About
To secure the future of the cultural landscape and community of Anegundi through promotion of cultural industries and creative economies based on local resources; to create a model community-managed arts and crafts village within the Hampi World Heritage Site.
The Kishkinda Trust (TKT) is a not-for-profit organisation established in 1997 by Shama Pawar in Anegundi, a historic settlement across the Tungabhadra river from Hampi, Karnataka -- a UNESCO World Heritage Site. TKT works with the villagers of Anegundi to build capacity for community-led business incubators while conserving their historical heritage. Its core craft programme employs 150-200 women artisans in banana fibre craft production, which has become the most recognised craft of the Hampi World Heritage area; products include photo frames, stationery, gift boxes, journals, carry bags and personal accessories. TKT has established the Hari Dharti cooperative to help artisans transition to independent management of production units. An export unit named TIKAU works with a Finnish market linkage partner. TKT was one of the first beneficiaries of the GoI Ministry of Tourism's Rural Tourism Scheme.
Shama Pawar first visited Hampi in 1991 and was struck by the raw beauty of the landscape and the unmet potential of Anegundi's communities. She returned in 1997 and established TKT with a vision that cultural conservation and community economic empowerment are inseparable. The banana fibre craft programme began in 1998 with a group of 8 women; it now supports 150-200 women across three production units. The restoration of traditional Anegundi houses as cultural industry incubators -- using the Rural Tourism Scheme -- created a model that integrates heritage conservation with live economic activity. TKT also presented a programme at Hampi in 2009 featuring violinist Dr. L. Subramaniam and the Leipzig Philharmonic Orchestra, demonstrating the breadth of its cultural programming mandate. Shama Pawar has documented Anegundi's traditional architecture and contributed to the heritage management plans of the Hampi World Heritage Area.
Visit & Access
Founding & Leadership
Shama Pawar is the founder and Managing Trustee of The Kishkinda Trust. She first visited Hampi in 1991 and established TKT in 1997 after observing the unmet potential of Anegundi's communities. She has contributed to Hampi's heritage management plans and documentation of traditional architecture.
Initiatives & Portfolio
Three production units (rope making, domestic market, export) employing 150-200 women artisans. Products include photo frames, journals, carry bags, stationery, gift boxes. Started 1998 with 8 women.
Export unit for banana fibre products with market linkage through a Finnish partner.
Cooperative established to help women artisans transition to independent management of production units.
Restoration of traditional Anegundi houses as cultural industry incubators. Executed under GoI Rural Tourism Scheme -- TKT was one of the first beneficiaries.
TKT's significance is specific and locational: it is the primary institution working on craft livelihood and cultural heritage in the immediate context of one of India's most important UNESCO World Heritage Sites. By situating craft production within restored heritage buildings and developing the banana fibre tradition from an initiative of 8 women to a 150-200-person enterprise with international export, TKT has created an economic model for cultural heritage communities that is studied and replicated. Its contribution to Hampi's management plan documentation has given the community a formal voice in the governance of their own heritage site.
[Atlas Perspective] CultureAtlas profiles The Kishkinda Trust as an important model institution for community-led cultural heritage management in a World Heritage Site context. Its 28-year track record in Anegundi, the scale of the banana fibre enterprise (150-200 women artisans, international export), and its contribution to heritage documentation give it institutional depth disproportionate to its geographic concentration. CultureAtlas notes TKT as a strong candidate for CSR support from organisations working in Karnataka's cultural or rural development sectors.