IHCL’S luxury lifestyle store, Khazana, and Tata Trusts’ Antaran join hands

Chandigarh:  Indian Hotels Company (IHCL), South Asia’s largest hospitality company’s luxury lifestyle store, Khazana, announced its partnership with Antaran - Transforming Crafts; Tata Trust’s Craft-Based Livelihood Programme. For over four decades, Khazana has provided a platform to showcase India’s rich heritage of traditional art, craft and textiles. Antaran works towards strengthening the ecosystem and empowering entrepreneurship and self-employment of artisans from lesser known craft clusters in the country. This unique collaboration between Khazana and Antaran furthers the intent to impact the livelihood of thousands of weavers across Odisha, Assam, Nagaland and Andhra Pradesh.
 
Speaking on the occasion Puneet Chhatwal, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, IHCL said, “This partnership is in line with IHCL’s commitment of giving back to the community. Khazana celebrates the boundless creativity of Indian craftsmen and showcases the work of local artisans to a discerning global audience while providing sustainable livelihoods. We are delighted to partner with Antaran in helping to further the cause of supporting traditional crafts of the country.”

A curated exhibit of Indian handlooms inaugurated at Khazana at Taj Lands End, Mumbai presented a handpicked collection of masterpieces created using traditional weaves of the regions. This will soon be available in other Khazana stores. Khazana with its wide footprint operates 17 luxury lifestyle stores across nine cities with three stores opening soon in Chennai, Shimla and Bhopal.

At the launch of the showcase N. Srinath CEO, Tata Trusts said, “Tata Trusts’ Antaran initiative was established to shine a spotlight on hidden clusters of unique craft-forms across the country. In everything we do, our goal is to empower artisans through education, exposure and access to markets, such that they can build enduring sources of income. This partnership will offer these fine products, the true khazana of Indian heritage and culture, an audience hitherto untapped”.

Initiated to bring seminal changes in craft development, Tata Trusts’ Antaran has in the past three years, nurtured around 1,507 artisans and has created 147 micro-enterprises across its six regions. The intervention aims to directly benefit 3,000 households involved in pre-loom, on-loom and post-loom processes, while also impacting the livelihood of thousands of other weavers in these regions. This unique initiative also presents designers and buyers an opportunity for creative collaboration with weavers.