Kula Innovate by 200 Million Artisans

Craft is Culture. Culture is Power.

What happens when a craft disappears?

It isn’t just an artform that vanishes.

A family loses its livelihood.

A community loses its identity.

And future generations may never even know it existed.

 

Craft Revival 2.0 | The Time is Now

Last year, 200 Million Artisans launched Kula Innovate, India’s first innovation challenge dedicated to craft-based entrepreneurs. Our team met so many craft-led enterprises and artisan entrepreneurs daring to preserve, transform, and revitalise endangered traditions. We were inspired by the originality and courage of their ideas. But something broke our hearts too: so many of these journeys had to pause, not because the ideas weren’t brilliant, but because the money simply wasn’t there.

Hence, this year we are taking things in our hands and we’re starting Craft Revival 2.0.

Why Power Creative and Cultural Futures

India has over 3,000 documented crafts, and countless undocumented ones. Some are already gone. Others fight for breath:

• Rogan art of Gujarat now survives in just a handful families hands.

• Chittara paintings of Karnataka are practised by barely 1–2% of the Deevaru community.

• Handmade Veenas of Thanjavur- once a treasure of Carnatic music- are now crafted by just 15 families.

35 crafts are officially endangered.

But numbers don’t tell you what it feels like when an artisan says, “I don’t know if my children will continue this work. There’s no future in it.”

This campaign is our way of saying: there can be a future.

A Campaign to Support Five Revivalists

Through Craft Revival 2.0 Track as part of Kula Innovate we’re supporting five incredible revival based businesses from underrepresented clusters particularly across West, East, South India. These aren’t just about preserving “heritage objects”. They’re about rebuilding dignity, creating livelihoods, and ensuring voices from the margins are heard, enabled and supported.

Because every time a craft revives, a community finds its courage again.

​And we can’t do it without you.

Proven Impact of Kula Innovate by 200 Million Artisans

In 2024, the Kula Innovate Challenge Unlocked:

• ₹1.3 Crores (~$158,000) in funding

• 18 winning enterprises, chosen from 175+ applications

• 50,000+ artisans and families impacted

Each winner received flexible funding, mentorship from industry leaders, visibility across 200M+ platforms, and invitations to Kula Conclave 2024. At the conclave, 220+ global leaders gathered, 100+ businesses showcased, and new markets and capital were unlocked. Doors opened. Futures shifted.

Here's What Some of Our Winners Had to Say:

"Receiving the award at Kula not only gave me fresh ideas but also the courage to take my work forward in new and meaningful directions.”

- Vankar Chetan Siju, Artisan Innovator, HDC Bhujodi

"The award brought solar energy to our artisan centres deep in the forests of Mayurbhanj. It helped us shift from dreaming with caution to dreaming with courage.”

- Bindu Vinodan, Founder and Executive Director, Mauna Dhwani Foundation

With your help, we can take this momentum further.

Join the Revival. Donate Today.

Here’s what your gift makes possible:

• Fund small revival grants for craft businesses

• Revive endangered handmade techniques

• Support design, training, quality, and market access

• Give crafts the visibility they deserve

Together, we can turn fragile traditions into thriving futures.

Kula Innovate 2025 — Giving Tiers

✨ Every rupee you give goes directly to our revivalists and innovators. To make sure your chosen reward from the giving tiers reaches you smoothly, a small portion of your donation covers courier charges.

We invite you to be part of this.

• Donate as little as ₹2500
• Not to charity, but to continuity.
• Not to nostalgia, but to possibility.

✨ The more you give, the more we can give away.

Let’s make sure India’s crafts don’t just survive in books and museums. Let’s keep them alive in hands, homes, and futures.

 

About 200 Million Artisans

200 Million Artisans (200M) is a systems-change initiative unlocking inclusive capital, innovation, and regenerative futures for India’s creative and craft-led economies. We accelerate next-generation impact enterprises by bridging gaps in knowledge, networks, and capital, with a focus on powering dignified livelihoods, climate resilience and gender inclusion.

Our three homegrown platforms include: Kula Conclave | Kula Innovate | Business of Handmade