Crafting Change: Women-Led Rural Entrepreneurship in Kutch, Gujarat

DOI

10.2991/978-94-6239-620-3_5How to use a DOI?

Keywords

Rural Entrepreneurship; Women Artisans; Traditional Crafts; Ethnographic Research; Empowerment

Abstract

In the intricate tapestry of traditional crafts in rural India, women artisans have long played a pivotal role as torchbearers of cultural heritage and entrepreneurship (Desai, 2020). This case study focuses on Kutch, Gujarat, where craft traditions are deeply embedded in everyday life, and where women artisans have been central in sustaining and innovating these practices. From within their homes, women have been balancing familial responsibilities, household chores, and income generation through craft, while simultaneously negotiating gendered expectations of domestic life.

The study draws on ethnographic observations and focus group discussions in Sumrasar village, employing a participatory framework to document women’s lived experiences. Participants have been identified through purposive snowball sampling, and the data has been analyzed using inductive thematic analysis. This immersion has uncovered subtle yet significant influences on women’s empowerment, identity, and craft preservation. NGOs in Kutch have further shaped these trajectories by encouraging artisans to create designs reflective of their own voices, fostering entrepreneurship while safeguarding cultural authenticity.

The findings suggest that women artisans have not merely adapted to socio-economic challenges but have actively transformed them into opportunities for self-reliance and collective empowerment. This case study contributes to discourses on rural entrepreneurship, women’s agency, and the role of participatory frameworks in safeguarding intangible cultural heritage.

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  - Pragya Sachdeva
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/03/31
TI  - Crafting Change: Women-Led Rural Entrepreneurship in Kutch, Gujarat
BT  - Proceedings of the ATLAS International Design Conference 2025 (AIDC 2025)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 51
EP  - 88
SN  - 2667-128X
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-94-6239-620-3_5
DO  - 10.2991/978-94-6239-620-3_5
ID  - Sachdeva2026
ER  -