kumbeshwar technical school

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I met up with the excellent Kumbeshwar Technical School here in Nepal, from their fair trade profits they run a school for 260 children as well as an orphanage for 19 children. They also train and run literacy courses for their workers.
I went down to visit them for fair trade day (a week late because of the week long Maoist strike here in May)
 
For fair trade day KTS hired doctors/nurses/dentists for a free health check for the children, the workers as well as local people and children who are not in the school.
They also had a ‘meet up’ day for their knitters. The knitting that KTS produce is??done by the women at home in the villages so that they can can be flexible and remain with their children, so several times a year they meet up to share skills and get technical feedback. Each of the knitters knitted one patch of their own design and the whole lot was sewn together to make a pair of gloves. The gloves are sent to People Tree who may incorporate some of the patterns into their knitware and reward the knitter’s own designs.
 
You can read more about them and if you look at the rest of the site see (and order) some of the beautiful knitware products they make here
I am getting some carpets made at KTS …..will post something about that soon
 
By |2020-05-13T12:50:05+00:00May 17th, 2010|Tags: , , , |1 Comment
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Prof. Anil Gupta’s Shodh Yatra in Assam

[youtube]http://youtu.be/JHk9YVjhk7c[/youtube]

‘The minds in the margins are not marginal minds’

I had heard about the fantastic work of Prof. Anil Gupta two years ago while teaching at Sristi College in Bangalore.

Professor Gupta’s interest is in sustainable technologies and remedies found in India’s rural fringes. Traditional technologies such as herbal remedies and other traditional and localised knowledge are facing a decline as these areas adapt to the globalised world. Local knowledge is often under-appreciated in these areas as they strive to modernise. The aim of the Prof Gupta and his team is to record and foster this knowledge so that it is not lost and can perhaps be utilised in new ways.

In addition to this work Gupta and his team are also documenting some incredible new innovations by the local communities they visit. Most of the communities visited by the team are subsistence farmers and use their limited resources in very inventive ways. Without anything other than the resources that grow naturally around them these farmers are living within entirely sustainable systems. There are some really interesting ideas for the developed world.  

THE SHODH YATRA

Dr. Gupta had the idea of connecting and learning from these communities 12 years ago. He and his team tried to think of the best way to visit the isolated communities. In the end they decided the only way these places could be visited was by foot, the communities are so isolated that many do not have access by road, also these group walks of learning are deeply rooted in the Indian tradition which Gandhi had tapped into as his way of gathering support and connecting peoples. The Shodh Yatra was born, in Hindi it means literally ‘foot travel’ The first Shodh Yatra was in Gupta’s own state of Gujarat and since there has been a Shodh Yatra every six months. 24 in all so far in almost every region in India. On average 300 people, mainly farmers and academics but also a passionate and extremely diverse bunch of interested individuals from botanists to product designers from all over india and beyond come to each Yatra. Amongst the amazing people we met on the Assam Yatra were journalists, zoologists, architects, anthropologists and a really interesting amateur botanist.  

Prof Gupta has set up the Honeybee Network, the idea is to ‘cross pollinate’ isolated communities with the other knowledge systems and innovations of their neighbours. He has collected so many innovations in the past twelve years that their database actually holds the largest amount of registered patents in the developing world. The idea is to use these innovations in a completely open source or creative commons way.

He has also set up the Grassroots to Global network to create business plans for the local amateur innovators to reach a global audience. We joined the Yatra at the Rural Volunteer Centre outside Dhemaji in northwest Assam. The RVC was set up by Ravindranath as an NGO to provide knowledge and training to local farmers. There is also a good article about Dr Guptas work in DESIGN OBSERVER here  

I hope i can someday do some work for Dr Gupta. Very inspiring stuff.  

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professor gupta gives a talk at one of the villages   

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myself and some of the local kids

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banana tree plates

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asking the locals about their uses of local herbs   RIMG0377

ravindranath from the RVC

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one of the schools we all stayed at.

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The Yatra crosses one of many rivers

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Thatching a roof outside Dhemaji

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An amazing village welcome

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Giving a talk in one of the villages

By |2020-05-13T12:50:06+00:00February 8th, 2010|Tags: , , , |1 Comment
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Interview for PIVOT Dublin Feb 2012

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Chris Haughton was listed in Time magazine’s ‘DESIGN 100’ for the work he has been doing for fair trade clothing company People Tree. He has co-founded Node a fair trade company to create rugs in Nepal. He also writes  children’s books ‘A Bit Lost’ is about a lost owl and ‘Oh No, George!’ about a bad dog.
 
What did you do?
 
Together with Akshay Sthapit I set up NODE a fair trade rug making project in Nepal last year. The aim is to connect designers with third world craftspeople, help people out of poverty and support their development projects and make some nice rugs at the same time. 
 
Why did you set up this Initiative? 

I had been working with fair trade for the past seven years in London, and i admired the development work that fair trade was doing and wanted to get more involved. I took 8 months off to visit India and Nepal and see if i could create something together directly with the producers. I travelled around to see what could be made in fair trade that would best use design together with craft. The main reason I set it up was to help out the development project, their crafts are of very high standard but the design is not at the same level and so it made sense to rope my designer friends into this too. As it turned out there were plenty of things that we could work on and this has develope

d into much larger projects than i had first envisioned. 
 
What is your role in the network of makers, producers, sellers etc?

I noticed that there was an opportunity when I posted images of the rugs on my blog. People from all over the place emailed to enquire about buying them and as my blog is followed by many designers  people also wanted to ask if they could design their own one. I spent a frustrating year unable to do anything as i didn’t have the facility to receive payment for customers and at the same time the complex bank charges/import duties and logistics made it prohibitive for other designers to order single rugs and have them shipped. I spoke about this to my nepalese friends and

Akshay who specialises in logistics and imports solved it. 
I have hosted exhibitions to launch our rugs and got the Design Museum stocking us. We hope to connect more designers and do a large exhibition in the Design Museum London shop later in the year. I am trying to steer clear of organising as i am more of a designer and am currently looking for someone to ideally take over this role. Im very happy to oversee it and get paid for the work i have done to help it to work but i am not interested in making money from this project.
 
What do you think is the value for producers? for customers?
 
The makers are unskilled, mainly illiterate adults who are from the lowest caste in Nepalese society. working for Kumbeshwar and NODE provides them with a way out of their situation and provides enough work and free schooling so that they can afford to send their children to school. There is no social welfare in Nepal so the poor are in a very precarious position and this gives a way for themselves and their children to be educated. Profits generated support a school of 240 and an orphanage of 19.
For customers the chance of owning or creating unique traditional nepalese handwoven rugs with unique designs. We are working with some of the worlds best designers and illustrators and are creating some very unique and beautiful rug designs. The Design Museum in London has been stocking us and is keen to host future events. Nepalese carpet making is world famous and is of very high quality so it makes sense to have great designers work together with the craftspeople to make valuable lasting items.
 
How do you think the production / distribution networks that supply our cities might change in the next decade?
 
The way we have been consuming has been radically changing in the last few decades and our retailers have been growing longer arms and sourcing products and manufacturing further and further away and so our shopping experience is more and more mediated. Consumers need to react to these developments, the social and environmental effects of these changes are very big and need to be addressed. Interesting experiments include the peoples supermarket in london which runs like a co-operative, their stock is almost entirely fair trade or locally sourced with a lot of thought going into best practises. their workers are volunteers from the local community and work for a few hours a month to become a member. It is seeing some real success and a second branch now opening. Some of the the new economics foundation’s projects are excellent. There is also ‘fair tracing’ an academic project to use QR codes and other IT technology to better show the sourcing of produce at the point of sale sounds to me like it could have huge potential for really changing consumer habits, although as far as i am aware there has been (understandable!) resistance and it has been stalling. Any technology that can help the great transparency of the internet reach the shady supply chains of our supermarkets i think would be very exciting
 
 
By |2020-05-13T12:50:06+00:00February 13th, 2009|Tags: , , , |0 Comments
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Interview with Safia Minney People Tree 2008

1) How long have you been working with People Tree? What motivated you to use your creativity to promote Fair Trade and environmental issues?

Ive been working with People Tree for 4 years. I had wanted to become involved in the fair trade movement since travelling in India and Nepal for a summer while i was in college.

It was a very eye opening trip, when i left i was a fairly apathetic art student but i was so dumbfounded by the poverty that by the time i came back i was reading all these books on economics.
I found it very difficult to understand how such hardworking people could be so poor.
 
2) Why did you get fed up working in the conventional creative industry, and want to design for social change as well?
 
As a designer, to keep myself interested and passionate i always really try to put full effort into the work i do.  I had been working with some big companies and did some quite high profile jobs but ultimately I felt i was wasting my time in design and advertising when it came down to it. It was very superficial and mostly the people i worked for only cared about sales, money and the position of their logo. They werent small companies so i didnt care much whether they sold more products or not. In fact some of the more ruthless multinationals (and their marketing people) i worked for i would have quite enjoyed to have seen their sales take a downward plunge. I started thinking that when it came down to it all my really hard work and effort was being wasted. Some of the designs looked pretty good though!
 
3) What is your vision for social and environmental justice?
 
I think one of the biggest problems today is that multinationals are able to dodge laws too easily because there are not enough international laws, and individual governments are powerless when a company is operating internationally. They are effectively above the law. They need to be held to account a lot more than they are now, whether it is enforced by effective International law or from pressure from an educated public.
I think transparency is very important. If people could actually see the difference that their choices made, their buying choices would be very different. Nobody wants to treat people that they meet personally unfairly, but the problem is that all these transactions  are happening outside our view. The only way we can see or hear from the people that we effectively make transactions with everyday of our lives is when the media shows us a story of injustice that makes it to the news. If the public knew more they would change but the companies involved have an interest in clouding the issues.  I have a lot of hope for the transparency that the internet can bring.
 
4) Does it matter to you that People Tree can never pay you your market worth? We pay you in T-shirts and handmade notebooks and Fair Trade chocolate instead.
 
No! I still love working for People Tree.  Its very satisfying to work with something that is making a difference, also i have to say that the people i have met in People Tree are fantastic, as a freelance illustrator i have worked for literally hundreds of different companies and i can honestly say that i dont think that any of them have the same passion about what they do. Its been very life affirming after working with marketing teams. Also the chocolate is very good.
 
5) Where would you like to see your designs on People Tree handmade paper products sold?
 
McDonalds
 
By |2020-05-13T12:50:06+00:00February 11th, 2009|Tags: , , |0 Comments
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interview with masala chai (india) 2008

 

1. Have you ever been to India or seen the process in action  i.e. the producers screen printing the t-shirts etc. , what was it like? how do you feel about the impact your designs have on their lives?

 

I have actually been to India three times now, I love India! Unfortunately I never made it to meet the actual artisans yet, the first two times i was there i was just backpacking around and i hadnt started working with People Tree then. And the last time it was a bit of a rush. Ive been around a fair bit of the country, i think ive spent about 4 months there all in all.
I have met many of the people who have set up the workshops when they come to London and they have a lot of stories about their projects, they are doing really great work there. It makes all the difference to think you are doing work for projects and companies you really agree with…
The last time i went to india was three months ago, i taught a 3 week course in illustration at Srishti college in Bangalore. I was really impressed with the college, they’ve a very forward thinking approach. The teaching staff were all really passionate and very good at what they do, it was very inspiring.

 

2. Do you take any design influences from Indian culture? If so, what are they?

 

I really love Indian folk art, Madhubani and Warli paintings and also a lot of the textiles. When I was in 3rd year in college I went backpacking around India for the summer and when I came back I went through a phase of being really crazy about Indian folk art. I bought a lot of books on Indian painting and textiles, it was very fresh and inspiring for me to see that then. I spend quite a bit of time in the British Museum and the V&A in London (when i feel burnt out) they have some really nice work … although ive been visiting the african and pacific island section more often than the indian one recently… they have some amazing stuff in there.

 

3. Who are your favourite artists/illustrators/designers ?

 

I like a lot of folk art mainly and get a lot of inspiration from visiting museums in London. David Shrigley’s work is always outstanding, also I really like Sara Ogilvie, Neal Layton and Tom Gauld. Michel Gondry and Traktor have done some great short films and videos. I worked for a year at a very good London animation studio a few years ago and was very lucky to meet some really inspiring animators in there, Grant Orchard, Ben Bocquelet and Steve Small are all doing really amazing work.

 

4. Do you really , honestly love vegetable fried rice? 

 

Not really actually… ive gone right off it! I was living in Hong Kong when i set up the site. I was living in a youth hostel and i had no money at all (and im vegetarian) so it was a running joke that the only thing i cooked or was seen to eat was vegetable fried rice. I used to boil a huge pot of rice and freeze so it would last for the week.

 

 

By |2020-05-13T12:50:06+00:00February 11th, 2009|Tags: , , , |0 Comments
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Interview with Fast Company: Jenara Nerenberg August 2010

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Are books and toys the future of fair trade?
 
I dont know if its the future of fair trade but it makes a nice gift!  Every part of the little owl made from scratch from raw cotton, it is hand-spun, dyed, woven and sewn all by the women from a womens shelter. It is helping to provide the income to support 90 new women per year and their children, as well as supporting their literacy training and educating their children. Mahaguthi, the fair trade company that makes the toys was actually set up with a donation from Gandhi eighty years ago and has a really fascinating history. One of the things i love about the toys is that each owl is slightly different and each one has a different (worried!) expression on its face which just isn’t possible with industrial manufacture. Its just a more meaningful gift as it benefits people who need a hand and has this nice story behind it.
 
 
How did you get involved with PeopleTree?
 
I was friends with a designer who was designing the clothes for People Tree around seven years ago. She had told me about the way the company was set up and I wanted to get involved. Initially I volunteered some designs to produce a line of children’s clothing, i designed some little animal prints for cute little t-shirts and bibs and they sold really well so i was asked to do more. Then we did some adult tees and stationery. In the end I have done a whole range of things for them and i sort of ended up branding the company by default.
 
 
So tell me, why has the bulk of your work been carried out in Asia? 
 
My illustration work is quite popular in Japan and Korea and I seem to get a lot of commissions from there. People Tree was actually started in Japan, and also my picture book was first published in Korean when it was picked up at a book fair. Also this year i have spent 8 months developing products in India and Nepal. I’m not sure why I have been so centred around Asia. Maybe it’s just co-incidence or maybe because of the lovely food.
 
 
What role do young designers like yourself play in changing social norms in the design field at large? 
 
I think that design will have to pay more attention to things other than surface or aesthetic appeal. As I see it, design right now (especially graphic design) is more part of the problem than the solution. I had become very disillusioned in design because i had been working in a very superficial way. I think many designers feel this and there is a growing movement of designers who are thinking more seriously about design, but not nearly enough is happening right now. I think the most effective thing to do as a designer is to try to create or instigate projects from the very start. Otherwise graphic artists and designers tend to get hired right at the end of a (usually!) ill-conceived project and our work is just simply tacked on to ‘make it look nice’.
 
 
What’s next for you?
 
I have developed some products working with four different fair trade groups in Nepal and I hope to find distribution now in London. The one im most excited about is producing rugs with KTS, an adults technical school that supports an orphanage. I realised we can create rugs from digital images where each pixel corresponds to a carpet knot. They produce the most amazing hand knotted rugs from tibetan wool. We have produced some test rugs and I hope to have an exhibition in London soon and perhaps also sell the designs from my website.
I also have two more childrens books in the pipeline. One is about a bad dog!
 
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By |2020-05-13T12:50:06+00:00February 11th, 2009|Tags: , , , |0 Comments
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