Craft Boat is a handmade paper company based in Jaipur, India that makes products using recycled fabric remnants from garment manufacturing industries. They use traditional techniques to create designs on recycled cotton products, including block printing, marbling, and hand screen printing.
Natural dyes, such as indigo, tea, and turmeric, are used to give color and character to each piece. Craft Boat provides living income to craftspeople and hires people with disabilities. To date, thousands of pounds of clothing scraps have been recycled by Craft Boat, and over 20 people have received income or employment from Craft Boat’s work.
Meet Suraj
Suraj Meena joined Craft Boat in 2019. He became part of the team through a collaboration with an organization called Youth for Jobs, which specializes in providing job opportunities for disabled adults. Suraj is deaf and unable to speak, but his physical challenges have never stopped him from coming to work with a positive outlook and a smile for everyone he meets. His warm presence is felt by his co-workers. Since joining Craft Boat, Suraj has mastered the basic skills and is now developing paper products and screen printing. When asked what he enjoys the most, he smiles and signals to his paints and screens. Through his work, Suraj is proud to be able to
