Indha

About Indha

Indha is a social enterprise that turns traditional Indian craftsmanship and creative upcycling into sustainable, handcrafted bags, accessories, home décor, and gifting products. Founded by Capt. Indraani Singh, Indha grew out of Literacy India’s Karigari programme — a skill-development and livelihood initiative that has trained and empowered women and youth in rural India for over two decades. Karigari remains the mother platform from which Indha emerged, and Indha continues to carry forward its founding mission: dignity through work, creativity, and entrepreneurship for women artisans.

Craft Meets Sustainability

At the heart of Indha’s work is a deep commitment to eco-products and environmentally responsible design. What began as recycled paper craft has since grown into a wide collection of sustainable lifestyle products. Indha’s artisans hand-paint discarded computer monitors, tablets, computer mice, old bottles, and other electronic and household waste that would otherwise end up in landfill, transforming them into distinctive works of functional art. Nothing is wasted — materials that most businesses would discard become the raw material for Indha’s next collection.

Handcrafted Bags and Textile Accessories

Indha is especially known for its range of handcrafted bags — crossbody sling bags, canvas totes, patchwork bags, and jute bottle bags — made using upcycled fabrics, denim remnants, and leftover textile materials stitched together through patchwork techniques. Each bag is finished with hand embroidery inspired by India’s regional craft traditions, from Rajasthani folk art motifs to Kathakali-inspired prints. No two pieces are ever quite identical, since every embroidery pattern and fabric combination is created by hand. This focus on sustainable fashion and accessories sits alongside a broader catalogue of stationery, home décor, and corporate gifting products, all rooted in the same upcycling philosophy.

Empowering Women Artisans

Beyond product design, Indha functions as a platform for economic empowerment. It helps women move from basic skill acquisition to entrepreneurship by offering training, design support, quality standards, and market exposure. Today, the initiative has empowered more than 10,500 artisans over 20+ years, with a stated goal of expanding to 1,500+ active women artisans across its craft clusters. Profits from Indha’s product sales flow back into Literacy India’s education and skilling programmes, closing the circle from learning to livelihood for the communities it works with.

Corporate Gifting with a Purpose

Indha also works with companies looking for ethical, handcrafted, Made-in-India corporate gifting solutions. Businesses can partner with Indha for CSR-aligned sourcing — upcycled corporate gifts backed by a transparent, women-led supply chain — giving organisations a ready-made way to combine gifting with genuine social and environmental impact.

Why Indha Belongs in Prakati’s Green Directory

Indha represents exactly the kind of community-rooted sustainability Prakati looks to showcase: waste diverted from landfill, traditional Indian craft techniques kept alive, and livelihoods created for rural women artisans, all through handcrafted, upcycled products. Explore more brands working on upcycling and recycled products in Prakati’s Green Directory.

Product Range Beyond Bags

While handcrafted bags remain a signature category, Indha’s catalogue extends into hand-painted upcycled wall décor made from discarded cassette tapes and electronics, recycled-paper diaries with hand-embroidered silk covers, and a range of home and stationery pieces designed for everyday use. Each product line follows the same principle: take what would otherwise be discarded — fabric offcuts, old electronics, waste paper — and route it back into circulation as something useful and beautifully made.

Sourcing and Craft Clusters

Indha organises its artisan network into craft clusters where different traditional skills — Kantha stitching, embroidery, crochet, hand-stitching, block printing, and fabric painting — meet contemporary product design. This cluster model lets Indha scale production responsibly while ensuring individual artisans can specialise and grow within a craft they already know, rather than being retrained from scratch. Shoppers and corporate buyers alike can browse the collection directly on Indha’s own site, where every product page credits the craft technique and material story behind it.