💫 Click here to apply for CraftHER 2025!

I’m extremely proud to announce that this summer, Swara brought together 6 exceptional students from top universities—Brown University, University of Cambridge, University of Leeds, and University of St Andrews—to Kerala.

During their time here, they explored craft clusters and engaged with rural women artisans, addressing the challenges these artisans face and working to amplify their voices.

This summer programme, called CraftHER, was made possible thanks to the generous support of the Laidlaw Foundation! We welcomed six remarkable young women from the UK and USA as the founding team members of CraftHER: Grace Nash, Megan Shaw, Lillian Bates, Elizabeth Morvatz, Yoshino Homma, and Lucia Laffan!

These superstars played a key role in designing the programme through 6 online workshops in early 2024 before arriving in Kerala in June. They are all strong advocates for women's empowerment.

Over the 6 weeks this summer, I witnessed my dream come to life. I saw women from Chendamangalam to Thiruvananthapuram converse intimately and confidently with our young women from Ohio and London. I watched as our students spoke to our craftswomen with respect and awe, breaking down barriers of language and nationality.

It was my dream to create a space where women from all walks of life could engage as equals—asking questions, sharing laughter, and inspiring each other through their stories. This dream began when I was 21, working in Dungarpur, Rajasthan and that's what led to Swara - Voice of Women!

I’m thrilled about the potential to expand CraftHER and invite more young leaders from around the world to experience the incredible talent of women in Kerala’s craft clusters. If you have any ideas on how we can grow this programme, I’d love to hear from you!

In the meantime, we’re preparing for CraftHER 2025, set to take place in the summer of 2025.

P.S. You can also check out @theflipatelier on Instagram, the fashion brand Lucia launched during her CraftHER 2024 LiA! She's taking the fashion world by storm, managing everything from her dorm at Cambridge, with garments stitched by women artisans in Kerala, whom she met during her LiA.