Time to Make a Shift – Small Steps towards Sustainability at IICD

Today more than any other time in the history of humankind, there is a dire need for societal change. The over-exploited Earth is reeling under pressure caused by the greed of humans. Unless humanity practices sustainability, it will be a challenging situation to handle in the future. However, nature tends to repair itself, in the form of natural calamities that may be disastrous for all. Fortunately, there has been a paradigm shift, and the zeitgeist is changing. The world is moving towards sustainable thinking and action. Human society is left with no choice but, for their own benefit, they need to think and act sustainably or perish. The 17 Sustainability Development Goals (SDGs) set by the United Nations, work as a guideline for all the participating nations to work towards a sustainable world.

Just as charity begins at home, sustainable thinking and action also start at home. Each individual has to become sensitive. Each profession needs to work towards a sustainable future, including the Design Profession. A change in the Design discipline is all the more necessary as it is a multidisciplinary and collaborative field that can influence many aspects of life. Rightly today, the design schools all across the world are including sustainability in their curriculum.

The Indian Institute of Crafts & Design (IICD) has an advantage as ‘Craft’ at its core is a sustainable concept by nature. Craft belongs to the sustainable products and process category because it is small scale, local, uses natural materials, provides livelihood to many, and has other attributes of sustainability.

There has also been a conscious effort at IICD to bring about a mindset change in the craft designers. The students work on sustainable design projects and also take up the idea further as entrepreneurs, fulfilling many of the above mentioned SDGs. They directly influence the 8th and the 12th SDG leading to economic growth with responsible consumption and production. Indirectly, they are shaping the 1st -5th SDGs where the removal of poverty and hunger by providing good health, education and gender equality are influenced in some way by craft enterprises and NGOs started by the IICD graduates.

The consciousness developed in young minds and hearts goes a long way in creating conscious individuals who in turn, form a conscious society. IICD alumni are working in the social development sector in a wide variety of areas.

Case 1:

Radhesh Agrahari, founder of Mudita & Radhesh Pvt. Ltd, a social enterprise that has been working on chicken butchery garbage, converts the chicken feather into fiber through a patented process and produces products from it that are equivalent to premium woolen products.

The main aim of the company is to clean the waste which would have otherwise polluted rivers and landfills. This socially responsible work is done with the tribal artisans of a village near Kota named Asnawar. The effort of the organization has helped them win many awards and rightly so! Proud of our alumni!