About
To help craftspeople, especially women, use their traditional skills as a means of employment, income and economic self-sufficiency, and to revive India's traditional crafts.
Dastkar is a registered non-profit society founded in 1981 that works to improve the economic status of Indian artisans - especially rural women - and to revive traditional crafts. It guides the full arc of craft development, from skill upgradation and design to costing and marketing, and connects craftspeople directly to urban buyers through its signature Dastkar Bazaars (since 1982) and the Dastkar Nature Bazaar at Kisan Haat in Delhi.
Dastkar began with the insight that India's artisans were skilled professionals, not objects of charity - and that what they needed was design support and direct market access, not pity. Its bazaars, held since 1982, brought craftspeople face-to-face with urban customers for the first time, functioning as both sales platform and a school in design and pricing.
Over four decades Dastkar has worked with hundreds of craft groups across most Indian states, pioneered the Dastkar Nature Bazaar around natural materials, and run deep field projects such as its long-running work with women's craft groups near Ranthambhore - establishing a model of design-led, market-linked craft development that many others have since followed.
Visit & Access
Hosts regular craft bazaars and exhibitions at Kisan Haat, Mehrauli, Delhi, through the year.
Founding & Leadership
Dastkar was founded in 1981 by six women working in the craft and development sector, led by designer and craft activist Laila Tyabji (Padma Shri), who remains its Chairperson. The idea grew from Tyabji's recognition that rural craftspeople needed new, commercially viable markets and a bridge to urban buyers; the first Dastkar bazaar was held in New Delhi in 1981.
A registered non-profit society governed by a Chairperson and committee.
Leadership & Trustees
Initiatives & Portfolio
Year-round craft bazaars (since 1982) where artisans from across India sell directly to urban buyers; the Nature Bazaar focuses on natural materials.
Skill upgradation, design workshops and training in production and management for craft groups.
Connecting craftspeople directly to urban and export markets, removing middlemen.
Long-running field project developing women's craft livelihoods near the Ranthambhore reserve.
Impact & Metrics
Partnerships & Network
Partner institutions
Funders & patrons
Credentials & Compliance
CSR-eligible · Schedule VII(v) - art & culture
A strong CSR partner under Schedule VII(v) for livelihoods and traditional-craft promotion; its direct artisan-to-market model offers measurable livelihood impact.
Recognition
A pioneer of the craft-bazaar and design-led craft-development model in India.
[Atlas Assessment] Dastkar reframed how India supports its crafts - from welfare to enterprise. By insisting that artisans are skilled professionals and building the design, pricing and market infrastructure to prove it, it has sustained livelihoods for hundreds of craft groups and helped keep traditional skills economically alive. Its bazaar model has been widely emulated and has shaped the modern Indian crafts sector.
Dastkar scores solidly across the board - its distinctive strength is innovation in livelihood-linked craft development and a durable 40-year track record. Its honest caveats are scale (an NGO serving a sector of millions) and founder-identification with Laila Tyabji. For a CSR funder focused on livelihoods and women's economic empowerment through culture, it is a high-credibility, high-affinity partner with measurable impact.