the new generation of dāram patrons

dāram new range of kids' wear in cotton handlooms has received a very positive and encouraging response from our patrons of all ages...

Kanjeevaram and Tussar silks, Hand-crafted jewelry for Ugadi

March 11th - 16th

The collection would showcase Kanjeevaram silk sarees with kalamkari applique work, block printed sarees in pure Chettinad, Rasipuram cottons, pure light weight silks and silk cottons. Light weight silk sarees with Worli and Madhubani hand-paintings would also be available.

The hand – woven and hand block-printed Tussar silk sarees have fast, azo free colours and are created using steam discharge print which requires skilled workmanship. Some very old copper outline heritage blocks with very fine outlines are used for traditional designs of kutch, sanganer, kalamkari, jama-e-war and madhubani. Also available would be silk stoles.

The designer silver jewelry by Azia is a versatile range that redefines the existing notions around what has commonly become well-known as “Jaipur jewellery.” The line of jewelry is not about any one style or ‘look’, but about originality and versatility, offering exclusive designs for every unique woman and her moods. The Azia collection is a rare combination of tradition and innovation, simple everyday wearables to the exotic, pure sensual lines to the ornate classics, the subtle, the trendy, the ethnic and the chic.

Launching kids' wear

It is the turn of the kids now at dāram. This summer (March 5th),

dāram launches

a range of cotton handlooms collection for kids that blends traditional aesthetics with contemporary styles.

Cotton handlooms allow the skin to breathe and are soft on the body. They are the best summer fabric for kids.

The range includes garments for the new-born and boys & girls upto the age of 7 years.

The new-borns collection

Specially designed keeping the needs and comfort of the little ones in mind. This is evident in the fastening and styling of the clothes.

6-12 months

Frocks for girls and shirts for the boys

1-7 years

skirts, tops, dresses, frocks, harem pants, pyjamas, capris for girl

shirts (half & full sleeved), T-shirts, knickers and shorts for the boys

Also introducing accessories for kids that include

• Hand knitted toys, bags and natural colour painting kits from the Kumaon Himalayas, Uttarakhand
• Games from Kalaraksha (Gujarat), Haathi Chaap (New Delhi)
• Do-it-yourself craft kits (block printing, bead stringing and traditional painting forms) from Art Bunker (Kolkata)

Natural colors for holi

Celebrate this holi with natural colors. These colours are free from any chemical content and have been made by the women of the Malnad Seed Collective, Sirsi and sold by e-coexist.

		The Rang Dulaar colours are based on turmeric, which is very good for the health of human skin. The ingredients in the colours are as follows: Red: Turmeric, Lemon juice, Alum, Cocum Yellow: Turmeric Orange: Turmeric, Cocum Green: Glyricidea, Nirgudi, Spinach, Hibiscus, Tulsi, Henna, Indigo and other local leaves Blue: Harda (Terminalia Chebula), Indigo Fillers: Rice flour Since these are all food products, the colours are best used within four months of the manufacture date, after which they will degrade.
		Colours are also based on recycled flowers collected during the festival of Ganesh Chaturthi, which are seggregated, dried and powdered.
		These flowers include those that are cultivated such as marigold, gerbara, rose, tuberose. Some flowers provide colour whereas others are used simply to add fragrance or volume.

Colours currently available: Red Yellow Green Blue Orange The colours help the women prisoners of the Yerawada Central Prison to earn and save money. Available in packets of: 250 gm (50 gm each of five colours), 100 gm (each color) All colours are based on herbs and farm produce.

Honey and bee wax products from the Nilgiris

Till Stocks last...

dāram brings to the Hyderabad for the first time wild honey and bee wax products from the forests of the Nilgiris.

LAST FOREST
The ‘Last Forest’ range of wild bee products is being brought in collaboration the Kotagiri based ‘Keystone Foundation’ that works with tribal communities in the Nilgiri mountains for livelihood enhancement and forest conservation.
The products that will be available come from the lower Nilgiris, where a number of hunter-gatherer communities practise honey hunting and subsistence agriculture.
Honey and bee wax is collected from the forests by the tribal communities using their traditional methods and Keystone works towards value addition, marketing and creating awareness in the consumer communities.

Hive of the rock bee Apis dorsata

Products that will be available include:
• Sweet honey, bitter honey and spiced honey in flavors of ginger, pepper and saffron
• Lip Balms in flavors of Honey, Strawberry, Pineapple and Orange
• Beeswax balms in scents of Eucalyptus, Coconut, Camphor, Olive, Lavender, Citronella and Winter Green
• Soaps in scents of Jasmine, Basil and Lemon Grass.

KEYSTONE FOUNDATION
Keystone has been working in the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve over the last 15 years (since 1995) with indigenous communities on eco-development initiatives. The Foundation’s work has been concentrated in the areas of apiculture, land development, organic & fair trade marketing, non timber forest produce and many more.

Honey hunting
Traditional honey gathering is done by indigenous people of the Nilgiris. Keystone has undertaken work with the Kurumba and Irula communities to document their practices, provide training in better extraction methods, map the resources (bee populations) and monitor regularly, provide parameters for quality of honey and bees wax and provide marketing support for the produce.

THE NILGIRIS

Forests of the nilgiris

The Nilgiris in the Western Ghats are home to moist, dry, evergreen and montane (shola) tropical forests. The Western Ghats, and the Nilgiris in particular, harbour a wealth of flora and fauna; much of which is restricted to the region. e.g. the endangered lion tailed macaque and the Nilgiri tahr. The Nilgiris forest ecosystem is, however, under pressures, e.g. from tea and coffee plantations, illegal, logging and commercial tree plantations with exotics initiated by the Forest Department. It also has a significant tribal population, dependent on natural resources for their livelihood; including the only surviving hunter-gatherers of the Indian sub-continent the Sholanaikans in the New Amarambalam region of Nilgiris. Given its distinct character, the Nilgiris forms part of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve (declared under the Man and Biosphere Programme of UNESCO).

Gaur in the forests. The forests of the Nilgiris have a rich diversity of plant and animal life

Diversity of Forests
The Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve includes all the important forest types that are to be found in South India as well as some that are just peculiar to the belt such as Tropical Thorn Forest, Tropical Dry Deciduous Forests, Tropical Moist Deciduous Forests, Tropical Semi Evergreen Forests, Sub Tropical Broad Leaved Forests, Tropical Wet Evergreen Forests, Southern Montane Wet Temperate Forests, Southern Montane Wet Grasslands and Subtropical Hill Savannas.

Source: http://keystone-foundation.org/

Day 2 - block printing demos at dāram

Here are some pictures from Day 2 (Jan. 31) of the handblock printing demos held at dāram

A young visitor in action...


The tiny tots had a great time...

...And so did the others.

Also see
http://daaram.blogspot.com/2010/01/1st-day-of-hand-block-printing.html
and
http://daaram.blogspot.com/2010/01/block-printing-demonstrations-bagru.html