“Untapped”: Exploring Craft Potential of Urban Women Through Technology Intervention

https://kent-islandora.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/node/10452/10623-thumbnail.jpgIn the past decade, India’s metropolitan areas have seen a huge surge in job opportunities in the craft and design sector, yet women remain largely unrecognized and undervalued. This research focuses on urban women, largely in the 30-70 age group, who are stuck in the conventional setup of their nuclear or joint families. A good number of these women were found to be seasoned in craft skills like knitting, crocheting, darning, mending, embroidery, etc. They make products for family members but fail to make substantial earnings or get any recognition for their skill. Despite a huge market for people who practice such skills, there is no platform for them to connect with individuals, designers, or retail companies. Untapped, a skill-sourcing app model, can connect these home-based makers to designers and buyers. Through the app, makers can build a profile highlighting their skills and subsequently connect with prospective customers. The app provides better recognition to local communities and their unrecognized skills, as well as help sustain their craft and associated skill. The aim of this paper is to define the needs of these women, explore the nuances of their craft, and propose how the intervention of technology through an app model can help them procure more clients and generate sufficient revenue in return. Through research methodologies such as personal interviews, as well as a review of existing apps, the paper seeks to build the context further by recording and analyzing varied narratives of home-based makers.