Dear all,
I had to calibrate my expectations and be very flexible in an attempt to immerse in a new culture, a new lifestyle and in the lives of the people I am interviewing. I asked myself very often whether I can trust the people I am in contact with or not and I decided the only way for this to work is to trust them and see where this takes us.
2. Every step of the data collection process is a journey full of surprises
A set time-frame, clear deadlines and concepts like efficiency or productivity are not compatible with this kind of data collection. Never look for an answer and be ready to grasp any and all information conveyed to you. Having addressed the same set of 24 questions to all individuals, families and collectives I met I realized that the beauty and essence of this study lays in the differences and common threads in their answer. In some cases the answers led to new questions and new answers - information which has proven extremely valuable and interesting and opened new study paths. As such, after 15 days in Kutch I have decided to return to Kutch for a second series of interviews in the second part of my journey (last 2 weeks of May). I discovered more than I expected to find and a lot more than I was always told about India. The voice of the artisans sounds much different than that of the NGOs government representatives or many con-citizens who speak on their behalf.
3. Nomad study life in India is a challenge
I am living a nomad life for two months in India, travelling from one place to another every week or two. But doing a study while changing setting is much different than travelling as a tourist or simply for pleasure and spiritual growth. The biggest challenge is to feel safe and secure in a new location and at the same time be able to focus on the scope of work. One cannot exclude the risks associated with this kind of project including travel and personal safety.
I have read with great interest all your blog entries and I realize our experiences are very different. It is fascinating for me to read about your experiences and am happy to share my own.
Here are a few stories of the interviews and you can follow more entries on Medium where I am trying to share a bit of each personal story of the people I meet during this process: https://medium.com/@monicamoisin_40284/onevoiceforcraft-chapter-1-india-diary-scrapbook-8ef2cb6032da
Until next time!
Monica
I will start by sending you all good energies from a magic place in India - Kutch, the District of Gujarat - where I just finished my series of interviews for #OneVoiceforCraft - the individual field study I am conducting in India.
In have chosen to conduct an individual field study focused on artisans and craftspeople and their relationship with their craft. Whilst the needs and struggles of fashion businesses today are clearly expressed and understood, professional reports on the state of fashion at large appear annually and the industry strives to be a leader in innovation and sustainability, we cannot say the same about the state of the artisans. Not only is there not enough transparency in understanding their activity, struggles and concerns, but often times the work of artisans is plagiarized by the fashion industry and their creative work is not rightfully valued.
As conscious consumers, tourists, artists,
academics and entrepreneurs from all fields of business, we should be
interested in answers to the following questions:
How did these skilled people learn their craft and what does it mean to
them?
What is their relationship with traditional knowledge?
What are their dreams and expectations?
What is the
role of the artisan? A creator? A custodian of knowledge? A subordinate?
In this first blog post I would like to focus in on the logistics of organizing an Individual Field Study and the challenges I have faced and am facing here in India - from the planning stage to implementing - an Individual Field Study is in itself an adventure.
What did I learn so far?
What did I learn so far?
1. To take a leap of faith and redefining the boundaries of trust
It is important to say that given the scope of this field study I didn't want to conduct it through an already existing organisation - like an NGO or one of the many businesses and cooperatives that work with artisans in India in order to avoid as much as possible filtered information. I wanted to gain access to individuals from a diversity of backgrounds, from different levels of success in the crafts world and thus get a more holistic perspective of the voice of craft in India. I therefore had to start planning the itinerary from scratch.
It is important to say that given the scope of this field study I didn't want to conduct it through an already existing organisation - like an NGO or one of the many businesses and cooperatives that work with artisans in India in order to avoid as much as possible filtered information. I wanted to gain access to individuals from a diversity of backgrounds, from different levels of success in the crafts world and thus get a more holistic perspective of the voice of craft in India. I therefore had to start planning the itinerary from scratch.
Since late December until the day I boarded on the plane to New Delhi I have been constantly communicating with various people in India based on a snowball networking system. Someone recommended me to someone else and so on. The only thing I knew with certainty was that I would arrive in Delhi and make my way to Ahmadabad where I would meet the first contact to interview and from there make a 7 hour bus trip to Bjuh where I would meet my cultural guide for the region of Kutch - Kuldip Gadhvi.
I had to calibrate my expectations and be very flexible in an attempt to immerse in a new culture, a new lifestyle and in the lives of the people I am interviewing. I asked myself very often whether I can trust the people I am in contact with or not and I decided the only way for this to work is to trust them and see where this takes us.
2. Every step of the data collection process is a journey full of surprises
A set time-frame, clear deadlines and concepts like efficiency or productivity are not compatible with this kind of data collection. Never look for an answer and be ready to grasp any and all information conveyed to you. Having addressed the same set of 24 questions to all individuals, families and collectives I met I realized that the beauty and essence of this study lays in the differences and common threads in their answer. In some cases the answers led to new questions and new answers - information which has proven extremely valuable and interesting and opened new study paths. As such, after 15 days in Kutch I have decided to return to Kutch for a second series of interviews in the second part of my journey (last 2 weeks of May). I discovered more than I expected to find and a lot more than I was always told about India. The voice of the artisans sounds much different than that of the NGOs government representatives or many con-citizens who speak on their behalf.
3. Nomad study life in India is a challenge
I am living a nomad life for two months in India, travelling from one place to another every week or two. But doing a study while changing setting is much different than travelling as a tourist or simply for pleasure and spiritual growth. The biggest challenge is to feel safe and secure in a new location and at the same time be able to focus on the scope of work. One cannot exclude the risks associated with this kind of project including travel and personal safety.
I have read with great interest all your blog entries and I realize our experiences are very different. It is fascinating for me to read about your experiences and am happy to share my own.
Here are a few stories of the interviews and you can follow more entries on Medium where I am trying to share a bit of each personal story of the people I meet during this process: https://medium.com/@monicamoisin_40284/onevoiceforcraft-chapter-1-india-diary-scrapbook-8ef2cb6032da
Until next time!
Monica
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