Rashi Agarwal found a way to provide livelihoods to traditional Indian artisans through her venture, Roohani Rang.
This handmade stationery business sells sustainable products where the age-old handicrafts are designed in a way that is palatable to today’s customers.
The products — be it diaries, planners, calendars, and more — are made out of cotton waste.
So far, Rashi has sold over 15,000 planners and employed over 50 artisans, while recycling 9,732 kg of cotton.
The 25-year-old started this business during her final year of bachelor’s at the Raman Bhakta School of Architecture in Surat.
Starting with just Rs 5,000 during the second wave of COVID-19, she produced 50 diaries with the help of artisans in Jaipur.
The Surat resident uses paper-making techniques like handmade paper making, hand stitching of paper, table-top screen printing, and hand block printing.
Every product of Roohani Rang is handmade, devoid of any chemicals or dyes, according to the founder.
“My idea is to use these old techniques and make them relatable in today’s world. As a designer, I want to preserve these crafts by producing them in a way that is palatable,” she says.
The production at Roohani Rang is a long-drawn process and starts with procuring pre-consumer textile waste from factories.
“This waste is usually sent to the landfills and can’t be used to make anything as it’s in small pieces. We decided to use this to make our paper, which is done in many clusters across India, like Jaipur, Ahmedabad and Puducherry,” says Rashi.
This cotton waste is then shredded into smaller pieces and converted into paper. The paper is then dried, printed, bound and packed. Every step of the process is handmade.
Roohani Rang has a warehouse in Surat where they make the prototypes of their products, post which they are produced in large quantities in Jaipur, Puducherry or Ahmedabad.
Shaunak Desai, architect and partner at Roohani Rang, says that while a regular piece of paper requires 10 litres of water, handmade paper requires 20 times less water. “We’ve saved 100 big forest trees from being cut,” he explains.
They provide employment to over 50 artisans and have 15 employees.
“Why create more waste when we can recycle the existing waste? My mission is to provide a livelihood to artisans who are almost on the verge of extinction, and also to keep their beautiful art forms alive,” says Rashi.