About Wildpines Art
Wildpines Art believes in and appreciates the many art forms that nature has surrounded us with. As an enterprise shaped by artists, our eyes are trained to celebrate vivid colours, immense passion, and the dedication and hard work behind every piece of art. We strongly believe in promoting local art and handicrafts, with the aim of creating sustainable income opportunities for local artists and communities.
The enterprise is committed to taking local art to the world. We have witnessed the magic of plain fabrics transforming into intricately block-printed textiles, lumps of clay becoming charming figurines, and simple bags turning into beautiful hand-painted creations. These transformations reflect the creativity, skill, and stories of local artisans.
The idea of Wildpines Art as a social enterprise thrives because of your appreciation for local art and your support for the welfare of the communities behind it. Together, we can celebrate traditional craftsmanship, empower local artists, and help their art reach a wider audience.
About the Pardhi Community
Pardhis are a nomadic community, who since the time of the Mughal emperors, have been hired to help in shikar (hunting), whether it was for sport for the British or for the royal kitchens of the ‘zameendars’ (landowners). In fact, the crash in India's tiger population from some 100,000 at the beginning of the 20th century to only a couple of thousand by the end of it, has been attributed largely to this community.
The community's traditional occupation is hunting, just as their name suggests. In Marathi, the word ‘paradh’ translates as ‘to hunt.’ The extinction of tigers in Panna Tiger Reserve (Madhya Pradesh) by 2009 is said to be primarily owing to this community's activities inside the forests of Panna. Hence, while the tigers were being reintroduced in Panna, the Forest Department officials decided to work closely with this community and resettled almost 40 Pardhi families to a village outside the Tiger Reserve in a place known as Gandhigram.
They have also setup 2 hostels to aid the education of these children. Due to such efforts of mainstreaming, the cases of tiger poaching by Pardhis have dropped to ‘zero’ in the last 15 years in the Panna landscape.
