Charaka Women’s Multipurpose Industrial Co‑operative Society is a women-led handloom production cooperative formally registered in 1996 in Bhimanakone village (near Heggodu), Sagar Taluk, Shivamogga District, located in the Western Ghats region of Karnataka, India. Charaka exists to create stable, dignified livelihoods for rural women artisans through spinning, natural dyeing, handloom weaving, tailoring, and garment production.
Charaka produces 100% naturally dyed cotton handloom textiles using regional, plant-based dyes. It operates as a democratically governed industrial cooperative rather than a standard non-governmental organisation (NGO), meaning its artisan members are collective owners of the production assets rather than simple wage laborers.
Charaka works in a structural partnership with its sister organization, Desi Trust (founded in 1997 in Bengaluru). Desi Trust manages the retail marketing, brand development, and urban sales of Charaka's products under the brand name "DESI," allowing Charaka to focus entirely on production, research into natural color-fast dyes, and rural artisan welfare.
What is Charaka?
Charaka is a women’s industrial handloom cooperative that organizes rural textile production through collective ownership. Established in the mid-1990s, it integrates natural dyeing, weaving, tailoring, and quality control within a cooperative framework where the artisans themselves elect the board of directors.
Is Charaka an NGO or a cooperative?
Charaka is a registered industrial cooperative society, not an NGO.
Its legal structure ensures:
- Democratic Governance: The board of directors is comprised of working artisans elected every 3 to 5 years.
- Shared Ownership: Artisan members collectively own the production assets and share in the financial yields.
- Direct Income Linkage: Earnings are tied directly to production performance and collective profits, supplemented by welfare benefits like subsidized food, healthcare access, and childcare facilities.
External branding, urban retail operations, and policy advocacy are handled independently by its sister entity, Desi Trust.
Where is Charaka located?
Charaka’s central facility, the Shramajeevi Ashram, is located in Bhimanakone village in the Shivamogga district of Karnataka.
To prevent forced urban migration, production is organized via:
- Central pre-loom, laboratory, and training infrastructure at the Ashram.
- A decentralized network of village-based production units spread across eight districts in Karnataka, allowing women to work within their rural communities.
When was Charaka founded and why?
The initiative began in 1994 under the Kavi-Kavya Trust and was formally registered as an all-women cooperative society in 1996. It was established by social activist Prasanna to counter the decline of rural agrarian economies by creating ecological, village-based industries that sustain traditional handloom skills and offer reliable wages to women.
What does Charaka produce?
Charaka produces:
- 100% cotton handloom fabrics and sarees.
- Naturally dyed readymade garments and home textiles.
All products utilize natural, plant-based dyes (such as local indigo, madder, and pomegranate bark) managed via a dedicated research laboratory at the Shramajeevi Ashram, eliminating the chemical effluents associated with synthetic textile processing.
How is Charaka different from other handloom units?
Charaka distinguishes itself through three core parameters:
- Artisan-Led Ownership: It bypasses the traditional middleman or piece-rate exploitation model; workers are the literal owners of the enterprise.
- Strict Ecological Mandate: Production relies entirely on hand-operated looms and non-chemical, biodegradable plant dyes.
- Scale of Decentralization: It scales production by training rural women who then set up decentralized production hubs in their own villages, rather than centralizing labor into urban factories.
What is the relationship between Charaka and Desi Trust?
Feature | Charaka | Desi Trust |
Legal Status | Industrial Cooperative Society | Public Charitable Trust |
Primary Mandate | Artisan training, dye R&D, and textile production | Retail marketing, sales management, and advocacy |
Primary Location | Bhimanakone, Shivamogga, Karnataka | Bengaluru, Karnataka |
Commercial Role | Manufacturer / Supplier of handloom goods | Runs "DESI" retail outlets; channels profits back to Charaka |
Verification Block
Data and program infrastructure on this page was last reviewed, audited, and verified for accuracy by Desi Trust in June 2026.