NON-PROFIT TRUST Registered Public Charitable Trust • Barabanki, UP • Official Domain: dharatantu.org
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DharaTantu Trust
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SUSTAINABLE TEXTILE TOURISM

Where Every Thread
Has a Story.

Sustainable textile tourism, from village looms to global wardrobes.

Connecting rural handloom weaving and regenerative farming communities in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand with designers, conscious brands, and curious travellers through one transparent, end-to-end craft ecosystem.

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3 Regional Clusters (UP & UK)
100% Fibre-to-Finish Traceability
Direct Artisan Livelihood Impact
Master weaver at traditional handloom pit loom in Mailairaiganj Barabanki
Mailairaiganj Centre Barabanki, Uttar Pradesh • Traditional Pit Loom
“

Experience the craft where it begins, alongside the hands that preserve it.

Soil to Loom

Regenerative natural fibres nurtured in living soils

Artisan Dignity

Fair living wages & women-led rural micro-enterprises

Radical Transparency

Direct maker visibility without exploitative intermediaries

Textile Tourism

Direct visitor earnings staying within village families

ABOUT DHARATANTU TRUST

Connecting Village Looms to
Global Wardrobes.

“DharaTantu Trust connects rural weaving and farming communities in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand with designers, brands and travellers through one transparent, end-to-end textile chain.”

We help designers develop, co-create and produce in one place. We also invite visitors to experience the craft where it begins. By linking regenerative agriculture with timeless Indian handloom craftsmanship, we build a resilient economic foundation for rural artisan households.

Unlike fragmented industrial supply lines, DharaTantu creates a closed-loop ecosystem where designers work directly at source, consumers understand the human journey of their garments, and farming families reap the full economic reward of their soil and skills.

For Designers & Brands

Develop, co-create, and sample at source with our master weavers, natural dye lab, and technical production support.

Explore Co-Creation

For Travellers & Visitors

Immerse in village traditions, stay with weaving families, dye your own cloth, and contribute directly to community livelihoods.

Discover Immersions
Natural dye workshop co-creation with international designer and artisan master
CO-CREATION AT SOURCE

Mailairaiganj Open Dye Yard: Natural indigo, madder root, and wild marigold dyeing residency.

Registered Public Trust

Operated with strict non-profit governance, audited social accounts, and direct artisan equity models.

OUR APPROACH

Land • Hands • Chain

A three-pillar framework for ecological rejuvenation, dignified rural livelihoods, and uninterrupted traceability.

01
FOUNDATION

LAND

Regenerating fibre-growing landscapes and natural resources

We work with smallholder farmers to restore soil microbiome, eliminate toxic pesticides, and cultivate native mountain nettle, hemp, and non-GMO organic cotton through regenerative agroforestry.

  • Non-toxic soil regeneration & biochar infusion
  • Himalayan hemp & nettle wild fibre conservation
  • Groundwater preservation & natural rainfall catchment
Key Focus Restoring living soils from the Gangetic plains to Himalayan foothills.
02
LIVELIHOODS

HANDS

Raising incomes and dignity for artisans, farmers and women's groups

Preserving generational craft knowledge while guaranteeing living wages, women-led micro-enterprises, fair price premiums, and healthcare safety nets for weaving and spinning families.

  • Women's Self-Help Groups (SHGs) spinning collectives
  • Master weaver heritage documentation & mentoring
  • Direct bank-transfer earnings eliminating intermediaries
Key Focus Economic autonomy & community leadership for rural women.
03
INTEGRITY

CHAIN

A traceable path from fibre to finished product, with visitors welcomed along the way

A single unbroken pathway where every yard of fabric is linked to its farm and weaver, while travellers, brands, and designers are actively welcomed to witness every production step in person.

  • Complete provenance mapping from farm GPS to garment
  • Open-door policy: on-site physical audits for brand partners
  • Experiential tourism integrated into the living supply chain
Key Focus Radical open-source craft transparency & provenance.
CURATED CRAFT EXPERIENCES

Sustainable Textile Tourism

“Visit the farm, meet the spinner, dye with the weaver, and take home a piece you helped make.”

Every visit pays directly into local livelihoods. We invite you into our village homes and studios not as a passive observer, but as a collaborative participant in India's living handloom renaissance.

View Centres
Sitapur women weavers spinning charkha threads and weaving together
100%
of tourism booking revenue directly funds community weaver welfare & training
CULTURAL HOMESTAY

Village Immersions

Stay in the community and learn the craft.

Reside in traditional rural village lodgings in Barabanki or Sitapur. Wake up to the rhythm of the wooden pit loom, learn to gin and spin cotton on a portable charkha, gather marigold flowers for herbal dye pots, and share farm-fresh Awadhi vegetarian meals cooked on earthen chulhas.

2 to 5 Days Solo & Small Groups (Max 8)
  • Hands-on pit loom weaving instruction
  • Natural dye workshop with local master dyers
  • Take home your own hand-woven stole or textile panel
CO-CREATION RESIDENCY

Designer Residencies

Co-create collections at source.

An intensive studio immersion for sustainable fashion designers, textile artists, and creative directors. Work side-by-side with master weavers at our Mailairaiganj studio to engineer custom weave structures, test plant-based dye palettes, sample yardage, and develop capsule collections with production support.

1 to 4 Weeks Custom Sampling Support
  • Dedicated pit loom setup & dedicated master weaver
  • Full access to natural dye lab & swatch development
  • Seamless transition into ethical batch production
SUPPLY CHAIN AUDIT

Buyer Journeys

See the full supply chain for yourself.

Designed for brand founders, ethical sourcing managers, and wholesale buyers seeking verified provenance. Walk the organic fields, meet the women's spinning groups, inspect quality control standards, and verify social compliance directly on the ground.

1 to 3 Days ESG & Traceability Verification
  • Complete farm-to-product process walk-through
  • Transparent price-breakdown & artisan compensation audit
  • Contract negotiation and seasonal sourcing calendar
OUR GRASSROOTS FOOTPRINT

Our Projects & Regional
Artisan Clusters.

From the fertile Gangetic weaving corridors of Uttar Pradesh to the high Himalayan mountain valleys of Uttarakhand, we anchor our initiatives in authentic regional traditions.

Barabanki Mailairaiganj Textile Hub & Design Studio Barabanki, Uttar Pradesh 01
Textile hub and visitor base

1. Barabanki Hub

Home of our Mailairaiganj centre: design studio, production and training. This is where designers co-create and visitors begin their journey.

Active Weavers [ 120+ Weavers ]
Women Workforce [ 68% Women ]
Facilities Studio • Dye Vats • Training
Champawat Uttarakhand mountain farmers harvesting Himalayan nettle and hemp Champawat, Uttarakhand 02
Hill fibres and natural materials

2. Champawat Foothills

Working with mountain farmers and artisans on natural and hemp-based fibres, linking their traditional skills to global markets.

Hill Farmers [ 250+ Farmers ]
Mountain Villages [ 14 Villages ]
Fibres Wild Nettle • Himalayan Hemp
Sitapur Uttar Pradesh handloom heritage weaving collective Sitapur, Uttar Pradesh 03
Handloom heritage and rural enterprise

3. Sitapur Cluster

Building skills, group enterprises and market access for weaving families, revitalising traditional coarse and fine cotton pit looms.

Artisan Families [ 180+ Artisans ]
Active Clusters [ 6 Clusters ]
Speciality Handloom Heritage • Khadi
END-TO-END CRAFT LIFECYCLE

Fibre to Fashion

One partner, full transparency, and every maker visible.

Fibre Spin Weave Dye Design Market Visitor Experience
STAGE 01 OF 07 • Regenerative Agriculture

Fibre: Regenerative Cultivation & Wild Harvesting

Sourced from chemical-free organic cotton fields in Uttar Pradesh and wild-harvested Himalayan nettle and hemp from the high-altitude terraced landscapes of Champawat, Uttarakhand. Free of synthetic pesticides and toxic chemical fertilisers.

Origin Location Champawat, UK & Regional UP Fields
Makers Involved Smallholder Organic & Mountain Farmers
Traceability Level 100% Geo-tagged Field Origin
Fibre and healthy soil stage
Champawat & UP Living Soils Provenance
MEASURABLE COMMITMENTS

Impact Targets
(Next 5 Years)

DharaTantu Trust operates under rigorous annual social impact metrics to guarantee long-term ecological balance and artisan prosperity.

01
1,500+

Artisans & Farmers

Engage artisans and farming households across 3 core focus districts in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

Across Barabanki, Sitapur & Champawat
02
+65%

Household Income Rise

Raise rural artisan and farming family incomes above conventional baseline, eliminating middleman deductions.

Direct Bank Transfer Verification
03
70%

Women's Workforce

Place the majority of the spinning, weaving, and leadership workforce as women through self-help enterprise groups.

Women-Led Micro-Enterprises
04
500+

Visitors & Designers Each Year

Welcome conscious travellers, students, fashion brands, and international designers through our immersive tourism residencies.

Direct Immersion Economy
05
3,500+

Acres Under Regeneration

Bring acres or hectares under verified regenerative practices, restoring biodiversity, water tables, and organic matter.

Zero Synthetic Chemicals
06
100%

Traceable Fibre to Finish

Trace 100% of all textiles, stoles, yardage, and products from verified seed/fibre origin directly to finished garment.

Digital Provenance Passport
STRATEGIC COLLABORATION

Partner With Us

Whether you are an impact investor, ethical fashion brand, or independent textile designer, DharaTantu provides a verified, turn-key rural ecosystem with direct production and tourism infrastructure.

Investors

Livelihoods • Regeneration • Tourism

Back a scalable rural textile model that combines sustainable livelihoods, environmental regeneration, and recurring tourism income. Join our blended finance capital stack to expand spinning infrastructure, pit-loom clusters, and visitor lodgings.

  • Measurable ESG & SDG returns (SDG 1, 5, 8, 12, 13)
  • Dual revenue streams: ethical textile supply & craft tourism
  • Transparent governance under 12A/80G charitable trust format
MOST REQUESTED

Buyers & Brands

Traceable, Ethical Handlooms

Source traceable, ethical textiles with genuine human stories you can share with your customers. Secure seasonal yardage, private-label homewares, and customized handwoven fabrics directly from artisan clusters with full audit trails.

  • Seed-to-seam documentation and artisan portrait assets
  • Consistent quality control & certified natural herbal dyes
  • On-site factory and village audit access for your CSR team

Designers

Co-Create at Source

Co-create at source with production support built in. Prototype new weave structures, develop proprietary plant dye hues, and oversee small-batch sampling directly at our Mailairaiganj studio alongside master artisans.

  • Dedicated loom and pattern master during your residency
  • Small batch minimum order quantities (MOQs) for young labels
  • Technical studio assistance, washing, finishing & packaging

Download DharaTantu Trust Concept Note & Detailed Roadmap

Explore our complete operational methodology, cluster locations, capital requirements, and 5-year social impact framework.

Contact Team
GET IN TOUCH

Connect With Us

Whether planning a village immersion, seeking ethical textile partnership, or wishing to visit our Mailairaiganj weaving hub, we welcome your dialogue.

Headquarters & Visitor Centre:

DharaTantu Trust
Village-Poorab, Sahri, Mailairaiganj,
Barabanki, Uttar Pradesh – 225412, India

Email Enquiries:

contact@dharatantu.org
info@dharatantu.org

Artisan Hub Phone:

+91 94520 18820 / +91 5248 297110

Travel Directions:

45 minutes from Lucknow Airport (LKO) and 30 minutes from Barabanki Junction Railway Station.

Send Us a Direct Message

Fill in the form below and our team at Mailairaiganj centre will respond within 24 hours.