This Graduation Project was an effort to understand and experience life in the foothills of the Himalayas and its people who are in sync with nature. Meanwhile, attempting to impart a different perspective through design thinking by utilizing their skills and immense knowledge of natural dyes was the prime objective of this project.
‘The Narratives of Kumaon’ is a story that involves expanding a range of products using locally grown natural dyes at Avani. This project was sponsored by the Non-Government Organization 'Avani', based in the foothill valleys of the central Himalayan region in the Pithoragarh district of Kumaon Uttarakhand.
Her project started with an open-ended brief exploring the usage of natural dyes through various printing processes using the already existing printing dyes prepared at Avani. The project dealt with content like research and analysis about Kumaon, its people, craft traditions of the area, the process of cultivating various dye-yielding plants, printing and dyeing processes, market studies, and product development.
For the project, the process started with exploring different types of dyeing and printing processes. Various explorations were done on fabric swatches which were observed for the colour fastness, the absorbance of pigments, and dyes on fabrics. After much rumination, her inclination towards fine arts and textile arts dominated, and she identified with developing a range of wall art. It could be an example to showcase the properties of natural dyes produced at Avani and the possibilities of its various applications. Apart from this, she also tried to demonstrate the application of printing paste on handmade papers. There were very few trials and projects done for printing previously, and this new collection would be an expansion in their product range and hopefully will open up a new window for the possibilities that can be achieved using natural dyes.
Avani Kumaon, Natural Dyes, screen print, Textile Design Graduation Project, Textile Wall Art
