Vocal For Local: AnnaMaya Artisan Awards recognise local artisans

Andaz Delhi recently hosted the first edition of its AnnaMaya Artisan Awards to recognise and celebrate local artisans and enhance their community outreach. The awards have been constituted to promote not just these artisans, but also sustainable living and the Made in India concept. Here, we present the winners.

Umang, Kumaoni

The brand was awarded the AnnaMaya Artisan Award of the Year. Kumaoni and HimKhadya are products branded by Mahila Umang Producers Company, which is located near Ranikhet in Uttarakhand. Umang is a community-owned enterprise founded on the principles of ecology, equity and economics, promoting fair trade for hill farmers. It directly assists in improving the quality of their lives. Umang has organised fruit growers to add value to fresh farm produce, especially soft fruits like apricots and plums, through production and marketing of natural jams, jellies, pickles and chutneys. These natural preserves are hygienically produced without the addition of artificial colours/flavours and marketed under the brand name Kumaoni.

Artisan Palate

Artisan Palate won the award for Contribution to Sustainability. All of their artisanal salts are made without additives or artificial flavours, are 100% natural and are made with only the best ingredients available. Artisan Palate started with the intention of becoming the first gourmet sugar and salt company in India making healthy produce easily available.

Crafteria

Crafteria by Priyanka Jain won the award for Contribution to the Environment. The small-scale business was born from a desire to create a canvas for all the creativity that the simple artisans of India have been quietly perfecting for centuries. Crafted using 100% safe and eco-friendly material, the products are extensively appreciated by customers for their aesthetic designs and splendid finishing. They have a wide array of wooden handicrafts.

Tijara Organic Farms

The award for Contribution to Organic Food and Biodynamic Food was given to the brand Tijara Organic Farms, which was set up in 2011 by Sneh Yadav, a postgraduate in plant genetics. Yadav wanting to understand the logic behind ancient knowledge of farming. The brand claims to be chemical-free. Located in Rajasthan, it’s a family farm run by Yadav and her husband, using solar energy and biogas. It follows the principles of Vedic and biodynamic farming, where they use eco-friendly modern technology. They also support the art of clay pottery and the goat-rearing local community by taking goat milk from them for making cheese. Other finished products include different types of atta, from different grains and millets, pulses, pesto, butters, spices and so on.

Blissbox Foods

The brand was awarded AnnaMaya Artisan Award for Contribution to Wellbeing. Blissbox claims to be an attempt to create awareness around good health and heritage products, offering something fresh and seasonal to people. The brand has curated a mix of herbs and spices called ‘Heal with herbs’-a beautiful product with 13 herbs and spices to help people gain immunity and strength. It plans to create awareness around seasonal and healthy options, and continue with meditation and yoga session as and when necessary.

Earthspired

An FMCG brand of social entrepreneurship initiative Mrida, Earthspired won the award for Contribution to Training & Education. Mrida (Sanskrit for ‘soil’) seeks to facilitate sustainable, scalable and holistic development at the bottom of the pyramid. It builds market linkages for small and marginal farmers, providing a range of health- and wellness-related products to the end user, while fulfilling the social and environmental cause. The product category caters to consumers who value clean labels and natural healthy products. It is sustainably sourced, nutritionally healthy and environment friendly. The FSSAI-approved product range uses traditional Indian whole grains-millets and amaranth.

Darima Farms

Darima Farms was awarded AnnaMaya Artisan Award for Contribution to Women’s Empowerment. Established in 2016, it is nestled in the pristine environs of the Kumaon Himalayas. It is a result of Saurabh Vinayak and Arvind Chawla’s vision to set up a dairy and cheese-making unit in the remote and beautiful location. Named after the village Darima, it is situated at an altitude of 7,000 ft. All its products are natural and preservative-free.