Khamir is a NGO for artisans and craftsmen that empowers the communities engaging in traditional blockprinting and weaving techniques.I spent my winter break, learning Ajrakh printing. Ajrakhpur is a small village on the peripheries of Bhuj from which the printstyle Ajrakh is derived from. This small settlement was completely destroyed in the 2001 earthquake and is now emerging from the ashes. The art of block printing was originated decades ago and a major portion of this village practises this technique.

The peculiar style of Ajrakh prints are the symmetrical dots and  stylized pattern of flowers.The blocks I used were beautifully carved with hand carving tools.

Rauf Khatri ,my mentor taught me how to make natural dyes (black ,yellow, red and blue colors) as well as the peculiar technique of dipping the block into the dye. From pinning down the base cloth to the final stage of dyeing the fabric and rinsing off extra dye, I managed to print more than six meters of cloth and dyed it in turmeric and indigo dye.