Press Release
*IIT Kharagpur to Host First Craft Toolkit Workshop ‘Srishti O Anusandhan’ in Collaboration with Development Commissioner (Handicrafts), Ministry of Textiles*
Kharagpur, 24 March 2026: Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, through its recently established Centre of Excellence for the Unified AI-Enabled Craft Ecosystem Platform, in collaboration with the Development Commissioner (Handicrafts), Ministry of Textiles, Government of India, is set to organize its first Craft Toolkit Workshop titled “Srishti O Anusandhan” from 25 March to 2 April 2026 at IIT Kharagpur. The inaugural programme will be held on 25 March 2026 at 10:30 AM at the Rajendra Mishra School of Engineering Entrepreneurship.
The workshop will bring together 15 distinguished artisans representing seven diverse craft traditions and clusters from across India, including Kallakurichi Wood Carving (GI) from Tamil Nadu, Khatamband from Jammu & Kashmir, Udayagiri Wooden Cutlery from Andhra Pradesh, Cane & Bamboo craft from the North Eastern Region, Saharanpur wood craft from Uttar Pradesh, Delhi-based wood craft practices, and wood carving traditions from Odisha. The participating group comprises award-winning master artisans and experienced practitioners, including National, State, and District Awardees, reflecting a rich diversity of region-specific and traditional craft practices with representation from both men and women artisans.
This pioneering initiative aims to systematically document craft processes, tools, materials, and production methodologies while fostering meaningful engagement between artisans, faculty members, researchers, and domain experts. The workshop is aligned with the broader vision of the Centre of Excellence, which is supported by the Development Commissioner (Handicrafts) and structured across three key pillars: micro-level project integration and portal development; meso-level workshops, toolkit augmentation, and design repository; and macro-level AI- and LLM-driven craft repository, learning systems, design validation, and co-creation frameworks.
During the workshop, artisans will demonstrate their techniques, share insights into tools and materials, and engage in collaborative discussions with the IIT Kharagpur team for documentation, analysis, and potential enhancement of toolkits. The outcomes of this exercise are expected to contribute to future documentation frameworks, toolkit development, design databases, learning resources, and potential market and design linkages. Select samples and prototypes may also be retained at the Centre of Excellence for research, testing, and display.
A significant component of the programme will include expert interaction sessions scheduled on 28 and 29 March 2026, focusing on craft processes, tools, materials, challenges, and community-acceptable innovations. These deliberations aim to develop a grounded and context-sensitive approach to toolkit augmentation and innovation in traditional craft ecosystems.
The workshop will also feature continuous video and photographic documentation, artisan interviews, collaborative brainstorming sessions, and opportunities for artisans to showcase and sell their creations within the IIT Kharagpur campus during the later phase of the programme.
Speaking ahead of the workshop, Prof. Priyadarshi Patnaik, Principal Investigator of the project and Coordinator of the workshop, remarked, “This initiative marks an important early step towards building a long-term, research-driven and technology-enabled ecosystem for Indian handicrafts through close collaboration between artisans, academic institutions, experts, and government agencies. We are grateful to the Development Commissioner (Handicrafts), Smt. Amrit Raj, and her office for their support. This is a first-of-its-kind large-scale collaboration for both IIT Kharagpur and DC Handicrafts.”
Pratik Dama
Public Relations Officer
Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur
Kharagpur-721302, Bharat
pro@iitkgp.ac.in
Mob-9975654202
