Interaction between craft communities

Course Brief

Abstract

This course explored the interconnected worlds of craft communities, with a particular focus on the Kumbara (Potter community) and the Kuruba community (Shepherds and Ghongdi weavers, which is a traditional handwoven woollen blanket, created from locally reared sheep’s wool) of Bidar. These communities, though rooted in distinct practices of clay, mud, tamarind and wool, are bound together by networks of labour, resources, and cultural exchange that have shaped the region for hundreds of years.

This course is relevant to early career researchers, educators, museum curators, archivists, heritage conservationists, craft-designers and social entrepreneurs, community-based researchers, anthropology and development practitioners working with craft and community knowledge systems.

We will move from observing, listening, and documenting, to critical making: working with clay, wool, or hybrid forms, not as imitation but as a way to reflect, wonder, and learn through the act of making. The course culminates in an exhibition and collective sharing, where we bring together artefacts, stories, and reflection to co-imagine futures for these practices along with the communities.

Learners should apply if they are drawn to working with knowledge that is lived rather than abstract, if they want to listen to voices that rarely make it into academic texts, and if they wish to wonder why some crafts survive while others disappear. The course offers a chance to learn at the crossroads of history, design, anthropology, and community practice, to witness how traditions are held together, and to think collectively about how they might endure, adapt, or transform in times to come.

The outcomes of this course will equip learners with skills in documenting oral histories, practices, and cultural narratives. It provides learners with practical grounding that can inform future research, teaching, curatorial work, and community-based projects. Just as importantly, the process of co-creating with artisans will help them develop collaborative and creative skills, enabling them to engage with craft practices as observers and active participants to sustain and co-imagine them.

Key words

Interdependence, Material and resource exchange, Disappearing crafts, Cultural resilience, Livelihood and sustainability, Co-existence, Mutual learning, Place-based practices, Adaptation and change.

Course Objective

The course is designed to highlight how craft communities are interdependent socially, economically, culturally, and materially through engaging directly with communities, learn from lived practices, and reflect on sustainable futures for crafts. The course is informed by the axiom of place-based learning. Craft practices cannot be studied in isolation; they are deeply tied to the social, cultural, and economic networks of the places where they emerge. By engaging with Kumbara (Pottery) and Kuruba (Shepherd) practices in Bidar, learners will not only understand the skills and processes involved but also witness how communities depend on one another for tools, resources, and livelihoods. This situated form of learning ensures that knowledge is not abstract but connected to lived experiences, enabling learners to appreciate the complexity of interdependence and co-existence among communities.

Learning Outcomes

By the end of the course, learners will:

• Understand how crafts are interconnected and navigate networks of interdependence.

• Gain skills in documenting oral histories, practices, and cultural narratives.

• Learn to critically reflect on why some crafts are disappearing and how interventions can support their survival.

These outcomes will enable the learners to support future research, teaching, curatorial work, and community-based projects through the theoretical and practical insights gained, and, explore the possibilities of co-creating with artisans in their practice.

What you Bring?

Learners are encouraged to bring their own creative practice, experiences, and curiosity into the course.

Learners are encouraged to carry whichever materials they usually use to capture and represent their work, this could be a sketchbook, journal, notepad, or even simple sheets of paper, along with some basic art materials for sketching, writing, or visual expression, depending on their own comfort and practice.

What will you Make?

• Learners will produce documentation pieces (audio recordings, field notes, visual sketches, oral history transcripts, documentation of practices, reflective writings, etc).

• A collective artifact or exhibit summarising insights (charts, visual maps, or creative showcases).

Learning Modes

• Interacting Communities: Learners will have direct conversations with artisans and craftsperson to understand their lived realities.

• Field Visits and Immersions: By visiting communities and their workspaces, learners will engage with crafts, tools, and processes in real time. This also includes documenting craft history, practices, and everyday cultural expressions by spending time in a collaborator’s home as well as their workplace.

• Reflection through making artifact: Space for learners to connect personal insights with community experiences through making, showcasing on chart paper or some form of creative display.

• Group Discussions and Feedback: Shared interpretations and conversations to deepen understanding.

• Documentation Practices: Recording, writing, and experimenting with different archiving methods to preserve knowledge.

• Collaborative Workshops or Baithaks : Hands-on sessions where learners and artisans come together to co-create and experiment.

Learners will work both individually (reflection, writing, sketching) and in groups (discussions, workshops, collective outputs).

Course Fee

Fee Summary

Our course fees vary based on the total Notional Learning Hours (NLH). When you view a course description, you'll see a transparent breakdown of costs which reflects the unique structure and requirements of that particular learning experience. The published cost calculation below gives you clarity on what's included in your fees. As more learners join a course, we may adjust the per-person cost accordingly. We track all expenditures carefully against our initial estimates to ensure resources are used effectively for your learning journey. For more information please look at FAQ page.

Course fees includes:

1. Facilitator compensation - Rs. 2800*

2. Community facilitator compensation - Rs. 1920**

3. Travel - Rs. 2400***

4. Accommodation (Shared room) - 2400****

5. Food & Local travel - 2400*****

6. Support and Sustenance - Rs. 1200******

7. GST @ 18% - Rs. 2160*******

Total Fee per learner is Rs.15360 (Rupees Fifteen Thousand and Three Hundred and Sixty Only)

*In Deliberate Practice upto 60% of the NLH is compensated for our Fellow course facilitators co-desinging, facilitating and managing the entire course.
**In a Deliberate Practice upto 40% of the NLH is compensated for learning support by our community collaborator via mentoring, maintaining, weaving, storytelling, guiding and so on.
***Travel cost is calculated for a round trip between Bangalore and Bidar.
****Shared accommodation will be organised. At the time of onboarding we will ask you for preferences.
*****Breakfast and Dinner costs are included in the fees. Any local commute commonly organised is covered in the Fees. There might be additional cost that the learner should factor in for any fieldwork expenses.
******This amount will be utilised for extending financial support to learners who seek support (details are available in the application form). Any surplus will be added to the corpus for the sustenance of LLI.
*******Our fiscal host for Trimester 02 is Aruvu LLP. As per the IT rules a GST of 18% will be charged on the fee collected for the course.

Fee does not include

• Cost of any equipment or other specific materials relevant to Learner’s practice. We recommend the learners to carry any specialised equipments or materials with them to Bidar.