Sangraha Vernacular Centred Design Foundation · Lucknow · Since 2015

Every stitch should pay the hand that makes it

We work with chikankari and ari artisans in and around Lucknow, most of them women working from home. Through design education, health care and fair work, we help craftspeople be recognised and paid for the excellence of their practice.

Support an artisan Visit the Experience Centre

Social impact

What has changed for artisans

Around Lucknow there are about 2.5 lakh chikan artisans, roughly two lakh of them women. Most earn just ₹800 to ₹1,500 a month (about US$9 to $17). That is where our work begins.

27craftswomen in the first Sangraha design batch, 2015

3–4×reported rise in income after design training

35artisans who joined the Sab Tera work-from-home team

35families kept in work during the 2020 lockdown

“These women weren't even allowed to go out of their houses.”Dr Jaspal Kalra, President

Tabassum never went to school and was married at sixteen. She earned ₹1,200 to ₹2,000 a month (about US$14 to $23) and had almost given up embroidery, only passing work on to others. After the design programme she earned over ₹80,000 (about US$900) in six months from her own collections, sold at exhibitions and online.

Course-trained women now quote fair rates, travel to exhibitions with their own samples, and have a stronger say at home. The first batch designed collections on the tree of life, the jewellery of Awadh, day and night, and mehendi.

Recognition and reach

Seen, shown and honoured

Embroidered textile landscape by Dr Jaspal Singh Kalra, framed and lit, at the Art of India fair 2024

Recognition · 2024

Awarded for Innovation and Contribution in Textile Art

The Times of India honoured Sangraha at the Art of India fair in 2024 for innovation and contribution in textile art. The work shown, a large embroidered landscape of hills, water, birds and blooms, was embroidered by Sangraha artisans. It was conceptualised and drawn by Dr Jaspal Singh Kalra.

Museums Victoria, Melbourne · 2023

A field of wheat, stitched by many hands

This artwork, a sun over a ring of sky and a field of ripening wheat, was shown at Museums Victoria in Melbourne in 2023, in Sutr Santati: Then. Now. Next. It was the first textile exhibition to travel outside India that was conceived, curated and created by a team of Indian academics, designers, artists and artisans. Sangraha artisans embroidered it in jaali, phanda and shadow work. It was conceptualised and drawn by Dr Jaspal Singh Kalra.

Four Sangraha artisans holding up the embroidered wheat-field artwork

Close-up of jaali leaves being embroidered on a hoop

Dr Jaspal Singh Kalra running a design session with artisans

Shabana Azmi looking at a framed white chikankari tree of life by Sangraha artisans

In good company

Shabana Azmi on Sangraha

“The innovation in terms of technique and exploration of jali in artworks is exceptional and needs to be shared and collaborated with the world.”

Actor and activist Shabana Azmi, studying a framed white chikankari tree of life by Sangraha artisans.

Why ₹1,300

The philosophy of Tera

As a young storekeeper at Sultanpur Lodhi, Guru Nanak was weighing out grain. When the count reached thirteen, tera in Punjabi, a word that also means yours, he kept repeating it: tera, tera, everything is Yours.

Many count thirteen as unlucky. For us it is a reminder that what we hold was never only ours. Our Sab Tera work grew from that idea, and every way of giving to Sangraha comes in units of ₹1,300.

Exhibitions and conversations

Paradigm of Oneness

A series of exhibitions and conversations hosted by the Foundation. The exhibitions draw on the bani of Guru Nanak and premiered at the Visual Arts Gallery, India Habitat Centre, New Delhi in November 2021, in collaboration with the Sikh Chamber of Commerce. Every work is credited to the Sangraha artisans who embroidered it, as its artists, and their names are stitched into the cloth.

Delhi edition · Premiere, 2021

Visual Arts Gallery, India Habitat Centre

Paradigm of Oneness entrance wall with framed embroideries

Dr Jaspal Singh Kalra talking a visitor through an embroidered work

Chandigarh edition · February 2023

Government Museum and Art Gallery

Large embroidered tapestry with artisans' names stitched along its edge

Artisans, the Foundation team and guests at the Chandigarh opening

A visitor looking at embroidered sunflowers and lotuses

Teri Sangat · on the 13th of every month

Conversations on the Paradigm of Oneness

Panel discussions curated by the Foundation, with speakers from around the world. Each one explores Oneness in spirituality, art, craft, professions, the environment, gender, faith, and social and economic life.

See all 10 Teri Sangat recordings

▶ Oneness of Art, Craft and AestheticsTeri Sangat 01 · 27 Oct 2021 Dr Alka Pande and Dr Jaspal Singh Kalra, moderated by Prof Nien Siao.
▶ Oneness as a Culture, and Honesty in MakingTeri Sangat 02 · 2 Nov 2021 Haroon Khalid and Kuljeet Singh, moderated by Dr Jaspal Singh Kalra.
▶ Experiences of Oneness through DocuseriesTeri Sangat 03 · Nov 2021 Amardeep Singh on "Allegory, A Tapestry of Guru Nanak's Travels", moderated by Prof Nien Siao.
▶ Oneness as an Expression of Baba NanakTeri Sangat 04 · 19 Nov 2021 Sonam Kalra, Samir Singh, Manisha Gera Baswani, Major Rupinder Singh Bedi and Dr Jaspal Singh Kalra.
▶ Art and Craft as an EquatorTeri Sangat 05 · 27 Nov 2021 Laila Tyabji, Jatin Bhatt, Kuljeet Singh and Dr Alka Pande, moderated by Prof Nien Siao.
▶ Oneness in ReverberationsTeri Sangat 06 · 38 min Rekha Surya, on music as a universal language, from her training under Begum Akhtar and Girija Devi.
▶ Oneness in CompassionTeri Sangat 07 · 46 min Mehru Jaffer and Vicky Bedi, on compassion as submission and as a family legacy.
▶ Oneness in Discovering SelfTeri Sangat 08 · 34 min Dr Juss Kaur, artist and educationist, on finding the answers within.
▶ Oneness through Gurbani SangeetTeri Sangat 09 · 55 min Bhai Baldeep Singh, a 13th-generation exponent of Gurbani Kirtan, on music as a unifier. Released for Baisakhi.
▶ Oneness in Musical RenditionsTeri Sangat 10 · 38 min Askari Naqvi, lawyer turned vocalist and Dastango, on taking devotional art to secular audiences.

Watch Teri Sangat recordings

Sab Tera initiatives

Tera, Tera: everything is Yours

Each programme carries the spirit of Tera: what we hold was never only ours, so it goes back to the artisans who make the work.

Training

Tera Gyan

Your knowledge · formerly Shilpi ke liye Gyan

A six-credit craft and art module that brings design thinking to practising artisans.

Training

Tera Hunar

Your skill · formerly Karigari aur Hunar ki Pathshala

Mentoring, motivation and skills guidance for artisans in the Sab Tera team.

Livelihood

Tera Rizak

Your livelihood

A skill cannot feed a family until it finds a buyer. Tera Rizak pays trained artisans a steady livelihood wage through that gap, so no one has to leave the craft just to survive. Those it carries become artisan leaders, who now run their own teams and pass on work, wages and training.

Medical

Tera Dekhbhal

Your care · formerly Dekhbhal

Regular health check-ups and vaccination drives for artisans and their families.

Experience

Tera Dera

Your dwelling · the Craft Experience Centre

A working studio in Lucknow where visitors meet artisans and see chikankari made by hand.

Activities

Curation, exhibitions, conversations, baithaks and gifting

Paradigm of Oneness exhibitions and monthly conversations, a pilot collaboration with the artist Aditya Chintapalli, a manji weaving design intervention in Punjab with the Ambuja Foundation, craft installations such as A Raag of Renewal at ROWA, exhibitions like the Resurgence Series, cultural baithaks with daastangoi such as Daastaan-e-Guru Nanak, and corporate and festival gifting made by artisans. See activities

2020

Past project · Covid relief

Sab Tera and Dil ka Uphaar

When the lockdown stopped all work, chikankari and ari artisans earning under a dollar a day lost their income overnight. Team members gave from their own resources, and artisans began embroidering masks so the families with the least could keep earning.

Through Dil ka Uphaar, 30 embroiderer families and 5 tailor families received steady orders, and 35 new artisans joined a work-from-home team with mentoring and skill support.

Tera, tera

Everything is Yours

Every gift to the Foundation comes in units of ₹1,300, thirteen hundred, in the spirit of Guru Nanak's tera. What you give was always theirs.

Give ₹1,300 Visit Tera Dera

Utilisation of funds

Where every rupee goes

Our first three years, from incorporation in September 2022 to March 2026, worked out from our audited accounts. Almost every rupee went into the artisans' own programmes.

94%of spending went into Tera Hunar, Tera Gyan and Tera Rizak

66%went to Tera Hunar: trainer wages, fellowships and training

6%went to audit, statutory filings and office

60%of our funding came as a founder's grant

How it was spent, three years together

Tera Hunar: trainer wages, skill-development fellowships and training66.3%

Tera Gyan: outside experts, art residencies, and exhibitions that take artisans and their stories to people and patrons22.1%

Tera Rizak: livelihood wages for trained artisans5.4%

Audit, statutory filings and office6.2%

Every year, at least 8% of what goes to artisans is set aside for Tera Gyan. Medical support is shared with Sangraha Atelier and is described below.

Where the money came from

Founder's grant from Dr Jaspal Singh Kalra: 60.0%
Experience Centre visits and workshops: 37.6%
Donations: 2.4%

The founder's grant filled the gap whenever fees and gifts fell short. It may be returned one day, but it carries no timeline and no obligation to repay.

FY 2023–24 · first period from September 2022

Income from visit and workshop fees: 93.4%
Income from donations: 6.6%

Tera Hunar: trainer wages and skill-development fellowships: 86.1%
Tera Gyan: outside experts and art residency: 10.5%
Audit, filings and office: 3.4%

FY 2024–25

Income from visit and workshop fees: 71.1%
Income from donations: 28.9%

Tera Hunar: 53.8%
Tera Gyan, including an exhibition for people and patrons: 46.2%

FY 2025–26 · the year after the fire

Income from visit and workshop fees: 100%

Tera Hunar: 24.8%
Tera Gyan, including exhibitions for people and patrons: 42.1%
Tera Rizak: livelihood wages: 19.1%
Audit, filings and office: 14.0%

In addition, Tera Rizak wages owed at year end, equal to about 43% of the year's spending, were paid out in April 2026 to artisan leaders who mentor and now run their own teams, handling payments, work distribution and training in return.

Tera Rizak, a new head. A skill cannot feed a family until it finds a buyer. Tera Rizak pays trained artisans a livelihood wage until their work finds a market, so no one has to leave the craft just to survive.

Medical support (Tera Dekhbhal). Medical care for artisans is an ongoing commitment shared between the Foundation and Sangraha Atelier, and around 10% is spent on it each year.

Your gift. Donations now go only to artisan training, artisan livelihood (Tera Rizak) and medical benefits, in units of ₹1,300. Give ₹1,300

Percentages are worked out from the Foundation's accounts audited by KANA & Associates, Chartered Accountants. Each year's spending shares add up to 100%. The split across Tera Hunar, Tera Gyan and Tera Rizak is the Foundation's own. Questions: experience@sangrahafoundation.in

Tera Dera · Craft Experience Centre · Lucknow

Spend a morning in the studio

A working chikankari studio where artisans train, design and stitch. Visitors walk through the process from block printing to the final finish, meet the craftswomen, and try a few stitches themselves.

Request a visit · ₹1,300 per person

The Experience Centre hall from above, with muslin arch installations and artisans seated on mats

Facilities

Craft in its cradle

One studio holds the whole journey of a piece, from the first idea to the final press.

Teri Baithak

Your sitting room · the baithak room

Where visitors sit down for presentations and talks on chikan, design and the people who carry it forward.

Tera Karkhana

Your workshop · artisan working space and design lab

Sit beside artisans as garments and artworks take shape, and see how nearly forty stitches are combined in new ways.

Tera Thappa

Your block · printing setup

In-house chikankari block printing. Carved wooden blocks leave the blue outline that every stitch will follow.

Teri Numaish

Your display · garment display area

Finished pieces on show, with unlimited time at the Craft Store to take one home.

Tera Jharokha

Your window · installation space

Suspended muslin and framed embroideries turn the hall into a walk-through craft installation.

Tera Ghat

Your ghat · pressing, finishing and washing

The cloth is washed to lift the blue outlines, then finished and pressed until only the embroidery remains.

Teri Pangat

Your place in the row · curated eatery space

Herbal masala chai and handcrafted ginger beer brewed by Sangraha, with traditional food from With Love Artisanal Kitchen, served in kullads from Khurja. Visitors sit on the floor in sukhasana and eat from a handcrafted pidha.

The visit

Between idea and hand

Come sit with our artisans, where every stitch narrates a moment of stillness.

01Block printingTera ThappaA carved block and a pad of washable blue leave the outline, press by press. It is the map every stitch will follow.
02On the hoopTera KarkhanaArtisans embroider garments and artworks along the blue lines, combining nearly forty stitches, from surface work to the open jali.
03Try your handTera KarkhanaPick up the needle. An artisan guides you through your first stitch, and its moment of stillness becomes yours.
04Washing and finishingTera GhatThe cloth is washed to lift the blue outlines, then finished and pressed. The blue lines wash away. The stitch stays.
05The finished pieceTeri NumaishShirts, kurtas and dresses hang ready, and every visit includes unlimited time at the Craft Store.
06Chai and cuisineTeri PangatEvery visit includes spiced brewed tea and handcrafted ginger beer, both by Sangraha, with a taste of Lucknow: khajoor mathi, nimish in season and Sharma ji ke samose, alongside gulkand and sattu bars from With Love Artisanal Kitchen. Served in kullads from Khurja in our curated eatery space, where you sit on the floor in sukhasana and eat from a handcrafted pidha.

In every visit, too: how we innovate with stitches, conversations on the impact and culture of chikan, and time to talk with the artisans in their own words.

Installations

Craft on the walls

Suspended muslin arches, embroidered and cut by Sangraha artisans, turn the hall into a walk-through installation. Framed embroideries line the brick walls.

Artisans seated beneath hanging red and white muslin arches

Overhead view of embroidered muslin arches suspended across the hall

Visitors seen through a cusped muslin arch, framed embroideries on the brick walls

Tera Dera · Your dwelling

Come sit with our artisans

Where every stitch narrates a moment of stillness. Visits start at ₹1,300 and go back to the people you meet.

Request a visit

Book a visit

Visits are by approval

So artisans' working days are respected, every visit is approved by our team first.

Send a requestPick a visit type, a preferred date and the number of visitors.
We review itThe team confirms within two working days, or suggests another slot.
Pay the visit tariffFrom ₹1,300. Once approved, you get a secure payment link by email.
Your visit is confirmedPayment confirms the booking. Directions come with your receipt.

Activities

Craft, beyond the studio

The Experience Centre also takes craft out into the world, through installations, gatherings and gifts that keep artisans in work.

Chikankari in colour on a hoop: a figure in blue with gold jewellery among pink lotuses

A Sangraha artisan threading her needle beside the work

A man in a striped white shirt with an embroidered bird, holding red roses

Artist collaboration · Pilot

With artist Aditya Chintapalli

A new collaboration with the artist Aditya Chintapalli is in its pilot stage. Sangraha artisans are testing how the artist's figures, jewellery and lotuses translate into hand embroidery, in colour, stitch by stitch on the hoop.

Collaborations like this one give artisans new kinds of work, and they put the artisans' skill in front of new audiences.

Cut-cloth arch installations suspended across the ROWA exhibition hall

Lighting the lamp to open A Raag of Renewal

An artisan embroidering on a hoop at the event

Installation and curation · Featured

A Raag of Renewal, at ROWA, New Delhi

For ROWA's A Raag of Renewal, Sangraha installed and curated the whole space. Suspended cloth arches and cut-out jharokha walls turned an open hall into rooms to walk through. Artisans embroidered live, and craft stalls were set within the installation.

The event opened with the lighting of the lamp, and visitors moved between the arches, the stalls and the women at work.

22 September 2026 · Civic Centre, Minto Road, New Delhi

Sangraha poster for Hundred Hands, Bengaluru: white chikankari of deer, birds and blooms

Sangraha exhibition stall with the Resurgence Series banner and artisan portraits

Visitors browsing embroidered shirts at the Sangraha stall

Exhibitions · Resurgence Series · Dastkar Bazaar, Bengaluru, May 2026

We lost the walls, but we kept the needles

In one morning, a fire took what had been built over years: the art, the clothing and the experiential space.

In 60 days, 30 artisans turned resilience into the Resurgence Series: born from loss, made with love, worn with pride. It was shown at Dastkar Bazaar, Bengaluru, in May 2026. At exhibitions the work travels with the people who made it, and the stall wall carries their portraits as the Hands Behind Sangraha.

Sangraha also shows at craft exhibitions such as Hundred Hands in Bengaluru, where white chikankari panels of deer, birds and blooms tell a story in every stitch.

Economist Abhijit Banerjee and a guest standing with Sangraha artisans in the studio

Visitors

Abhijit Banerjee at the studio

The economist and Nobel laureate Abhijit Banerjee visited the studio to meet the artisans, and is seen here with them among the work.

January 2024

Artisans, their families and the Sangraha team gathered in the brick jaali hall, framed embroideries on the walls

Gatherings · Honouring our artisans

A get-together for the people who make the work

Artisans and their families gather with the Sangraha team in the jaali hall, among the embroideries they made. These get-togethers are where the Foundation honours its artisans for their skill and their years with the craft.

Gallery with woven manji panels in pink, green, ochre and red on white walls, and woven stools

Two women in Punjab weaving a navy and white pattern on a manji frame

A design session with village weavers, holding up a woven sample in navy and ochre

Design intervention · Manji and charpai weaving, Punjab · 2025–26

New patterns for the manji

For a project of the Ambuja Foundation, Sangraha worked with women in Punjab who weave the manji, or charpai, the traditional rope-strung cot. Together they developed new patterns and colours, and turned the weave into wall panels, artworks and stools.

The creations were displayed at the IGNCA Centre for Design at the Red Fort, Delhi, where weavers also worked live in the gallery.

A daastango seated on stage in a pale green embroidered kurta, one hand raised

Gatherings · Cultural baithaks

Cultural baithaks

Intimate evenings of music, poetry, daastangoi and conversation held among the work, in the spirit of Lucknow's baithak tradition.

Daastaan-e-Guru Nanak was one such baithak: a 90-minute musical daastaan telling the story of Guru Nanak in Hindustani, English and Punjabi, by the Atelier Repertory Company, with costumes by Sangraha Atelier.

2021 · Paradigm of Oneness exhibition, Visual Arts Gallery, India Habitat Centre, New Delhi

Paper lotuses in pink, orange and white floating across a polished floor before a cane-screen installation with a domed pavilion

Suspended cane frames, cloth leaves and embroidery hoops hung beneath a canopy at a craft fair

Installation and curation

Craft experiences for events and fairs

We design and install craft experiences for festivals, fairs, venues and brands, from fields of paper lotuses to suspended cane, cloth and hoops, with live demonstrations by artisans.

Sangraha gift box with an embroidered blue cloth, pouch and keyring

Rolled linen napkin embroidered with maroon flowers, tied with twine

Gifting

Corporate and festival gifting

Hand-embroidered gifts made to order by Sangraha artisans for companies and festive seasons. Every order is paid work for an artisan.

Enquire about an event or gifting