In Sumraser, India, a centre of craft revolution is making its mark, stitch by stitch. The Kala Raksha Trust was founded in 1993 as a not-for-profit initiative, under the guidance of American social entrepreneur Judy Frater and indigenous artisan Parakash Bhanani. They shared a vision to preserve the rich, traditional crafts of Kutch, which were being undervalued and at risk of slipping away from society.

The purple snail (Plicopurpura pansa) inhabits the rocky shores of the Pacific coast, from Baja California to Peru. It produces an ink that turns purple when oxidized, which has been used since pre-Hispanic times to dye textiles. During the 1980s, massive exploitation bed to the near extinction of the species in Oaxaca. Thanks to the efforts of the Mixtec dyers from Pinotepa de Don Luis and specialists such as Marta Turok, these activities were stopped, and the Mixtec people were legally recognized as the only ones authorized to extract the dye in a sustainable way.

As you drive out southwest of Jaipur, toward Bagru, away from urban city bustle, the bright sights and sounds fading into a wide expanse of rural farmland, fresh air, roaming herds of cattle, antelope, and camels, birds sweeping the sky – a sense of calm takes its place. It’s here, on the periphery, that you will find the workshop of Wabisabi Project – a studio devoted to preserving the legacy of traditional block printing and natural dyes. 

Our trip patches pay homage to our textile roots while offering a meaningful, collectible keepsake for each trip. Launching them as part of our 10th anniversary feels like a beautiful way to celebrate both our past and our ongoing commitment to enriching the experiences we offer.

Trip participant and textile artist Jessie Mordine Young shares an in depth account of our homestay in the Rif Mountains, creating ceramics with Mama Aicha and her family.

Photos by Kate Berry for Thread Caravan.

A Guatemalan textile glossary created by our friends at Casa Flor Designs. As cultural mediators, they help artisans and designers understand each other, show mutual respect and work together with clarity. This glossary is meant to be a resource to better understand the complexities of Guatemalan textiles: the tools and processes required to make them, the parts that comprise them, and how to speak about them appropriately and with respect.

We know a long flight can sometimes be a travel deterrent. So, we caught up with some of our favorite frequent travelers to ask their tips for making the most of the long journeys.

To show our gratitude for guest loyalty, we are very pleased to launch our Frequent Traveler Program. Guests who attend 5 trips receive a discount code for 15% off all future trips.

We set down with Angtak and Catherine, founders of KAL and our partners in Ladakh, India, to learn more about their how they infuse the slow nature of textile practices into their rural life in the Himalayas. | Photos by Nabina Nazar.

Katyi Ya’a is an artisan collective in San Juan Colorado, Oaxaca, that preserves Mixtec cultural heritage by creating textiles from native, rain-fed cotton, using traditional methods like hand-spinning with drop spindles and weaving on backstrap looms. This cotton, grown without chemicals by local farmers, supports agroecological practices and sustains a deep connection between land, craft, and community through labor-intensive, skillful processes from seed removal to intricate brocade weaving.

In this post, we speak with Ola Kawalko and Adrián Martínez Marí, the partners behind Mallorca-based artisan project Accidente Con Flores to learn about craft practices on the island.

During our inaugural trip to Mallorca, we reached out to the creatives behind artist-forward California-based brand Beklina. 

We’re long time fans of Beklina, and we were thrilled at the opportunity to take some of their pieces to Mallorca with us – to adorn ourselves on the rocky Mediterranean shores, and spread the word about their creations to our community. 

An exploration of henna pigment extraction during a natural dyes workshop with Ahmed in southern Morocco. Written by Maria Jose Gomez and photographed by Andrea Tamayo for Thread Caravan.

Ahmed lleva tres años tinturando con henna, un tinte natural que proviene del árbol de henna y que crece en el mismo lugar donde él nació, Zagora, en el sureste de Marruecos. Ahmed hoy en día vive cerca de Marrakech y aunque está lejos de su ciudad natal, de alguna forma fue acá donde se reconecto con su territorio, a partir del proceso de la tintura y la materialidad. 

Some of us at Thread Caravan have been working through The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron, and it has opened up space for reflection on what it means to live a creative life. Here we share some of our reflections, and invite you to walk this creative path..

Photographer Nabina Nazar recently spent time in Ladakh, India to document the region’s textile processes with our partners KAL. Nabina was gracious enough to share some of her photos with us. These images tell a visual story of the rich history of the region, at the base of the Himalayan mountains, where life is connected to the seasons and textiles are still created by hand.

If you find these photos inspiring, you can join us for a textile tour in Ladakh this year.

In Santiago Niltepec, a quiet town in Oaxaca’s Isthmus region, indigo thrives under the intense sun, grown and processed using centuries-old, chemical-free methods. Visitors during the annual féria cultural del añil can witness the full dyeing process, from early morning harvests to fermentation in historic pilas. This experience offers a deeper connection to the rich heritage of indigo and the people who continue its tradition.

On the coast of Oaxaca you can find wild cotton plants, which have been growing freely for more than 10,000 years and heirloom cotton plants which have been continuously cultivated in the region for more than 4,000 years. Here, we share more about the cooperatives responsible for stewarding the land and working with the fiber.

This March 2025, we are excited to be receiving our fourth round of residents in our group residency program, hosted in collaboration with TEXERE.

This sessions residents include: Nicole Castillo, Sadie Clarendon, Lella Crystal, Malaury Eloi Paisley, Mayssa Kanaan, Raina Lee, Francine Milagros, Isabella Morrison, Hope Okere and Alida Rodrigues.

Himanshu Verma is an arts curator, artist, and independent scholar based in Jaipur. He leads heritage walks across the country and is the founder of Red Earth, an independent arts organisation that works with Indian contemporary visual art, design as well as diverse forms of cultural expression. Here, he discussed Jaipur’s best kept secret: Vastu.