About
To conserve and revitalise the crafts, heritage and cultural ecology of Kutch, and to nurture its artisans as successful, self-reliant entrepreneurs.
Khamir is a crafts and cultural organisation based near Bhuj in Kutch, Gujarat, established in the aftermath of the devastating 2001 earthquake as a joint initiative of the Kutch Nav Nirman Abhiyan and the Nehru Foundation for Development. Its name, meaning intrinsic pride, reflects its mission to conserve and revitalise the crafts, heritage and cultural ecology of Kutch. Khamir works across a wide range of the region's crafts, including weaving, block printing, bandhani, pottery and leatherwork, running a campus with workshops and a shop, supporting artisans to become successful entrepreneurs and working on the sustainability of craft materials and practices.
Founded in 2005 in response to the 2001 Kutch earthquake, which threatened the livelihoods of the region's artisans, Khamir set out to conserve and reposition the traditional crafts of Kutch. Over the years it has developed programmes across the region's many craft forms, supported artisan enterprise and market development, and worked on the ecological dimensions of craft, from natural fibres to indigenous cotton, becoming, alongside organisations such as Kala Raksha and Shrujan, a central part of the Kutch craft ecosystem.
Khamir is one of the foremost craft organisations of Kutch, central to the post-earthquake revival and continuing vitality of the region's diverse craft traditions and artisan communities.
[Atlas Perspective] Profiled as an Institution (Operator) in the Crafts field. Khamir connects to the many craft traditions of Kutch, including weaving, block printing and bandhani, and to the artisan communities that practise them.