India Works~Cottage Industries

crafting traditional musical instruments

Hand made concrete tile

Weaving sari fabric

Handmaking bricks

As we drive through the countryside we often break up the bus trips by visiting local things of interest in the villages or just along the road. I've been fascinated by the cottage industries. They are usually family run and may employ a few extra people. Some are real artists like the brothers who handcraft wooden instruments and the family that make beautiful concrete floor tile. Others are more for the mass market like the cloth weavers. The cloth is cotton and is for everyday saris. It takes 5 yards to make a sari and that sells for about $8. The bricklayer family makes hundreds of bricks a day. 
There is so much more to this country than the technology revolution we hear about. Some of this dates back centuries. The looms the weavers use are electric but are so old that parts are hard to find.
It's wonderful what you can find when you get off the beaten path and into the villages where the action is!