Ethiopian craft products at Dastkar Design Fair

Hand-spun cotton handlooms, carved leather bags and purses, decorative clay items,painted pottery tea-sets along with jewelery made from indigenous Ethiopian wood and a selection of local Ethiopian silver jewelery are being showcased at the Dastkar Basant Festival here.
Dastkar, a registered NGO working with crafts and craftspeople for over three decades, is presenting the sixth edition of the fair in association with Delhi Tourism.
Regional handloom weaves like Maheshwari, Kota, Ikats and fine Bandhini along with block printed textiles in Ajrakh, Bagru and Dabu styles are being showcased.
Garments, fabrics and furnishings embellished with regional embroideries will be available in Ari, Sindhi, Lambani, Sozni and Applique.

Organic cottons and naturally dyed children's clothing with eco herbal essential oils and designer combs made out of neem will showcase versatility of natural materials, say organisers.
Also included are regional painting forms like Madhubani, Kalamkari and Tanjore.

One of the special events at the Fair is a showcase by 21 year old Mohd Jabbar Khatri who carries with him, a 300 year old legacy of Rogan fabric art- a skill that has been honed by his family for the past seven generations.
The complexity of the art, says Khatri has led to a slow demise of the painting tradition.

Working with castor oil and natural pigments, the Rogan technique involves extreme precision in execution and the finesse of the painting gives the impression of being printed rather than hand painted.
Rogan paintings on fabric panels depicting the iconic 'tree of life' and other ancient motifs are being shown at the Fair.