ArtisansConnect

Contents

-
Synopsis of field visit by expert ceramicist
Rakhee Kane to villages in Kuchh, prepared by
Dustudio.

-
Field report of visit to study the firing process with the kiln provided by the govern-
ment to Potters in Ratadiya, prepared by Khamir.

-
Field report of visit to improve the firing process with the new kiln in Ratadiya village,
prepared by Dustudio.

-
Design evolution and sketches, prepared by
Dustudio.

-
Discussion on products and further steps
between Dustudio and Khamir.
 Synopsis
Synopsis of field visit by expert ceramicist
Rakhee Kane to villages in Kuchh, prepared by
Dustudio.
Premise :
1. To understand the following aspects of
each of the potter villages visited.
Total number of potter families,
Basic skill set and nature of products
produced,
Nature of articulation/ decoration/
embellishments,
Willingness to learn new methods/
products,
Existing Kiln conditions and firing
techniques,
Percentages of waste,
Nature of clay and percentages of salinity.
To look at the possibilities of improving the
quality of clay by souring raw materials
from nearby regions. Chemical tests of clay
can be organized with support from Khamir.
2. To understand and evaluate how RTIG
can be involved in terms of improving
technologies, organizing training programs,
etc.
1
Field visit :
A Total of three villages were visited
1. Gundiyali
2. Ratadia
3. Anjar
These villages were visited over a period of
4 days from the 27th Feb till the 1st March
by ceramicist Rakhi Kane along with Meera
and Neeraj from Khamir. The nature of each
village and the prevailing conditions of the
craft were understood in depth in terms of
techniques, quality and nature of the
artisans as well as the products created by
them. Each of the potter villages had unique
prevailing conditions that have evolved over
the years depending on the pressures
exerted by the market and by interventions
that they have created.
 High Fired kiln in potter’s village near Garbage being used as fuel for firing Assortment of earthenware
Bhuj

Overall, while the presence of NGO’s trying

to revive crafts was high, pottery in
particular seemed to stand in contrast with
other crafts such as fabric dyeing,
Kutch
embroidery etc as they are perceived as Gujarat
more delicate crafts and therefore have a
higher market value. The following covers
in detail aspects
pertaining to each of the visited villages.

A fourth village was also visited near Bhuj

which showed some alarming firing
practices due to the lack of fuel. An
illustrious potter named Ramju Bhai has
built a high fired kiln using fired bricks
however uses garbage from the local
landfills to fire this kiln. This produces very Kutch
hazardous fumes that are not only
Ratadiya Anjar
consumed by the residents of the village but
also pollute the environment in irreparable
Gundiyali
ways.
Gundiyali Field visit by Ceramicist Rakhee Kane
Artisans, Slills & Products :
Gundiyali village presently has 27 potters
all of whom have access to a manual wheel,
however would prefer an electric wheel as
it would increase production. They make
a range of earthenware products and have
started diversifying into materials such as
asbestos to make modular chulas to suit the
market demands. Yakub Bhai is an example
of one such potter who manufactures
asbestos chulas and is also passing the same
skill down to his son over pottery.
Each of the artisans in the village have
excellent throwing skills and are very
proficient in their traditional
embellishments on the pots done with
different earth slips. One of the potters was
recently commissioned to make large
earthen pots with a special clay body that
facilitates slow seepage of water. The
product was developed for a new kind of
drip irrigation where a pot can be placed
next to a plant and would be replenished
with water every 5-6 days. This village also
participated in making moulds for Ganesha
that were supplied across the region,
apparently all the villages together made
idols worth 1 crore. These idols were not
fired and were a great initiative towards
sustainable festival practices.
Kilns, Techniques & Fuel :
The potters of Gundiyali have been getting
a lot of support from an NGO called Man-
than who have provided the village with a
total of 6 kilns, which ensures that 4 potters
to a kiln. This however is not practiced as
most of the artisans prefer not to fire with
each other.
Unfortunately, the new kilns have a slight
technical issue resulting in the breakage of
all pots causing a huge waste and loss for the
artisans due to which they are now continu-
ing their traditional firing practices, which
are not ideal in terms of fuel efficiency and
breakage percentages.
 Artisan with asbestos chulas in the Fuel stacked in front of the kiln Installation of embellished
background provided by the government earthenware at Gundiyal

This can be attributed to two reasons :

1. The pots are placed on the floor of the kiln
with direct contact to the fire box.
2. All the fuel is burnt at one go and the fir-
ing process is not gradual.
The village has a relatively decent access to
fuel where they collect branches, twigs and
grasses to fire their kilns, thereby eliminat-
ing their fuel costs entirely.

Key observations :
Shift to the use of Asbestos.
Need for intervention in kiln and guidance
for firing processes.
Products such as the pots for drip irrigation
and the unfired Ganesh moulds are interest-
ing products that can be explored further.
Ratadia Field visit by Ceramicist Rakhee Kane
Artisans, Slills & Products :
Ratadia village presently has 40 practicing
potter families. While throwing pots is still
the most prevalent skill practiced by the
majority of the artisans, there has been an
interesting intervention with use of moulds
by one of the potter families. Jaffer Bhai uses
a press mould along with his family to make
taavdis - shallow pans that are used locally
to make rotis, etc. These taavdis have a fair
demand in the market and are sold at Rs.
2.5 to a wholesaler, who then goes on to sell
them for a higher margin the market. Sellers
also modify the earthen taavdi by attaching
a handle with bent wire for a better
functioning product. The family makes
3000-4000 tavdis per day
Kilns, Techniques & Fuel :
There are a total of 7 kilns in the village, the
conditions of which are identical to that of
Gundiyali. The potters are therefore still
using their traditional skills.
Key Observations :
Molding skills are prevalent and can be
explored. Khamir and other such agencies
can be employed to fund moulds and dyes
to develop new products.
With adequate intervention in the fields of
architecture, the use of country tiles can be
revived and can be made with moulds.
The village was identified as the model
village to start the project with experts
assisting them with the firing process and
improvements made to the kiln.
Existing fire resistant materials that can be
introduced to solve the technical issues with
the kiln prove to be very expensive - 1000
per sqft.
Other possibilities are being explored
whereby materials can be sourced from
Morbi - a nearby town known for its
booming ceramic industry.
Press mould for making taavdis Taavdis stakced on the kiln floor post Modification of the taavdi
firing
Anjar Field visit by Ceramicist Rakhee Kane

Artisans, Slills & Products :
There are 8 potter families in Anjar, who
have been recently relocated and are
presently occupying land granted by the
government. These artisans are very
proficient in throwing and make a wide
range of embellished earthenware. A few
potters also make miniature kitchen sets
that are painted in gold and are sold as
children toys in local fairs and markets.
While they mostly use manual wheels, they
would prefer electric wheels. A few artisans
have also made make-shift electric wheels
by attaching motors to two wheels
simultaneously.
This prevents direct contact with the fame
and thereby reduces breakage significantly.
kilns, thereby eliminating their fuel costs
entirely.
Key observations :
Excellent skills in throwing.
Have developed new products to suit the
market needs on thier own which shows the
willingness to adopt new products.
Very optimistic about new kilns.

Kilns, Techniques & Fuel :

Artisans of Anjar are very keen to receive
kilns from the government and are eager to
try and use new techniques of firing at the
prospect of less breakage and more efficient
fuel consumption. Currently, they fire in
traditional kilns with a perforated base
between the fire box and the stacked pots.
Make shift arrangement to make an Perforated base of the kiln to prevent Pots ready for firing
electric wheel direct contact with the flame
 Ratadia
Kiln Firing
Field report of visit to study the firing process with the kiln
provided by the government to Potters in Ratadiya, prepared by Khamir.
Dustudio.
 Dung channa Prosopis juliflora Thorns (Dry) Desi
Bawal Kanta (Suka)
1. Jafarbhai usually uses the above two fuels
for firing kiln.
2. Other than this, Desi Bawal (Dry) wood
is also used for firing.
Common Fuel Used for
Firing Kiln
(Pit & Local Updraft Kiln)
1. One layer of Dung (Chana) was spread
directly on the kiln floor.
2. Approx one feet thick layer of dung was
made on the bottom circumference of the
kiln.
3. Tavdis were stacked on top of this layer.
4. Only one layer of tavdis were loaded.
Kiln Loading and
Arrangement
1. Initially two adjacent fire boxes were Outcome
started
2. Damper was closed initially 1. 70% of products were damaged
3. Damper was completely opened after an 2. Reduction took place
hour
4. Dung was fired in the fireboxes
5. Only two fireboxes were used for the
whole firing
6. Kiln was fired for 10 hours
7. Total of 250- 300 kg of Dung was used in
whole firing
8. Damper was closed completely at end
of the firing
 Field
Report
Field report of visit to improve the firing process with the new kiln in
Ratadiya village, prepared by Dustudio.
Premise :
To help the potters in using the kiln
provided by the government.
To explore ways of improvising the firing
technique of the potters in the region,
under the following criteria:
To improve the quality of fired terracotta
and minimize the damages and losses in
firing.
To make the firing technique more fuel
efficient with the kind of resources potters
have.
To advice potter on operating different
component of the kiln like chimney lid,
fire-holes, grate platform, pyrometer, etc.
Field work :
Ceramicist Rakhee Kane along with
Neeraj from Khamir visited Jaffar Bhai’s
pottery workshop in Ratadiya for three days
in first week of July.
Taking inputs from the first visit, Rakhee ji
had advised Jaffar Bhai to use a grated
platform as a base to load the link, so that
there is a cavity for the firewood to be fed
in the kiln.
A layer of broken terracotta was placed over
the grated platform to prevent pots from the
direct exposure of the flames.
Due to the lack of availability of firewood,
cow dung cakes were used as fuel inside the
kiln chamber.
Cow dung cakes were placed in and around
the pots while loading.
Due to the large size of the kiln chamber,
Jaffar Bhai could only load a third of the
kiln with pots and tawadis (platters). Rest of
the void volume was to be addressed while
planning the firing procedure. Capacity of
the kiln could have supported 400 pots to
be loaded.
Field report, to improve the firing process
To minimize the breakage, the temperature
was increased gradually, pre-heating the
pots enough to remove all the moisture.
While initiating the firing by feeding
firewood through fire holes, cow dung cakes
caught fire very fast and part of the chamber
cow dungs cakes burnt rapidly.
Chamber was opened and the fire was
contained, by blocking the oxygen supply
from the fire holes and chimney lid shut.
After the chimney lid was shut and other
holes were sealed and packed to reduce the
firing speed by breaking the oxygen flow.
Cow dung fuel got burnt slowly attaining
the temperature of around 400° C in the
pyrometer.
Some firewood and twigs were collected
from around and from other potters to do
the final stage of the firing to reach 800° C
of temperature.
After pre heating up to 400-450° C for 4-5
hours, temperature was raised to 800° C by
feeding firewood in the fire holes and
opening the chimney lid slightly to let
enough oxygen reach inside the chamber.
Once the pyrometer showed the reading of
800° C, no more firewood was fed and the
chimney was allowed to cooled down
gradually.
Next day morning, Jaffar bhai was excited to
open the kiln chamber, the temperature was
cool enough to open it. The chamber was
opened and resultant pots were examined.
Field report, to improve the firing process
Key Observations :
Scarcity of good fuel. Firewood is needed
in adequate quantity to support the firing
along with cow dung cakes.
The capacity of the new kiln provided by the
government is more. Single potter would
have to wait for long time to make enough
pots to fill the whole kiln chamber. Groups
of potter can collectively fire in regular
intervals to make this kiln firing more
sustainable.
The quality of resultant fired pots in this
kiln was much better than the pots fired by
techniques the potter are traditionally been
using.
The damages and losses are reduced drasti-
cally. 85% of the loaded pots were
successfully fired, 15% were damaged only
because of initial rapid combustion of cow
dung cakes, which can be further reduced in
the subsequent firing.
Fuel efficiency:
The fuel needed in this
technique is a fourth of the fuel needed in
the traditional technique for the same
capacity of terracotta to fire.
The grated platform to load pots in the
chamber should be made integrated part of
the kiln.
The potters are to be trained and made
aware of the operational skills of the new
kiln.
 Design
evolution
& Product
sketches
Pottery in architecture :
The suggested innovation in terracotta
products have taken into consideration the
skill set, infrastructure and firing techniques
prevalent in the villages of Kutch. The
products are incorporated in built
structures in various ways at architectural as
well as interior scales. The following is a
broad categorization of the products that
are currently being designed and developed.
The following is a small presentation with a
visual representation of sketches/ 3d’s.
Field report, to improve the firing process

1. Terrocotta louvres
These may be fixed or openable louvers of
varying sizes and profiles.
Required skills: Slab making, molding,
cutting.
Additional materials: Metal/ wooden rods,
pivots, hinges, frames.
2. False ceiling panels and channels
Flat or curved profile tiles that may be
supported/ hung by channels or cables to
conceal services like wiring and piping.
They can be made with perforations or
embelishments like painting or with relief
work.

Required skills : Slab making, molding,

cutting, using stamps for relief/ cut out
work, painting.
Additional materials : Aluminium channels,
cables, wooden frames.
3. Walls, domes and vaults
Using conical tubes stacked together to
create roof or wall surfaces of different
textures.
Required skills: Using press moulds/ dyes,
wheel throwing.
Additional materials : Cement,
reinforcement bars.
4. Partitions and Railings using plates
Using plates vertically stacked within frames
to create partitions or railings.
Required skills : Using press moulds/ dyes,
wheel throwing.
Additional materials : Frames out of metal
or wood.
5. Partitions, screens and jaalis using a block
module.
Designing a simple module that can be put
together in different ways creating varied
patterns for jaalis or partitions.
Innovation can be made in joinery so that
the element can be put together without the
use of cement.
Required skills :
Using press moulds/ dyes, cutting.
Additional materials: Metal or wooden rods.
6. Partitions, walls, screens, jaalis using 8. Brackets and capitols
hollow pipes and discs. Designing simple profiles in terracotta that
Using hollow pipes of varying or same can be used as wall brackets or capitols for
diameters to create vertical surfaces, straight the supporting part of the roof or false
or curvilinear. ceiling.
It can be a see-through or opaque by filling Required skills :Using press moulds/ dyes,
the gaps with earth. cutting.
Required skills :Using press moulds/ dyes, Additional materials: Nil.
wheel throwing, cutting.
Additional materials :Cement, stabilized
earth.
7. Permanent shuttering
Using terracotta rings as shuttering
material to cast columns. The shuttering
itself becomes the final finish
Required skills : Using press moulds/ dyes,
wheel throwing.
Additional materials :Concrete, reinforced
earth.
9. Pergola
Creating hollow terracotta beams with well
detailed out ends to create pergolas as
shading element
Required skills: Using press moulds or dyes,
cutting, slab making.
Additional materials: Metal clamps,
wooden pegs etc.
10. Sunshades, Fins, Bay window boxes
Designing hollow blocks that can be used
to create sunshades above windows. Similar
elements
can be used in combination to create win-
dow boxes and fins.
Required skills: Using press moulds/ dyes,
cutting, slab making.
Additional materials: Cement, reinforce-
ment bars, protective sheet material.the
supporting part of the roof or false
ceiling.
Required skills: Using press moulds/ dyes,
cutting.
Additional materials: Nil.
Interior elements
1. Bricks and building blocks with grooves
for shelving Designing building blocks with
grooves to be used for shelving in wardrobes,
kitchens, storage areas of a house. The shelf
material can be terracotta, wood, stone, etc.
Required skills: Using press moulds/ dyes,
cutting, slab making. Additional material:
Stone, wood, etc
2. Spouts and sinks Designing terracotta
spouts and sinks with glazes, for long-last-
ing functionality. Required skills: Using
press moulds/ dyes, cutting, slab-making.
3. Drain boards Creating pre sloped slabs
with grooves/ raised channels to drain water
into a sink. This can also be designed as a
drain shelf with perforations to dry dishes.
Required skills: Using press moulds/ dyes,
cutting, slab making.
4. Niches
Terracotta forms inserted in walls as niches.
Required skills: Using press moulds/ dyes,
cutting, slab making, throwing, etc. Addi-
tional materials: Existing wall of any mate-
rial.
Embelishments, paintings, relief work and
cut out work -
Each of the above mentioned elements can
have different degrees of embellishments
depending on the scale of product pro-
duction. Existing embellishing techniques
can be used on contemporary forms and
new ones can be developed for certain oth-
er products. These will ensure a sustained
livelihood for women in the region as well
as preserve the traditional skills that have
been passed on for so many generations.
They also help develop a range of products,
some which are purely utilitarian and others
which are richer and more decorative along
with their functional aspects.
Brick module Glazed sink Round sink

Inserted terracotta
niche

Ridged drain Perforated drain

board shelf
Field trip to
Khamir &
Ratadia Discussion on products and further steps

A visit was made to Khamir by two repre- nations to make different looking elements.
sentatives from Dustudio – Kanika Puri & 4. The products should be designed so that
Heval Dhudshia. The team met with Mr. they are easy to produce in large quantities
Ghatit Laheru and Niraj Dave and discussed and easy to transport as well.
the progress of the project along with fur- 5. The elements that can be made out of the
ther steps. products should have simple fixing details
that require the least amount of customiza-
Having reformed the firing techniques of tion.
the kilns in Ratadia, a tentative list of prod-
ucts were discussed along with the team at
Khamir. The concerns while designing the
range of products is as follows:-
1. Products should require the skills set,
techniques and equipment that is already
present among the potters in the region.
2. New sets of skills or modification in pro-
cess should be simple and easy to compre-
hend.
3. The products should be designed such
that they can be used in multiple ways by
any architect who wishes to use them in a
built space. That is to say that the product
should allow multiple permutation/ combi-
Product type A
These products required basic set of skills umn like structure within which concrete
and techniques that the potters in Ratadia can be poured to create a terracotta looking
were well versed with. The skills included column.
wheel throwing and press molding for which
dyes were already present. It was decided
that prototypes of these products would be
done in Ratadia itself. List of Products :
1. Tavdi : Tavdi to be made with press mold
retrofitted with holes to create a wall/parti-
tion/ceiling surface.
2. Guna Tubes : To be wheel thrown in two
sizes and options to be made with embel-
lishments. These will be used to create
vaults/ walls/ partitions
3. Cylinders/ conical tubes : To be wheel
thrown in various sizes and shapes with
rims. Options with inside surface or rim
embellishments to be made. These will be
used to as inserts in wall elements as per-
forations.
4. Column Shutterng : To be wheel thrown
with a shelf detail on one end. The individu-
al rings will be stacked to form a hollow col-
Progress on Product A :
The team from Khamir and Dustudio visit-
ed Jafer bhai and his family in Ratadia. Here
each of the products was discussed in detail,
its use and implementation was described
and images were shown to the potters for
their understanding. Issues and concerns
of the potters was taken into consideration.
Post this meeting a series of detailed sketch-
es with sizes and quantities has been sent to
Niraj who will coordinate with Jafer Bhai
in the making of the prototypes. A full kiln
load of these prototypes will be fired in the
coming month so as to understand how the
products behave with the improved firing
techniques and quality of clay.
Product type B
These products required certain skills/tech-
niques/tools that may require a certain de-
gree of training. These include slab making
or the preparation of new dyes. These prod-
ucts will be developed in Auroville by Du-
studio.

List of Products :
1. Louvers : To be made through slab mak-
ing and molding. These will be used for win-
dow openings to create fixed or openable
louvers.
2. Block modules : These will be made from
slabs ( eventually a dye can be made for
this ). The elements will be used to create
jaalis/ partitions or walls
3. Terracotta shelves/ tiles : Slabs that are-
embellished with block prints to be used as
shelves or tiles.
4. False ceiling panels : To be made with a
combination of wheel thrown and slab mak-
ing. The surface can be treated as plain, with
embellishments or with perforations.
Progress on Product B : Post discussion and
preparation of initial sketches, a local potter
from Auroville – Kumerason was consulted
and the products, skills and processes were
discussed in detail. The products incorpo-
rated the potter’s suggestions on strength,
durability and making after which a few
sample prototypes were made in Avartan
pottery studio, Auroville. The products
are currently being dried and will be fired
shortly. After this stage, the elements will be
put together to exhibit how they will be used
as architectural elements.