Saathi

Madhya Pradesh & Chhattisgarh


The admirable NGO Saathi provides crafts training and marketing help (through fair-trade organisations), and assistance in fields like health, education and hygiene, to more than 300 villages. It has workshops and a sales showroom on-site (with some fine bell metal and wrought iron pieces, from as little as ₹150) and can provide guides to visit area artisans (₹500 to ₹1000 per day) as well as tuition for one week or longer in bell metal, wrought iron, terracotta or woodcarving.

It's 77km north of Jagdalpur, just off the Raipur road. Head west along Hwy 130D about 3km north of Kondagaon, and within 1km you'll see the Saathi Samaj Sevi Sanstha sign. There's a clean basic guesthouse here with rooms for ₹500 to ₹600 and three vegetarian meals a day available for ₹250.