In the Mundargi sub-district of Karnataka, India, the village of Jantli Sirur is famous for its khowdis (quilts) – and the women who make them. A group of thirty women in the village stitch their famed designs using leftover cloth from tailors, creating distinctive color patterns and visual stories for quilts and table runners. Jantli Sirur is traditionally an agricultural village, but the changing climate has brought increasing drought and low yields. Quilting provides an alternative source of income for families, as well as being an artistic leisure activity for many of the women. While using recycled materials creates novel challenges, as the pieces are of different sizes and do not easily align, the skill of the quilters is palpable. Their method of upcycling shows what can be learned from a decades-old practice and returning to traditional crafts to promote a circular economy.
