Goal – To create stronger livelihood pathways for artisans and farmers of India by ensuring transparency and building experience centres, resource centres, Livelihood-based tourism, market linkages and enterprise opportunities needed to turn traditional craft into sustainable economic activity.

Programme LIFE is AVACreations’ programme for building sustainable and dignified livelihood pathways around handloom, handicraft, agriculture and allied activities. It brings together the infrastructure, resources, production systems, enterprise support and market connections required to make traditional weaving economically viable, while allowing ‘artisans and farmers to participate in ways that reflect their own capabilities, working preferences and aspirations.

The programme is grounded in a simple principle: Artisans and Farmers should be able to build a livelihood from their craft without losing ownership of their skill, identity, dignity or economic agency.  An artisan may thrive within a shared creative and production environment; another may be better supported as an independent, home-based weaver; while a group of artisans may have the capacity to operate collectively as a micro-enterprise.

The principle therefore is reflected across the programme’s three models, each designed around a different pathway to greater economic participation, transparency, autonomy and enterprise ownership. Together, these models allow the programme to work across different stages and forms of artisan enterprise, while keeping the larger goal consistent.