Ochre beads & wind chimes was established in the year 2011 in a village called Hadgud, Distt. Anand, Gujarat. Women of this village are encouraged & trained in creating an interesting range of handmade products. A range of interesting hand crafted ceramic pieces is assembled into different forms of ceramics jewelry, wind chimes and various space accessories.
The aim of the initiative by an NID alumni, Kavita Ganguly is to help the Women of this village to generate a regular & sustainable source of income. Ochre started as a development program called “FIVE OHURS FIVE DAYS”, under which women of the village were called only for five hours, 12 noon to 5 in the evening, to give their non-productive time and were train in various ceramic techniques to make small things like jewelry & wind chimes.
Clay is one of the most traditional raw materials used for generations to explore different forms of expressions. The material is very responsive & hence provides an unending possibility to explore in areas of color, texture & forms.
An interesting combination of different colored stone ware, clay bodies and glazes along with different techniques like inlay, nerikomi etc. are used to achieve a fine piece of jewelry or a wind chimes. All these pieces are fired at very high temp (1200 C). This gives a fine finish & strength to the product.
At Ochre assembly & production of ceramic pieces goes hand in hand. Each threading is done differently & according to the ceramic piece. Various kinds of beads, textile, metal wires like brass, copper & German silver along with different kinds of fixtures are used.
Ochre Beads & Wind chimes designs to help the women of this village. Training village women in ceramic skills is their way to give back to the community. “We are providing a regular & sustainable source of income for them. Most of these women are house wives and do not have much education, or skill. Ochre is fortunate to have few workers from Rabari community having fine skill of embroidery and quilt making. We develop & make use of this skill to come up with contemporary ideas.”
Chimes with their tinkling sound have a healing effect on our body. The resonance & vibration of their sound release stress & emotional blockages in the body. It calms the mind & expands conscious awareness & connection with spirit. Wind chimes therefore help enhance the mind, body, spirit connection, bringing us a sense of peace & wellbeing.
