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AryaSanskruti The Handmade Place

Welcome to AryaSanskruti, your space online for quality organic foods and handmade products. AryaSanskruti is an attempt to help individuals and communities to reconnect with ancient Indian lifestyles and traditions.

What makes AryaSanskruti stand out as a store is that even in this modern age the store uses castor oil lamps and handmade fans instead of electric bulbs and fans, eco friendly architecture made by mud, bricks, lime stone, wood, bamboo and cow dung. Almost all products stocked are made by hand and no chemicals are used in the processing of the products.

From source to store, the journey of each product that we stock is carefully observed to ensure that at every step, there is minimal use of machines and all labour involved in various processes is meticulously done by hand.

Our Story

AryaSanskruti's journey started more than ten years ago. Says Mithunbhai Shah, Founder, AryaSanskruti, “It was while listening to the principals of Jainism and the discourses on the earth-friendly and sustainable aspects of traditional Indian lifestyles that I first got to know about the adverse impact of the products of modern, industrial processes on our health, environment and behaviour.

I felt strongly that something should be done about this. Then, with some guidance from Shri Anil Shah and Shaileshbhai, I started searching, sourcing and stocking food products that were organic as well as other products of daily use that were made by hand, free of chemicals as well as the use of electricity.” 

Today, AryaSanskruti is well known for a wide range of quality products, from organic grocery and organic dry fruits to hand woven saris, safe cosmetics and handmade utensils .

Vision

AryaSanskruti’s vision is to create a worldwide movement for the revival of the traditional lifestyles and spiritual wisdom of ancient India.

Mission

• To actively promote organic foods and traditional handmade art and craft products for use in daily life among communities and to revive the traditional arts and crafts of ancient India by facilitating financial assistance and training programmes for craftspeople.

• To revive the 18 varna system of sustainable lifestyle in a holistic way, may it be organic food, textiles, building and construction, water conservation or knowledge systems, ayurveda, metallurgy and other crafts pertaining to a holistic way of life. 

Objectives

• Organic foods: At Arya Sanskruti, each and every food grain, be it cereals, grams or spices, is carefully sourced out from farmers who practice organic farming and are dedicated to the cause. 

• Hand pounded flours: The cereal flours that are available, whether it is wheat flour or pearl millet flour or sorghum flour, each cereal flour is carefully ground by hand chakki (a hand operated mill) without the use of any electricity. The hand pounded flours are supplied only if a prior order is made.

• Special hand pounded masala (spices): All spices add not just colour and flavour to food but they are packed with powerful medicinal properties. Arya Sanskruti must be one of the few places in the country to stock hand pounded organic masala (spices). We believe that food grains and spices when ground by machines that run on electricity lose a significant part of their nutritional value. 

• Natural organic sugar: Unrefined, natural sugar derived from fresh, organic(sometimes non-organic) sugarcane juice that is processed without the use of bone ash and sulphur dioxide in its production is available at Arya Sanskruti.

• Organic jaggery: At Arya Sanskruti, you can purchase pure organic jiggery, rich in nutrients and free of any additives and chemicals.

• Cold-pressed organic sesame seed oil: The purified sesame seed oil that is carefully extracted, free of the use of any electrical gadgets is revitalizing for health and has remarkable medicinal properties. The cold-pressed organic sesame seed oil is extracted by using traditional bullock powered grinding mill. It is not filtered or refined by any mechanical or chemical process unlike most of the oils used for cooking that are available in the market.

• Sea& rock salt: Salt that is processed by hand and free of the use of any electricity, machines or iodine in its processing is available at AryaSanskruti.

• Hand-woven Fabrics: Visit AryaSanskruti if you want to buy an exclusive collection of authentic khadi cotton sarees, dhotis and turbans woven by hand and dyed using vegetable colours.Natural khadi cotton fabrics, are gentler and healthier for your skin.

• Hand-made utensils: At AryaSanskruti, we are pleased to offer you a variety of large bowls, plates and tumblers of brass and copper crafted by hand, for daily use in eating and drinking. For several thousand years, dedicated believers of Jainism have followed the practice of drinking boiled water that is charged by sunlight and filtered with cotton cloth.

• Similarly, another belief that is strictly adhered to is the practice of eating food on brass& bell metal plates. It is believed that boiled water charged by sunlight in a copper container and food eaten in a brass plate are healthier. 

• Handmade puja articles: AryaSanskruti offers you a range of puja articles like incense or dhoop made by hand, rosaries or prayer malas made of cotton cloth beads, camphor and sandalwood as well as special moohpatti (the unbleached white cotton cloth tied over the nose), hand made lamps and special pooja thalis or plates.

When you shop at AryaSanskruti, here are some of the things that you can carry back with you besides the happy memories of visiting a sacred space of peace and harmony.

•  Authentic, organic food items like rice, wheat, jowar, bajra, pulses and spices procured from a large number of small and marginal farmers. •  Food products and cotton fabrics free of the use of pesticides and fertilizers. •  Scented, handmade soaps and herbal cosmetics, free of acids and chemicals. •  Hand woven saris and fabrics made from the finest, hand spun organic cotton and dyed with plant based colours. •  Pooja items, brass plates and tumblers made by hand.

A Visit to AryaSanskruti: What to Expect

Arya Sanskruti provides a unique space for the purchase of Organic, Natural and Traditional handmade products for daily use. At Arya Sanskruti, we take care to ensure that from the architecture of the place to the quality of the products, every process followed is as per ancient Indian wisdom, is handmade, free of the use of electricity, chemicals and environmental pollutants. 

This is one of the few stores in India where the decor of the place reflects meticulous attention to an earth-friendly lifestyle. For example, the walls at AryaSanskruti are made of brick and mud, plastered with lime and free of cement. The thatched roof is made of bamboo with apertures at selected spots that provide for natural lighting. The store is lit by castor oil lamps and handmade fans are used instead of electrical bulbs and fans.

With flooring plastered with cow dung, recycled furniture and a fascinating two hundred year old vintage wooden door welcoming you, we have tried our best to let the decor of the interiors reconnect you to the spirit of ancient India. 

From organic food grains to traditional fabrics, every product available at Arya Sanskruti has been either lovingly grown, crafted by hand, woven by hand or simply made by hand. For example, the masalas , flour, spices and salt are all pounded by hand while oil is extracted by a bullock operated grinding mill, and ghee is prepared by churning by hand.

Currently, Arya Sanskruti supports a number organic farmers by being a regular wholesale buyer of various cereals, pulses and spices. Similarly, many weavers and bell metal smiths are supported.

We are happy to share that Arya Sanskruti has over five hundred families who have adopted the traditional Indian lifestyle and who are now regular users of our products.

Arya Sanskruti is pleased to offer products both at wholesale rates as well as retail rates. Shopping at AryaSanskruti is a warm introduction to a safer, healthier and gentler way of life.

Future Plans

• Livelihood support and training programmes: Arya Sanskruti seeks to revive and promote the traditional livelihoods of ancient India, for example the skills of Cobblers, Tanners, Folk musicians, Blacksmiths, Bellmetalsmiths, Weavers, Wood carvers, Stone carvers, Farmers, Potters, Goldsmiths, Ayurvedic doctors, Astrologers, Architects and Handpaper manufacturers, to name a few.

• Arya Gram: By setting up an exclusive village dedicated for the promotion of traditional Indian arts and crafts, Arya Sanskruti hopes to popularise among communities all over India traditional lifestyles that rests on a foundation of reverence for life and protection of the environment.

• AryaSanskruti Clubs:AryaSanskruti also plans to help communities to stay connected with the traditions, customs and culture of ancient India by setting up clubs and organizing events that promote ancient Indian art, craft and culture.

• Revival of traditional varieties of rice: We have rice seeds of as many as seventy unique varieties of rice which we wish to revive by planting them in a rice farm.

• The 100 Family Project: To save farm animals like bulls and camels from starvation and slaughter, we would like to start a project where hundred families source out all their products using camel carts or bullock carts. That way, we can help to provide enough financial resources to the cattle owners and camel owners so that they will continue taking good care of their animals and not starve them or sell them off to the slaughterhouse for lack of finances.

• We shall start with two three products which will be procured by bullock cart or camel cart from the near by villages and supplied directly to the customers thus creating a complete self sustaining zero carbon system. We hope that in the years to come this will set an example to the whole world to adopt such ideas for a sustainable lifestyle