In India there are various hand block print centers mainly located in Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Rajasthan states. In Madhya Pradesh there are two major hand block print centers which are still following the age-old traditional hand block printing techniques are Bagh village and Ummedpura-Tarapur twin Village.
Craft of hand block printing is a very old art used to print clothes using natural colors with the help of wooden or metal blocks. A statue wearing the hand block printed scarf found on the site of “Mohe-Jo-Daro” traces the history of craft of hand block printing done in that place some 4000 years ago. In Indian sub-continent its origin or birth place is considered to be the Sindh province of today’s Pakistan. “”Khatri”or “Chhippa”community mainly involved in the craft of hand block printing in this region since many centuries and later migrated to Gujarat and other parts of India to promote their craft and also in search of new regions to expand their business.
In Tarapur village of Madhya Pradesh “Chippa” Community traces their roots with the “Sant Namdev” a devotional saint of 13th century and tailor by profession. This “Chippa” community consider themselves as a descendant of Saint Namdev. Bherogarh & Bagh printers traces their roots in Larkana village of Sindh province now in Pakistan.
EcoFab is working with underprivileged families of Bagh and Tarapur who are involved in the production of quality hand block print products. EcoFab provide them jobwork by providing its own sourced quality fabrics, sometimes source their produced work and also provide raw material like natural/herbal dyes, wooden blocks and other materials required by craftsmen.