’s Summer Palace
Some close up images of the beautiful Tipu Sultan Summer Palace in Mysore. The palace is covered throughout the year to protect the exquisite floral frescos from further fading. The beautiful opulent...
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Bleeding Madras – Inspiration from the Past
I came across Bleeding Madras (Madras being the British colonial name for Chennai) during a visit to the Handicraft and Handloom Export Corporation (HHEC) in Chennai, where I had been invited to look...
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Crafts Bazaar 2012, Valluvar Kottam, Chennai
Khurja Pottery from Uttar PradeshCherial paintings and masks from The Nakash Artists of CherialThe Nakash Artists of CherialKantha embroideryKhurja Pottery from Uttar PradeshCeramic painting from...
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The making of a John Lewis rug
Hand cutting the Greek Key design into the rugThe weaver is beating the finished rows to create a tight weaveThe loomsHand knotting the rugMarking the Greek Key design into the rugHand cutting the...
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Meeting a Master Printer
Lining up the block on the fabricMy blocks!Heating the wax over a Bunsen burner - Don't try this at homeHeating the block in the bath of waxPlanning my layout on fabricFlattening the bed of damp sand...
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Weighing up our Christmas loot
Thanks to the generosity of the Sew Scrumptious ‘Dress a Girl’ campaign, along with donations from family and friends, we are proud to say we have a huge amount of clothes to distribute to the...
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Pictures from Christmas at RIDE
In a hurry to catch a flight now, but wanted to get the pictures up beforehand so you can all see them. We ended up giving gifts and dresses/shorts to approx 250 children, all associated with RIDE,...
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Return to Blighty and the ‘coldest winter for 100 years’
It has been a while since I wrote anything for the blog, been a tad busy you see. The transition from India to England is finally complete, and ran as smoothly as could be expected. Needless to say,...
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‘Cotton – A Way Forward’
Last weekend I attended the ‘Cotton – A way forward‘ exhibition at Maison Colombani in Pondicherry. The wonderful French colonial town of Pondicherry, where the pace slows down (provided you stick to...
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Colours of Nature
Last week I visited Colours of Nature, a traditional indigo and natural dye business based in Auroville, South India. Colours of Nature are reviving the 1,000 year old traditional technique of indigo...
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