Shilpa Trust

Shilpa Trust (Self Help Initiative Linking Progressive Artisans Trust), founded in 1992 is a service-oriented, Social Welfare organization, secular in character, non-profit, Public charitable registered trust, registered under the Trust Act. It is committed to the social and economic development of Rural Artisans both women and men in the Channapatna town of the Ramanagara district in Karnataka, India. SHILPA came into being with the intention of trying to bring about an improvement in their living conditions and to help them to regain both income and self–respect. Shilpa Trust’s vision is to support these artisans across their entire crafts’ value chain; from their ability to market their products to providing training and skill development, improving design and organising the artisans and craftspeople into self-help groups to establish a sustainable ecosystem for this craft cluster. The trust is a life member of the Federation of South India Producer Association (SIPA), Chennai through which they receive support to export a variety of handcrafted products to several Alternative Trading Organizations in overseas countries like the USA, UK, Europe, Canada, Japan and other countries. Shilpa Trust is also a member of the World Fair Trade Organization (WFTO), and a founder member of the Fair Trade Forum – India (FTF –I).