It is hard to miss a Pabi Bag.

Bright ribbons run across its cotton surface, forming colourful patterns that immediately catch the eye. Look a little closer, though, and the bag reveals something more: a contemporary product carrying the visual language of Kutch’s Rabari embroidery — and the story of a craft that found a second life.

Today, Pabiben Rabari’s enterprise supports more than 300 women artisans, helping turn their traditional skills into an income-generating craft business. Her signature Hari Jari technique has travelled from the villages of Kutch to international markets, with her bags even making appearances in Bollywood and Hollywood films. 

But Pabiben’s journey did not begin with a business plan. It began with a craft that was slowly disappearing.

When embroidery was banned

Pabiben grew up in Kukadsar, a village in Kutch, surrounded by the intricate embroidery traditions of the Rabari community. She left school at a young age to help her widowed mother and began working with her hands. In 1998, she joined a women’s group where she trained as an artisan.

At the time, however, traditional Rabari embroidery was facing a major setback.

The Dhebaria Rabari community had banned women from doing traditional wedding embroidery in the 1990s. The elaborate handwork could take months, and community leaders believed that the time spent on it was contributing to delays in marriage. 

For a craft so deeply connected to the community’s identity, the restriction could have meant its gradual disappearance.

Instead, the women........

© The Better India