Позитивные изменения. Том 4, №1 (2024). Positive changes. Volume 4, Issue 1 (2024)

Among the social impact areas of the Indian social enterprise rangSutra is a comprehensive array of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Providing jobs, developing rural areas, addressing inequality, fostering women’s entrepreneurship, alleviating poverty, revitalizing and preserving national crafts, reducing the ecological footprint…

The more one learns about this project, which has united over 3,000 artisans from various regions of India, the more astonishing it is how much rangSutra’s activities challenge many established norms. Can three thousand artisans living in different territories collaborate to ensure industrial-scale production and consistent quality? With significant reliance on manual labor, is it feasible to meet the demands of major corporations like IKEA? Can artisans prevail in an unequal struggle against the mass market? And is it possible for such an enterprise to be established and managed by just one gifted woman?

It is with her, Sumita Ghose, founder of the rangSutra project, that we have attempted to delineate this “secret mechanism” that has for nearly two decades provided artisans from diverse regions of India with employment and the opportunity for professional self-actualization.

How did the rangSutra project begin?

The idea of rangSutra came to me while on a sabbatical in 2002. At that time, I was exploring what types of organizations would be necessary in the 21st century to tackle issues of inequality and injustice. And I imagined how wonderful it would be if a project could emerge that would bridge the divide between marginalized rural communities and prospering urban India, between tradition and modernity. This vision was inspired by AMUL — the Indian Dairy Cooperative, uniting farmers throughout the country to sell milk and dairy products in India and internationally.

In 2006, we officially launched rangSutra Crafts India and started work in full swing. Our purpose is to ensure regular work and sustainable livelihoods for rural artisan communities. We build on the skills that artisans and their teams already possess, training them in the operation of modern equipment and technologies necessary for managing a 21st century enterprise — one which is equally committed to people and the planet, along with financial sustenance / profits.

RangSutra constructs a bridge connecting artisans and their creations with the handcrafted goods market, both within India and globally.

The primary shareholders of rangSutra are the village artisans themselves. And this is not the most obvious solution. How did you come to adopt this governance model?

We needed capital to start, but philanthropic organizations were unwilling to fund us as we were not a charitable organization. Banks were unwilling to lend us money due to our lack of business experience, and our inability to provide collateral for loans. Then William Bissell of Fabindia (an Indian retail network specializing in clothing, home décor, furniture, textiles, and handcrafted items — ed. note) proposed that artisans put in their own capital, however modest. Without much ado, 1,000 artisans, 800 of them women from the URMUL Trust community tackling poverty, put in trust, talent and a 1,000 rupees each into our venture. Thus was born rangSutra — a community-owned social enterprise focused on producing and selling ethically made, handcrafted apparel and home furnishing.

Later, Aavishkaar (a leading Indian firm in robotics, engineering, and technological education — ed. note) and Fabindia became investors in rangSutra. We also headed a government initiative to conserve traditional handloom weaving and gained support from the United Nations Development Program and the World Bank to establish artisanal and weaving clusters in other states — Uttar Pradesh and Kashmir. More recently, we have partnered with the CSR departments of major Indian corporations.

Who can now become a shareholder in rangSutra, and what does this mean for the artisans themselves?

Individual artisans cannot become shareholders; they have to belong to a group, who work collectively in this sector and are keen to work with us, as part of rangSutra. It is essential to acknowledge that they have their representatives on the company’s board of directors, and they weigh in on crucial decisions of the company.