In photos: Amazon marks LGBTQ Pride month

After a devastating earthquake in 2001 destroyed their village completely, the resolve of Ismail Mohamed Khatri to preserve an old art form Ajrakh, saw him move his family and some willing community members to a new village, and start all over again. In this arid region of Kutch, history and handicraft blend seamlessly to revive the 16th century block printing art form

In India, we are at the sweet spot where technology meets culture and tradition meets innovation. Some of our most outstanding seller success stories come from traditional artisans discovering new markets and gaining new customers on Amazon. Take the story of Orissa’s traditional Patta Chitra that went from relying entirely on local sales networks to finding patrons across the country or the artisans from UP who found new markets after Tied Ribbons took their art pan India. For Bangalore’s 40-year old Rajasthan Emporium, the generations old dream of finding a place for the state’s traditional crafts in every Indian home has finally come true. And then, there are the traditional weavers of heirloom Pochampally weave. What started as a slow and steady transformation to adopting technology for a self-sufficient sales network is today a full-fledged and completely revived cottage industry in Telangana. And that’s just some of the many ways in which Amazon and artisans together have revived the crafts of India.

Amazon strives to explore new talent and new opportunities beyond India’s tier 1 cities. These opportunities have connected sellers, fulfilment partners, as well as customers to all that was previously considered the privilege of the “big city folks”! No island is too remote for us, as Rupak Chandak proved when he, as our service partner introduced the convenience and choice of online shopping to the remote river island, Majuli. We even deliver to Ladakh and Andaman – no mean feats! With Project Udaan, a wide network of Amazon’s offline associates is bringing online shopping’s diversity of choice through the known and trusted neighbourhood stores.