The word “Channapatna” literally means “good town”, but the more colloquial name for it, gives a better idea of what the town is all about: “Gombegala ooru,” or place of toys!
Channapatna is known for its wood lacquered toys, made using natural colours. Safe for children, these toys are popular in India and abroad. The streets of the town are full of the toys, and there is also a craft park that spotlights artisans.
One organization stands out for the way it has structured the economics of it all: Artisan’s Pride, a producer company that the artisans own.
Uma, 38, who has been with Artisan’s Pride for the past fifteen years, says she is happy about the new development. “It feels good that we are part owners of this organization we have been with for so long.”
While women like Uma were from the region, and knew about the traditional Chennapatna toys, they did not know how to make them. Now, with Artisan’s Pride, they are deeply embedded in the ecosystem of the Chennapatna toys.
Artisan’s Pride is careful about the environment, ensuring that they procure wood, colours, and other materials only from sustainable sources. They only harvest hale wood from non-farm non-forest lands, and use only natural dyes such as turmeric, Kumkum and indigo. All colours are blended from this. While this means that the toys do not feature billions of colours, as other toys, it also means that they are super safe for children.
Our Channapatna products
