Lac has been used in Indian craft for centuries.  The Certeria lacta, an insect indigenous to Kachchh as well as other parts of India, secretes a shielding resin to protect itself and its eggs.  This resin, called lac, is collected from Babul trees, heated, and mixed with groundnut oil and pigments to form a thick, opaque, decorative wood coating known as lacquer.

There are few remaining lac turned wood artisans in Kachchh.

A handful of families from Kachchh’s semi-nomadic Vadha community settled in craft villages like Nirona and Jura where they use the technical and artistic skills of their forefathers to sustain the lac turned wood craft tradition.  The Vadhas traditionally moved and worked, where needed, throughout villages bordering Kachchh’s Great Rann.  They carved and coloured wooden furniture and household accessories for many local communities.

Lac turned wood is practiced using simple tools, a self-made lathe, a string attached to a bow, and sticks of coloured lac.  Artisans work at simple lathe-like contraptions built into the ground in the centre of their village and use an array of chisels and varying degrees of pressure to carve the wood into functional and decorative forms and coated with colourful lacquered designs.

Functional and decorative forms coated with colourful lacquered designs.

There is a wide variety of products that are shaped and decorated by Kachchh’s lac turned wood artisans.  The most commonly crafted products are kitchen utensils including chaklo-velan (chapatti roller and board), chamcha (spoons), tavetha (spatulas), khaandni (mortar and pestle) and spice containers.  Artisans also produce attractive household items such as charpoy (bedsteads), bajot and maachi (stools of different heights), gothaniu (knee support when sitting cross-legged) and recreational items like toys, dangoro (walking sticks) and dandias, sticks, which are used in the region’s traditional folk dances.

For more information about Kachchh craft traditions, livelihoods,challenges and opportunities, read about KHAMIR's impact or hear craft stories from Kachchh artisans.