INSPIRED BY LOCAL HERITAGE

Image: Ropemaking with banana fibre. Image courtesy of The Kishkinda Trust

Written by Brinda Gill

“I visited Hampi as a young artist in 1991 and was spellbound by the raw beauty of its rugged landscape dotted with boulders. I moved to Anegundi in 1994 and founded The Kishkinda Trust in 1997 to work on empowering the local community through multi-disciplinary projects”, says Shama Pawar, Founder, The Kishkinda Trust (TKT), and Convenor, The Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) Anegundi, Hampi Chapter.

Anegundi is located on the northern bank of the Tungabhadra River on its northern bank, while Hampi, famous for its majestic Group of Monuments that are a UNESCO World Heritage Site, stretches along the southern bank of the river. When Shama moved here, Anegundi was only accessed by a coracle that is a small round woven-reed boat.

Image courtesy of The Kishkinda Trust

Inspired by the area’s rich cultural heritage and driven by her passion to work with the local community, Shama immersed herself in initiatives starting with sweeping of streets, creating awareness of hygiene, disseminating information through performing arts and then working with local women and men to handcraft banana fibre products as she found there was potential to develop the skill.

Image courtesy of The Kishkinda Trust

The raw material for the banana fibre products are obtained by cutting dried stems of banana plants. The stems are then spliced and twisted on a rubber sheet to make ropes. The ropes are not dyed or processed to retain their natural colour and texture. They are used to create products by different techniques, namely, crochet, macramé, basketry or weaving. The product range spans bags, hats, belts, boxes, baskets, tableware, lamps, meditation and prayer mats, and rugs that have a lovely natural look and feel. They are sturdy, durable and washable, making them attractive and functional.

Image courtesy of The Kishkinda Trust

While the banana fibre products are the most visible part of the activities of TKT and the work has provided livelihood opportunities to many, TKT is involved with several activities. These are conservation of heritage buildings and their adaptive reuse, cleaning and greening spaces, promoting local tourism, establishing Uramma Heritage Homes that offer rural hospitality with modern amenities, developing other craft skills like weaving of water hyacinth fibre yarns and weaving of Vaiyayanti grass that grows locally for making necklaces for religious and spiritual purposes, and strengthening traditional local culture to create a wholesome ecosystem for the local community.

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