Traidcraft Meet the People Tours, Fair Trade Holidays

India Highlights

India is a country of great diversity, a strong cultural identity, a fascinating history and of vast geographical scale. Possibly no other country has its religions so intertwined with every aspect of life. Home to a large number of the world’s economically poor, it has an amazing array of traditional crafts skills and consequently is a major source of crafts products for Traidcraft.

Led by our experienced Indian guide, Ranjith Henry we visit 3 regions to see for ourselves just some of the variety that India has to offer us. Starting in Delhi and Agra we visit Tara Projects and their crafts workshops and enjoy the sights of Delhi, the Taj Mahal and the spectacular Red Fort before heading south to the green state of Kerela. Here we visit we visit NAPC, Traidcraft’s supplier of pineapple, papaya and stem ginger. We take the opportunity to explore the old port of Cochin, a strategic centre for spice trade for centuries and enjoy the beautiful canals and lagoons of the backwaters by hand-poled narrow boat.

Set against the Hooghly River and a backdrop of strong colonial architecture the strong Bengali culture makes Kolkatta a great place to explore - it is rightly described by some as a city with a soul. Visits to Sasha's shop and some of the artisans that they work with in Bishnupur make a great end to our journey.