Karuka’s Tribute to Women: Crafting Strength, Stitching Sustainability
Author: Srushti Sonawane
To be a woman is to embody both strength and grace, to carry the weight of traditions while shaping the contours of change. Within Karuka, our beneficiaries, our artisans, and our teams form a living testament to a boundless, collective femininity; one that is neither constrained by convention nor defined by singular moments of recognition.
Yet, why do we confine the celebration of womanhood to a solitary day? Across centuries, history has lauded women in fragments, revering their sacrifices but overlooking their triumphs, acknowledging their endurance but silencing their voices. The dawn of International Women’s Day brings more than celebration; it carries the weight of history, the pulse of progress, and the promise of an equitable future. At Karuka, we do not merely observe this day; we embody its essence. We stand as torchbearers for the countless women whose hands weave resilience into fabric, whose artistry is a defiance against erasure, and whose craft is both an inheritance and an innovation.
“The woman who can create her own job is the woman who will win fame and fortune.”
— Amelia Earhart
For centuries, women have been the unseen custodians of heritage, their hands weaving stories into fabric, sculpting sustenance out of art. Yet, history has often buried their contributions beneath the weight of anonymity. Virginia Woolf’s words ring true: “For most of history, Anonymous was a woman.” But in the heart of Karuka, anonymity gives way to recognition, craftsmanship becomes currency, and every creation is an act of reclamation.
As we step into International Women’s Day 2025, with its call to “Accelerate Action,” let us recognise that true progress is sculpted by the hands of those who refuse to be silenced. Here, in the rhythmic motion of the loom, in the deliberate strokes of the artisan’s brush, and in the steadfast resolve of every woman who dares to create, we find the revolution.
Fires to Foundations: Mangali Devi’s Reclamation of the Wild
“It’s in the reach of my arms, the span of my hips, the stride of my step, the curl of my lips.”
Maya Angelou’s immortal verse does not merely describe a woman; it distils her essence, the quiet command she holds over her world, the seamless fusion of grace and tenacity. At Karuka, this indomitable spirit finds form in the hands of artisans who do not simply create but reclaim, who do not merely craft but redefine.
In Rahala, where pine-laden forests stood as both guardians and adversaries, Mangali Devi refused to succumb to the destruction they wrought. The very needles that once ignited wildfires and stripped the land of its vitality became the instruments of her resurgence. With the unwavering reach of her arms and the resolute stride of her step, she turned calamity into craft, breathing new life into nature’s excess. Through Project Cheer-Urja, she mastered the delicate alchemy of transformation, sculpting exquisite pine needle handicrafts that now grace institutions like IIT Mandi. But her artistry is more than aesthetic; it is catalytic. The hands that once trembled in the face of ruin now extend in empowerment, passing the craft to 25 other women, each thread they weave an assertion of agency, each creation an ode to resilience. For a woman, phenomenally, is never confined by the ashes of adversity; she rises, she reclaims, she reignites.
Carving Identity: Heera Ji and the Art of Reinvention
“The most important thing one woman can do for another is expand her sense of actual possibilities.”
Adrienne Rich’s words do not merely articulate a sentiment but delineate a philosophy, one that Karuka embodies with unwavering conviction. Women, by nature, have been the quiet custodians of sustainability, their intuition an unspoken alchemy that transforms scarcity into sufficiency, waste into worth, and tradition into timelessness. To nurture, to repurpose, to restore; these are not just acts of necessity but profound declarations of agency. In every ethically sourced material, in every artisanal craft that breathes new life into the discarded, Karuka echoes the legacy of women who have long sustained both culture and ecology with equal reverence.
In the tranquil enclave of Mandi, Heera Ji personifies this spirit of reclamation. What began as tentative hands exploring the unfamiliar soon became the deft precision of an artisan—pine needle handicrafts, intricate candle work, herbal soaps, all imbued with the ethos of conscious craftsmanship. Yet, true sustainability is measured not in commodities but in continuities, in the transference of wisdom from one creator to another. And so, Heera Ji ascended beyond mere mastery; she became a mentor, a vanguard of transformation. In every woman she empowers, in every skill she imparts, she etches an indelible testament to autonomy; an assertion that sustainability is not just about preserving resources, but about fortifying futures.
Art as Empowerment: Kavita Didi’s Artisanal Mastery
“I am the woman with a voice; my voice cannot be silenced.”
Kamala Das’ verse reverberates through every creation at Karuka, where craftsmanship transcends mere ornamentation to become a dialect of defiance, heritage, and reinvention. Each intricately embroidered motif serves as an heirloom of untold histories, while sustainable home décor pieces stand as tangible dialogues between antiquity and innovation. Within the hands of our artisans, tradition is neither relic nor restraint—it is a fluid force, reinterpreted, revitalised, and reclaimed.
Kavita Didi personifies this ethos. Her magnum opus, Regal Rudolph, was not merely a handcrafted marvel but a manifesto of artisanal mastery, its unprecedented success emblematic of a community reclaiming its space in a world of mass production. Yet, her truest legacy lies beyond individual acclaim—in the artisans she cultivates, the dexterous hands she hones, and the cultural continuum she fortifies. Through her journey, Karuka asserts its unwavering commitment: to elevate craftsmanship from the peripheries to the pinnacle, ensuring that tradition is not archived in nostalgia but wielded as an instrument of evolution.
Beyond the Threshold: Sita Ji’s Voice of Change
“A woman is the full circle. Within her is the power to create, nurture, and transform.”
Diane Mariechild’s words resonate deeply with the spirit of Karuka, where every artisan’s hands hold stories—of struggle, of reinvention, of quiet revolutions. Here, womanhood is not bound by definitions but shaped by the resilience of those who dare to transform their realities. In the rhythmic motion of weaving, in the precise carving of natural elements, in the gentle pouring of wax, there is an unspoken defiance—a reclamation of agency, of heritage, of identity. These are not just crafts; they are echoes of a woman’s journey, binding tradition and sustainability into something profoundly personal and deeply powerful.
Empowerment is not bestowed; it is claimed. For Sita Ji, that claim began with a choice—to step beyond domestic confines and forge her own path. Through Karuka’s training under Project Cheer-Urja, she mastered soap-making, candle crafting, and intricate handicrafts, turning artistry into autonomy. But her journey didn’t stop at self-reliance; it became a beacon for others. Sharing her story with journalist Anjana Om Kashyap during the Himachal Pradesh elections, she witnessed her voice ripple across the nation, inspiring countless women to reclaim their own narratives. In that moment, she wasn’t just speaking—she was igniting a revolution of quiet, unstoppable change.
The Karuka Creed: Weaving Empowerment, Stitching Change
The loom hums, the needle dances, and in the quiet cadence of creation, the earth listens. International Women’s Day 2025, themed “Accelerate Action,” is not a mere commemoration; it is a testament to the unyielding spirit of those who stitch resilience into every thread of existence. At Karuka, empowerment is neither an abstract ideal nor a fleeting gesture; it is a legacy, woven into the very fabric of sustainability and self-reliance.
“She does not wait for doors to open,
She carves pathways where none exist,
With hands that once trembled, now steady,
She sculpts a world where she persists.”
To celebrate women is to honour not only their struggles but also their triumphs, their artistry, and their voices that refuse to be silenced. It is to recognise that the future is not merely granted; it is meticulously crafted, woven with threads of courage, embroidered with resilience, and illuminated by the spectrum of change.
Karuka stands as both sanctuary and stage, a space where craftsmanship births independence, and independence shapes a future beyond limitation. As Arundhati Roy proclaims, “Another world is not only possible; she is on her way.” And in the heartbeat of Karuka, she does not merely arrive; she builds, she leads, she ascends.