Age-old art of Lambani embroidery was languishing, but now designers, NGOs are giving it a firm push

As such, to revitalise and nurture the tribal community’s traditional embroidery, while also fostering economic independence among its women members, Patil started Banjara Kasuti. Soon, Kishore, who holds a diploma in fashion design, joined the venture. “Together, our collective vision, expertise and commitment to empower the women from the tribal community and preserve the dwindling art form led us to choose Lambani embroidery as the centrepiece of our brand. Currently, our brand is supporting the Lambani community and weavers around with a line of handcrafted embroidery and accessories,” she added.

The brand also upholds sustainable practices through several strategies. “This includes sourcing handloomed cotton fabric from weavers in North Karnataka, which is a step towards promoting sustainable livelihoods by supporting the traditional craftsmanship of local artisans. Additionally, the Banjara work, which is an integral part of our embroidery, is entirely done by hand. It not only preserves the cultural significance of the art form, but also minimises the environmental impact associated with mass production techniques,” said Patil.

But it’s not just them, Lambani embroidery is being adopted by several other designers, including Niharika Elety, who founded Tega Collective, an eco-conscious brand, to support indigenous textiles and crafts. With a growing realisation of a need for sustainability in the fashion space, Elety found that it worked in tandem with India’s age-old textiles. “Indigenous communities across the world live harmoniously with nature. They have cultivated reciprocated relationships with plants, animals and soil throughout their practices when hunting, gathering and creating textiles. With fashion, they enrich the biodiversity of their region by growing indigenous fibres, using native plant dyes and materials around them,” she said.

Niharika Elety, founder of Tega Collective. (Source: Niharika Elety)

Tega Collective brought Elety’s dream of bringing awareness to indigenous textiles and fashion to reality. Moreover, the brand strives to give representation to the south Indian community and its vast culture which is intricately woven together with its craftmanship.

Opening up about how the idea came into fruition, she said, “A few friends from the Adivasi Lives Matter group knew of Sandur Kushala Kala Kendra, an NGO in Bellary working with Lambani artisans to create products. I thought it would be incredible to collaborate with them and amplify their work, so I reached out and visited the community. They were very excited to collaborate.”

Their product range features “everyday silhouettes that people are familiar with” such as button-down shirts, blouses, hoodies, slacks and dresses. The collection strives to include everyone beyond the gender binary and provides a wide range of sizes to make people feel comfortable in their pieces. “We use natural dyes made out of madder root, indigo and marigold flowers, and for fabrics, we went with fibres like Khadi and Eri silk, which support local biodiversity,” Elety said.

But what exactly is Lambani embroidery?

Banjara Kasuti’s team. (Source: PR Handout)

Explaining this, Beena Santosh, a fashion educator and researcher said, “As per historians, there are various theories related to the origins of the Lambanis – some say they are descendants of the Romanis of Europe, while others suggest they migrated from the Ghor province of Afghanistan and settled in Rajasthan, further travelling across India.”

Lambanis can be identified by their traditional attire, says Santosh. “They incorporate a distinct embroidery in their costumes called Lambani embroidery, which combines pattern darning, mirror work, cross stitch, overlaying, quilting, patchwork, and appliqué on loosely woven cloth. Numerous stitches form geometric shapes including squares, circles, triangles, rectangles, diagonal lines and parallel lines. The types of stitches used are chain, herringbone, running, interlacing, blanket and brick stitch. Beads, small cowrie shells, mirrors, metal buttons, ghungroo and even low-denomination coins are stitched together to decorate the edges of these embroidered threads,” she added.

As for the process, various steps are involved in making an embroidered piece of cloth. “First, basic tools and materials are collected to create a specific product including cotton or silk fabric, needles, embroidery skeins, sewing thread, accessories and cutting materials such as scissors. Then, the embroidery pattern, stitches, colour combination, placement and distance between stitches are selected. The artisan after that executes the embroidery and adds mirrors if required, which are a significant aspect of Lambani embroidery, and are placed on the fabric and stitched over with thread to secure them. The last step is to iron the fabric to achieve a good finish. Additionally, traditional embellishments of tassels, shells, coins and other accessories are used for detailing,” Santosh informed.

Adding, she said that the process is completely sustainable as the costumes with the embroidery are made by attaching several pieces of fabrics and they do not discard any old fabric. Instead, it is upcycled and converted into a user-centric product.

Artisans behind the age-old craft

The process of Lambani embroidery is completely sustainable as the costumes with the embroidery are made by attaching several pieces of fabrics and they do not discard any old fabric. (Source: PR Handout)

Priyanka is one of the 20 artisans associated with Banjara Kasuti. Belonging to the Lambani community, she had dreams of pursuing higher education, but due to her family’s poor financial condition, she could not. “My parents worked tirelessly in low-paying jobs just to make ends meet. To support them, I joined Banjara Kasuti, which became a catalyst for change, offering a ray of hope and a way for me to contribute to my family’s income and secure a livelihood. It has become the light at the end of the tunnel for many young girls such as me,” she said.

Growing up, Priyanka witnessed her mother and grandmother adorning themselves in traditional Lambani clothes. “The designs and intricate embroidery techniques appealed to me, drawing me into the world of Lambani embroidery. The familial influence and exposure to the art form inspired me and Banjara Kasuti provided me with a platform to express my creativity through this traditional artform. This embroidery is special to me due to its deep-rooted cultural significance and personal connection,” she shared.

Similarly, Shanti Bai, an embroidery artisan, collaborated with Tega Collective to create their textiles. “I started working with the brand one year ago. This gave me a new lease of life as the craft is a lifeline for us. The label has provided us with an opportunity to turn this inborn skill into a livelihood. I have learnt to better my craft while working here,” she said.

Concluding, Santosh said that viewed as a languishing craft until recent times, Lambani embroidery was almost on the verge of extinction till some efforts were focused towards its revival by a few NGOs. However, these are very few in number and concentrated in certain regions only. “There is a need to look into the dispersed population of the Lambanis to build communities and clusters which can further promote the craft and create awareness towards it. Conscious designing and design intervention with the integration of traditional crafts along with exploring creative marketing strategies can boost the development of the craft,” she said.

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