Around five centuries ago, the Chippas – a community of craftspeople – started settling in Bagru, a village about 32 kilometres south west of Jaipur.
Masters of traditional wood block printing on fabric, the Chippas began practising their craft in Bagru under the patronage of Jaipur’s Rajput rulers, and Bagru soon became famous throughout India for its unique hand block printed fabrics.
Bagru, the brand, embodies this priceless heritage and craftsmanship of Bagru village and the traditions of Rajasthan… the rich natural dyes, traditional natural fibres, block printing techniques handed down over generations…
Rooted in the historical Bagru village, our mission is to keep alive the true Bagru experience. Not only do we create sustainable fabrics and clothing for the contemporary world, but we also spread traditional knowledge of Rajasthani and Indian textiles and the timeless craft of hand block printing using natural dyes, drawn from beyond the mysterious veils of forgotten history.
Our theme line ‘Heritage Clothing’ vocalizes the brand’s larger purpose and its unique vision.
Equally symbolic is the red colour in our logo which represents the first dye created by humans – Madder Red .
Bagru, the brand, engages with people from India and across the world in various ways:
WORKSHOPS
To create awareness and develop skills in the craft of natural dyes and hand block printing, we conduct workshops for amateur enthusiasts as well as professionals. In last 4 years (April 2014 to March 2018), more than 1600 persons have participated in these workshops. Most participants have been from creative fields (textile and fashion designers, graphic designers, jewellery designers, film producers and artistes, architects, interior designers, photographers, curators and bloggers, museum professionals, natural dye practitioners & scholars as well as textile, art and craft lovers.
RESEARCH AND PRESERVATION
We are engaged in an ambitious project to preserve traditional techniques and designs of hand block printing, especially those that may have been lost or adulterated over time.
The project involves extensive research and cataloging of motifs and their traditional meanings and associations. In the last 3 years, we have collected and cataloged more than 2000 designs.
Various oral traditions and written sources are also part of our exploration to discover and refine traditional dye making techniques.
Note: We sell reasonably priced hand carved wood blocks and natural dyes to those interested in the craft of hand block printing.
PRODUCTS
HAND BLOCK PRINTED FABRICS
We make an exclusively designed range of hand block printed fabrics for the Indian and global markets. Our hand block printed fabrics are strictly natural fibre based. We use cotton, linen, silk cotton and different kind of silks including wild silks.
LADIES APPAREL
Our ladies apparel are made from hand block printed fabrics and natural fibres. We make ladies garments including ladies dress materials, kurta and tops, sarees, pants & palazzos, skirts, shorts, jackets, coats, etc.
HOME FURNISHINGS
We make a whole range of home furnishings including cushion covers, bed sheets, bed covers, and cotton rugs from painstakingly crafted hand block printed fabrics made from natural cotton fibre. In quilted products, we only use natural cotton.
MEN’S SHIRTS
Our desert shirts (men’s shirts) are made from cotton hand block printed fabrics. We prefer to use accessories made from natural raw materials like coconut or sea shell button.
FASHION ACCESSORIES: STOLES, SCARVES, DUPATTAS
Our fashion accessories includes stoles, scarves and dupattas. These are made from hand block printed cotton, cotton silk, linen and silk fabrics.
NOTE BOOKS & JOURNALS
Note books and journals made from handmade and mill made papers bound and covered with hand block printed cotton fabrics are another of our attractions popular both in India and internationally.
BAGS
We make bags and purses from hand block printed cotton fabrics. Clasps, locks, chains, etc. used in these bags are made of good quality brass or steel. As believers in the principle of Ahimsa, we strictly avoid use of leather in any of our products.
GIFT ITEMS
Our range of exclusive gift articles includes tissue box, slip paper box, etc. These painstakingly hand crafted articles consist of a high quality cardboard inner structure deftly covered with exquisite hand block printed cotton fabrics outside.
TOYS
A larger social cause drives many of our products, and our toys are a good example. Made from hand block printed cotton fabrics, these toys are made by ‘women’s self help groups’ from the most deprived areas of rural Rajasthan.
HAND CARVED WOODEN BLOCKS – USED AND NEW
We have created a huge library of wooden blocks at our Bagru campus. At any given moment, you will find more than a 1000 designs. Many visitors buy these blocks from us for printing, and some as decorative pieces. Such sale helps the block carvers generate additional revenues.
Note: We also provide customised wood blocks at a reasonable price.
PROTECTING BAGRU'S ENVIRONMENT
TREE PLANTATION
Reducing carbon foot print and protecting Bagru’s environment is of utmost importance. We have already planted over 2000 trees in Bagru village, of which more than 1000 trees have survived and grown. These trees are taken care of by us.
RAINWATER HARVESTING
Four rainwater harvesting systems have been built at our manufacturing facilities at Bagru village in order to recharge the ground water in the area during the rainy season and help increase the ground water level. Dyeing and printing with natural dyes and methods consume a lot of water, and we feel duty bound to give back to nature, what we have taken.
EFFLUENT TREATMENT
Effluent Treatment Plants (ETP Plants) have been installed in our manufacturing facilities at Bagru and Sanganer to remove solid wastes and make the waste water discharged during dyeing and printing processes reusable for various purposes.
Canon flower plants have been planted near the discharge pits for water emitted from the ETP plants. Roots of these flowers help in cleansing the water which is stored in these pits which ultimately recharge the earth with clean water.
SOLAR POWER
We have installed Solar Power Plants of 15kva capacity. This has reduced dependence on power generated from thermal power plants and diesel generators, helping us reduce carbon foot print.
SOLAR HEATER
Use of Solar Heaters has reduced consumption of wood for heating by 50% and, in the process, helped us further reduce carbon footprint.
Bagru has indeed come a long way. From a village of traditional Chippa craftspeople, we have transformed Bagru into a brand, a brand of culture and history, a brand that is steadily breaking geographical, language and cultural boundaries. Our endeavor is to let every lover of traditional crafts, wherever in the whole world she or he may be, experience the rich traditions of Bagru.
Come, join us in this journey that started five centuries ago… a journey that will continue even as new histories get written.
