Jaipur-based designer to hire more women artisans

AKFD Storey, a globally recognised multidisciplinary design practise and manufacturing entity based in Jaipur, which shot to fame after designing Mudra installations at Delhi international Airport and winning the UN seal of excellence four times, has announced to hire one-third of women artisans in its new facility which was unveiled on November 16 here.

Speaking to IANS, Ayush Kasliwal, founder of AKFD, said: "Women empowerment stays strong on our priority list and we shall have a significant one-third of woman work force by 2023."

His wife Geetanjali Kasliwal, who is also a renowned architect and designer, said: "In fact, we shall dedicate an entire floor for women artisans and with this aim, we shall start training women soon. We have not allocated our top floor for any other purpose as we have envisioned it to be meant for women artisans only where they shall have all the facilities as required by women," she added.

Speaking on the most distinguished aspects of AKFD, Ayush said: "AKFD is a unique combination of handmade and industry, enjoying an access to traditional skills combined with the best of contemporary technology. This is the rarest phenomenon we are practising to continue with handmade legacy which no one else is doing in the country."

Hence, with the new facility, we shall work to establish Jaipur as a design centre in India by bringing designers from across the country to Jaipur and support the vision of Jaipur being known as the design and craft capital of India, he added.

AKFD has sustainability as its key feature and speaking on the same, he said: "The new facility shall follow sustainable practices in manufacturing. In fact, the building can also be called as green building as it ensures complete recycle of water and promises 100 per cent green water harvesting.

"Different environmental parameters for green designs and state of the art manufacturing are being followed in the new facility," he informed further.

The new facility aims at taking the Indian skills, crafts and materials to new heights following the principles of sustainability with enduring designs crafted from India's diverse culture, said Ayush.

He added: "We are one of the few Indian design companies enjoying international foot printers. We are well-recognised globally with our headquarters situated in Jaipur where we infuse contemporary design sensibilities into our crafts to revive them. Recruiting the best crafts-people, we learn from them and collaborate to develop new products."

Kasliwal was recently awarded by Union minister for industries Nitin Gadkari under the best employment generating MSME (Small) manufacturing category in New Delhi. Besides this, Kasliwal has also won many awards, nationally and internationally, under diverse categories. IANS