Innovation as a catalyst for Moonj artisans: a case of Rekhaakriti

What is it about?

Rekhaakriti is a handicraft manufacturing firm of India, based in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. It produces eco-friendly moonj products which are highly durable in terms of strength, quality and attractive for their aesthetic looks. The potential buyers of the moonj handicrafts are the one who prefer sustainable living and have love for the Mother Nature. Rekhaakriti has exclusively work for the betterment of livelihood for moonj artisans. The organization was found in 2014 as NGO later transformed into sole proprietor firm in 2017. The protagonist, Rekha had done post graduate diploma in Bachelor of Journalism and Mass Communication and had invested her 23 years in mainstream journalism. During her career as a reporter, she met moonj artisans who were struggling for their livelihood. In the beginning, she tried to identify the factors which are big hurdles for their sustainable livelihood. She noticed that barriers in the path of moonj artisans are lack of – knowledge, product innovation, funds, tool, and infrastructure. In the case, we aim to identify how a woman who don’t even know the fundamentals of entrepreneurship developed the skills of product innovation, design intervention that helped her to achieve a distinct position in handicraft market.

Featured Image