Tavaru, founded by Geeta Patil, works with handloom and handicraft artisans of north Karnataka to create optimally sewn and crafted textiles for home needs as a part of their initiative to revive and sustain traditional hand-crafting practices of the region.
It was started with the vision of creating a self-sufficient production system, created and managed end-to-end solely by women, with a larger goal of reinstating agency.
Quilted and hand-embroidered textiles form the basis of design, and their products are a canvas of expression where these women artisans have the freedom of exploration with color, texture, and stitch.
Purpose
Their purpose with Tavaru is threefold – Sustainable livelihoods, women empowerment through reinstating agency, and sustaining handcrafting practices in the region. Tavaru was started with the intention of creating employment opportunities for women artisans in the north Karnataka region through handcrafted products, upholding traditions of making, and hence the skill of upcycling discarded textiles. The process of quilting is meditative in itself. The quilts have been a way of self-expression and creative exploration for women who otherwise work on farms and take care of the household. Their vision is that women are involved in the entire process from sourcing, design, creation to marketing, and it evolves into a self-sustained system - one that is completely run by women with the goal of reinstating agency.
People
They currently work with 50 women artisans across two villages in Gulbarga district. 40 of them are involved in handcrafting the quilts, and 10 are in tailoring processes. The team is led by women leaders on the ground who manage the project and provide design support. A lot of these women are involved in agricultural activities. With quilting, they have an opportunity to make additional income from the comfort of their home.
Additionally, many of the women artisans have not had the chance to step out of their homes. Their workshops give them the opportunity for collaboration, mutual learning, and creative exploration.
Planet
Sustainable production is built into the craft of quilting where rejected and discarded fabric blends are patched together to create the base textile. Starting from the sourcing of raw material, they ensure that they are re-using discarded textile waste and incorporating non-bio-degradable material like polyester sarees in the inner layers of the quilts, which, in turn, reduces the load on landfills. For the topmost layer of the quilted textile, they use cut bits that are collected from various tailoring shops across the city and incorporate the same in their quilts.
