The INNEHÅLLSRIK collection is made from natural materials and showcases traditional handcraft, including banana fibre baskets, handwoven and hand embroidered blankets, towels and cushion covers. The collection has been designed by product developer Stina Engler and designer Sarah Fager and developed together with skilled artisans from social enterprises Rangsutra and Industree.
We’d already decided that we wanted INNEHÅLLSRIK to have a beachy theme with a blue colour and natural materials, but it wasn’t until we travelled to New Delhi, that the collection really came alive.
Arriving off the plane and into a big textile market, she and Sarah Fager were struck by the beauty of traditional Indian textiles. “We saw these amazing blue patterned textiles which just spoke to us straight away,” Stina says. “And then meeting the artisans, we were able to bounce ideas off each other, decide on embroidery and what type of weaving to use.” The result is a collection that celebrates the handmade.
Village life in India can hold precious few opportunities for a consistent income, especially for women. That’s why we’ve partnered with two likeminded Indian social enterprises, Rangsutra and Industree, with the goal to empower women through craft. Working as an artisan at Rangsutra or Industree opens up a world of new possibilities for these women. It provides them with possibilities like having a bank account, being able to invest in their children’s – especially in their girls’ – education, building a new home and building their self-confidence and skills as artisans and business women. A social audit was recently done by external partners to objectively see the impact of the initiative on the artisans living situations. The audit showed that since the initiative started in 2013, there has been strong positive improvements in the artisans’ lives. Through the initiative the female artisans have gained a consistent income, and the social audit shows that they have chosen to invest it in:
- Education for their children (7 out of 10 women invest in better schooling)
- Better food
- Lifestyle improvements (here mobility is important, many choose to save for a bicycle/moped)
- Savings: More women have savings, and also gained knowledge on how to open a bank account.
For International Women’s Day 2017 the involved artisans also created a series of unique tutorials where everyone can learn handcrafts themselves. Today, many use their hands for little more than operating smartphones. IKEA want to revive the dying art of handcraft. The aim of these tutorials is to spread the benefit of disappearing crafts while portraying the women who keep them alive. In three different tutorials, we meet artisans from two social enterprises in India, Rangsutra and Industree, who work with IKEA via the Social Entrepreneurs initiative. We meet Mani, who teaches us the basics of basket weaving while making a basket for her dog; Rekha who introduces us to patchwork while making a blanket for her 1-year-old son; and lastly, we meet Sakshi who teaches us embroidery by making a tote bag for her school books.
The tutorials were released on International Women’s Day on March 8th 2017.
The tutorials were released on International Women’s Day on March 8th 2017.