A Textile Literacy Project by iTokri

Craftpedia

The unromantic, field-verified encyclopedia of Indian handloom and textile craft

The cloth remembers every hand that touched it. Every vat it entered. Every sun it dried under. Our job is not to sell you a product—it is to make you literate enough to read what the cloth is telling you.

FIELD NOTES, BHUJODI VILLAGE, 2024

Third-generation block printer, name withheld by request

ENTRY DOORS

Four Pillars Of Textile Literacy

Craft Index
THE REFERENCE LAYER

Craft Index

Technical specifications, making processes, and authenticity markers for every documented craft.

EXPLORE
Care Lab
THE SERVICE LAYER

Care Lab

Wash protocols, longevity forecasts, and honest maintenance guidance. No sugarcoating.

EXPLORE
Craft Intelligence
THE DISCERNMENT LAYER

Craft Intelligence

Trade-off matrices, suitability ratings, and side-by-side comparisons for informed decisions.

EXPLORE
itokri Stories
THE EDITORIAL LAYER

itokri Stories

Technical specifications, making processes, and authenticity markers for every documented craft.

EXPLORE

Select any option below to reveal its knowledge matrix.
Each weave structure, each dye penetration, tells a technical story

1

Select a craft

Choose any tile below to begin exploring.

2

Read the knowledge matrix

Understand its making, care needs, and trade-offs at a glance.

3

Follow the pathway

Dive into the Index, Care Lab, Intelligence, or Field Story.

Numbers That Matter

The Scale Of What We Document

Wash protocols, longevity forecasts, and honest maintenance guidance. No sugarcoating.

Artisan hands at work on handloom fabric

43M

Handloom Workers in India

Second-largest employer after agriculture

72

GI-Tagged Textile Crafts

Each with unique making processes

4,000+

Years of Documented History

Ajrakh dates to the Indus Valley

23%

Decline in Active Weavers

Last two decades, census data