Tilonia Bazaar

The concept of a "crafts bazaar" The SWRC-Barefoot College started working with crafts in 1974. The craft section of Barefoot College later became Hatheli Sansthan popularly known as Tilonia Bazaar an independent registered non-profit society in 1992. The story began when the first Tilonia Bazaar was exhibited in Triveni Kala Sangam in Delhi in 1975 encouraged by Kamaladevi Chattopadhyaya, Pupul Jayakar, Shona Ray and many others. Tilonia Bazaar was one of the first concepts through which rural crafts found a way to connect to the urban India and the market. The Bazaar helped in establishing craft as an integral part of people’s development. Now the ‘Bazaar’/haat is a popular concept, enabling lakhs of crafts persons to find alternative markets in India. Income generation through crafts While largely an agricultural area, Tilonia’s hinterland in Ajmer District has number of artisans engaged in various crafts. But due to a flagging local market, these skills were dying. Hatheli Sansthan/ Tilonia Bazaar began promoting rural handicrafts in 1975, to both prevent the craft from dying and for the survival of craftspeople. We are connected with 5 districts and 48 villages of Rajasthan with a diverse group of artisans across community lines employing 250 artisans out of which around 235 are women who have been trained in various crafts.