Design, Business, Cultural Preservation, and Safety Challenges for Ringaal Craft Artisans in Uttarakhand

DOI

10.2991/978-94-6239-620-3_4How to use a DOI?

Keywords

Ringaal craft; Rudia community; bamboo craft; artisan economy; design; market access; cultural preservation; ethnographic research; occupational health and safety; Uttarakhand

Abstract

Uttarakhand in northern India hosts many crafts; ringaal weaving is key for home decor and daily use goods. Ringaal bamboo weaving sustains many Rudia households in Uttarakhand. Artisans collect a dwarf bamboo across upper, middle, and lower Himalayan belts and the Tarai. Altitude and terrain shape access to material and buyers, and influence safety and learning. This study examines four linked areas: craft design, market access and business, cultural transmission, and occupational safety. We worked with thirty-five artisans across four districts (30 men, 5 women). Methods combined on-site observation with recorded, semi-structured interviews. Audio files were transcribed with Cockatoo, an AI transcription application for audio and video. Transcripts and field notes were examined using reflexive thematic analysis. Findings show long and risky harvest trips, basic tools, and uneven product quality. Sales rely on distant buyers or occasional bulk orders. Gender roles constrain mobility; women help source and prepare material, and lead some village groups. Common harms include cuts and musculoskeletal pain from floor-level postures and repetitive splitting and weaving. These patterns are consistent with prior work on bamboo value chains, digital markets, and small-workplace safety (Gairola, 2011; Kumar, Rawat, Singh, & Khanduri, 2023; Van der Lugt & King, 2019). We propose five steps: village nurseries for ringaal; short in-village design residencies with simple jigs; a pooled digital catalogue with batch logistics; a basic safety kit with participatory training; and women-led apprentice cohorts tied to live orders. Together, these actions can improve income, stabilize quality, and protect craft identity.

Copyright

© 2026 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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TY  - CONF
AU  - Soumitra Bhattacharya
AU  - Naveen Kumar
AU  - Debkumar Chakrabarti
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/03/31
TI  - Design, Business, Cultural Preservation, and Safety Challenges for Ringaal Craft Artisans in Uttarakhand
BT  - Proceedings of the ATLAS International Design Conference 2025 (AIDC 2025)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 36
EP  - 50
SN  - 2667-128X
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-94-6239-620-3_4
DO  - 10.2991/978-94-6239-620-3_4
ID  - Bhattacharya2026
ER  -