Interview with Neelam Chibber of Industree craft foundation, Bangalore, India
Could you tell us about Industree Craft?
Industree Craft , India is a hybrid social enterprise—literally comprised of for-profit and nonprofit entities—based in Bangalore, India. Industree's mission is “to enhance and create artisanal owned rural livelihoods through marketing of contemporary designed artisanal produce for urban markets,”2 Industree sources products and materials from small-scale artisan groups across Southern India and sells their products, primarily home textiles, gifts, and natural fiber furniture, to domestic and international markets. It currently operates three Industree-branded retail shops, sells via shop- in-shops in leading domestic retail stores, and exports products for international retailers such as IKEA. Industree’s annual revenue reached $1 million USD in 2007.
What hinted you to start this venture?
There are some 40 million rural artisans in India today. While global demand for Indian artisan products is growing both in India and abroad, rural artisans largely remain poor. Prior to the industrial revolution, high quality artisan products were historically crafted in rural areas for domestic and international consumption.
Governments support for manufacturing centers in urban hubs has increasingly isolated rural producers and decreased their access to functioning markets. As a result, much of India’s rural population has migrated to cities in search of work, sadly trading rural unemployment for urban displacement and poverty.

I found a new generation of socially responsible consumers emerging in India’s urban centers, one that is rooted in ethnicity yet aspires to modernity and I thought addressing this gap between rural unemployment, traditional artisan craft, and India’s growing consumer market will be a great business venture and will support a