here has been, throughout history, an intimate
association of women with the practice of craft, with
England, in the 19th century, promoting its practice as a
way for poor women to elevate their incomes and them-
selves. The Vimala Welfare Centre in Kerala, southern
India, founded in 1961, endeavors to meet the basic
needs of marginalized women by promoting economic and
educational programs, notably its Kerala Crafts project,
the latter established in 2001 by an Englishwoman from
Bath, Christine Snow. Women weave and sew beautiful
banana fiber baskets and cotton lingerie, nightgowns and
baby dresses which Kerala Crafts purchases at higher
than typical market prices, selling them, in turn, over the
Internet, having created also a lively market for the goods
in the U.K.
T
HYLAND
