Thursday, 20 February 2020

Aranya Natural commemorates 25 Years


To celebrate the milestone of 25 years since the inception of Aranya Natural, SrishtiCharitable Trust supported by Tata Consumer Products Ltd.(formally known as Tata Global Beverages) and Tata Trusts, is hosting a 2 – day international conference on ‘Sustainability of Natural Dyes’on 22nd and 23rd February 2020 in Munnar, Kerala. Mr. Amitabh Kant, CEO, NitiAyogwill deliver the inaugural address to around 250 attendees from countries across the globe.

One of the units of Srishti Charitable Trust,Aranya Natural’s mission is to provide gainful employment to the differently abled young adults in the tea plantations of Munnar, while adopting environment-friendly and conscientious practices. Aranya Natural’s eco-friendly practices include the use of forest discards like seeds, flowers, fruits, nuts, pigments from leavesand other raw natural ingredients like turmeric and indigo in the dyeing process.

In the words of Srishti’s Managing Trustee,Mrs.RatnaKrishnakumar, “Aranya Natural has become a household name with world famous designers like Ralph Lauren, Eileen Fisher and others being regular customers. Even after 25 years, I remain amazed at the talent and creativity displayed by the youngsters here. Their dedication and hard work has led to Aranya Natural being where it is today – a recognized brand as a 100% percent natural dyeing unit.”

The global conference, which will bring together subject experts and professionals from around eight countries, will seethem presenting their papers on the subject, followed by panel discussions. Yoshiko Iwamoto Wada, Dominique Cardon, Axel Becker, Jenny Balfour Paul, Jagada Rajappa, Uzramma and Vikram Joshiare some of the renowned speakers, to name a few.

The 2-day conference will be followed by workshops and demonstrations on ‘Techniques of Natural Dyeing’ on 24th and 25th February on the premises of Srishti.Pioneers and experts like Yoshiko Iwamoto Wada - an internationally celebrated Shibori artist, curator, historian and teacher in the contemporary textile and fiber art field, Michel Garcia - a botanist. chemist, dyer and naturalist, Jagada Rajappa - an independenttextile entrepreneur /consultant on natural dyes, Linda LaBelle - a weaver and natural dyer specialising in Indigo, to name a few, will conduct these workshops and demonstrations.

The evening of 22nd will see some entertainment with a scintillating violin performance by Dr.AneeshVidyashankar popularly known as India’s Walking Violinist, followed with a fashion show of collections by reputed designers SunitaShanker, Sreejith Jeevan and Riddhi Jain showcased by the special associates of Srishti. A dance and music program on 23rd evening will bring the curtains down on the conference.

About Aranya Natural
An endeavour by the Srishti Charitable Trust an independent body, in turn, supported by Tata Consumer Products Ltd.and Tata Trusts, Aranya’s products are the handiwork of physically and/or mentally challenged children of tea garden workers in Kerala’s Munnar district. Aranya Natural is involved in the art of natural dyeing of fabrics using forest discards and other raw ingredients available from nature, which are designed and produced by the specially abled associates in Munnar, Kerala. Children are trained with artistic skills of fabric art like batik to solid colour printing to the intricate tie-and-dye process of shibori, eco printing, and vegetable printing intending to create confident and independent individuals. 

Aranya Natural adopts diligent practices to create no toxic, environment-friendly, azo-free natural dyes and is one of the most recognized brands in the natural dyes world. 

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