The Cocoon Foundation was set up in 2018 by my friends, Kiran Singh and Priya Singh. I was involved as a consultant to help them set it up. We were approached by the Government of Punjab to bring some of the traditional crafts from here, into the urban markets. While the government moved on with its tasks, it left the three of us with an urge to make this happen. Hence the foundation was set up. TCF looks for grants to aid the upliftment of the craftsman around the country through training programs, design intervention, skill upgradation and capacity building. 

To get this going, the three of us invested our own money and started to train women making bridal rugs, the khes or cotton blanket and the manjis or small cots. We started our journey in a little hamlet called Sangrur as Kiran lives there and our aim is to discover and empower as many artisans, mainly women from in and around Punjab, as many of the crafts from here, haven’t had the exposure that they need. 

The foundations primary goal is to generate funds through CSR and Government programs and private funding in order to help improve the lives of the last mile artisan around the country. While we don’t interfere with those artisans who are happy the way they are, we work with the ones, who see the benefits of expanding their markets for the sake of income as well as continuity of their craft through the younger generation.

Currently TCF is working with artisans of Punjab and Kerala.