Tokyo University of the Arts

Learning about Traditional Indian Crafts: The Crisis of Succession and Preservation in Modern Society "Likir Pottery"

This lecture, delivered by Rakesh Kumar of the National Institute of Design (NID) in India — a partner institution through the Inter-University Exchange Program (UK, Australia, India and Japan) — explores the challenges of preserving traditional crafts and the role design education can play in addressing them. Founded in 1961 on the basis of a report by American designers Charles and Ray Eames, NID offers practical design education across 16–17 disciplines, including ceramic and glass design. At the heart of the lecture is Likhir Pottery, a traditional craft from the remote mountain village of Likhir in the Ladakh region. The craft is characterized by distinctive methods such as clay wheels fixed in the ground and pit-firing using cow dung as fuel, but today only two or three potters remain in the village. The migration of men to cities and the resulting decline in livestock — and therefore in cow dung as fuel — pose a serious threat to the craft's survival. In response, NID's design team collaborated with the potters through workshops, developing a portable wheel, a low-cost DIY kiln made from a metal drum, and souvenir items aimed at the local tourism market. Rather than prescribing a single path forward, the team taught both traditional and modern gas-firing techniques, empowering the potters to make their own informed choices about the future of their craft.