Angana Bordoloi is a textile designer, environmentalist, and social entrepreneur dedicated to preserving Assam’s indigenous textile heritage. As the founder of Kiron Foundation, an Assam-based NGO, she champions sustainable, forest-dependent textiles while empowering rural artisans and farmers. Her work brings together traditional craftsmanship with ecological responsibility, offering an antidote to fast fashion’s environmental toll.
A nature lover at heart, Angana’s vision for Kiron Foundation emerged in 2016 to uplift marginalised artisan communities in Majuli, the world’s largest river island. Recognising the decline of age-old practices like sericulture, natural dye farming, and handloom weaving, she created a platform that honours these skills while fostering sustainable livelihoods. Today, her initiative supports over 250 artisans, reviving organic cotton farming, mulberry cultivation (for Eri silk), and natural dye production with plants like indigo and turmeric.
Kiron Foundation’s ethos centres on zero-carbon textile production, rejecting synthetic materials in favour of earth-friendly alternatives. By reintroducing traditional methods—from pesticide-free farming to hand-spinning and weaving—Angana ensures each step minimises environmental harm. The foundation has planted over 50,000 native plants, including mulberry and cassava, combating soil erosion in Majuli while securing raw materials for green textiles.
Beyond sustainability, Angana prioritises cultural preservation and equitable growth. Her model connects artisans directly with markets, ensuring fair wages and recognition for their craftsmanship. From farm to fabric, Kiron’s supply chain champions ethical production, blending heritage with contemporary relevance.
Angana’s work has positioned her as a pioneer in India’s slow-fashion movement. Through workshops and advocacy, she educates consumers about conscious choices, proving that style need not come at the planet’s expense.
Q. What prompted you to become a textile designer?
I hail from Assam, where the handloom and textile culture have been popular for centuries and are common in every household. Growing up, I was surrounded by this handloom culture from childhood. I remember the stories my father often shared about my grandparents, who began their textile journey in the 1950s alongside 300 local women weavers. Looking back, I realise that the seeds of my interest in textiles were unknowingly planted during those early years. This passion later grew, shaping me not only into a textile designer but also someone committed to developing an earth-friendly and rural-based textile industry.
Q. How would you describe your signature design aesthetic, and how has it evolved while working in India?
My design signature captures the essence of traditional textiles, blending them with contemporary patterns—whether through colour, motif placement, or apparel design. India’s diverse ethnic culture holds endless lessons and wisdom to explore and understand. The deeper we delve into it, the more we evolve over time.
Q. What influences and inspires your current work? Could you share some movements, designers, or elements of Indian culture that have shaped your practice?
My current work draws inspiration from the rich community textiles of Northeast India—deeply rooted in cultural heritage, forests, and the profound blessings of Mother Nature. Working with tribal communities naturally complements this essence.
Q. Could you walk us through your creative process? How do you move from initial concept to final execution?
It begins with ideas that take shape through rough sketches—exploring fabric textures (weaving styles/patterns), motifs, and their placement. These evolve into a first draft, which we then review with our master weavers and dyers, refining colour combinations and technical details. Based on their insights, we create a second draft with adjusted dimensions. Another round of discussions follows, where we note any overlooked practicalities, assess feasibility, and finalise adjustments. Only then do we proceed with the third and final draft, ready for weaving.
Q. Your work often involves collaborations with artisans and other creatives. What draws you to these partnerships, and how do these collaborations enrich your design practice?
Collaboration, by definition, embodies the collective participation of thoughts, ideas, and activities—integrating diverse perspectives, market insights, current trends, and textile traditions.
When confined to a single habitat, we and our artisans remain limited to the cultural and architectural influences of that space alone. But through collaboration, our horizons expand. Our artisans gain recognition, their craft reaches wider audiences, and we collectively learn, refine our techniques, and innovate, constantly inspired to create something fresh and meaningful.
This is why I champion collaboration: to forge a progressive future where every participant thrives—artisans, creatives, places, and communities—fostering harmony, happiness, and shared growth.
Q. Looking back at your portfolio, which project represents a significant turning point in your career, and among your recent works, what project are you most proud of and why?
My journey began in 2016, and in 2017, I discovered the International Folk Art Market (IFAM) in Santa Fe. After applying, I was invited to participate in 2019—an experience that profoundly shaped my path toward working with and for nature. IFAM opened doors to indigenous, sustainable, and art-friendly textile practices that resonate deeply with my values.
Recently, I’ve been passionately reviving a nearly lost textile: The Gado/Mirisim, a handwoven cotton blanket. The challenge—and the thrill—lies in bridging generations: collaborating with elder artisans who hold this craft’s pride and wisdom, while inspiring younger generations to carry it forward.
This textile is a treasure, a testament to skill and dedication. Yet, the disconnect between generations is real—while elders cherish it, many youths today lack interest. That’s what makes this revival so meaningful: fostering harmony between generations and reawakening a forgotten art feels both beautiful and historic.
Q. What unique challenges and opportunities have you encountered as an emerging designer in the Indian design industry, and how are you working to overcome these obstacles?
From a broader perspective, machine intervention—with its endless synthetic dye variations, weaving patterns, and cheap mass-produced fabrics—fuels fast fashion. In contrast, our hand-spun, naturally dyed yarns and traditionally woven textiles embody slow, sustainable living. This tension between fast and sustainable practices presents not just a challenge, but an opportunity: How can we transform this divide into creative potential?
For us, design becomes an elevated act of revival. We build upon ancestral foundations—time-honoured weaving techniques and designs—but thoughtfully adapt them for the modern era. The result? Pieces that carry the soul of tradition with a contemporary finish, blending heritage’s depth with today’s aesthetic.
Q. How do you approach sustainability and eco-friendly practices in your designs, particularly considering India’s traditional wisdom and contemporary environmental challenges?
Our work is deeply connected to the forest, relying on its resources and the traditional practices of the indigenous people. We strictly adhere to natural processes—hand-spinning, hand-reeling, and using natural dyes—while weaving on handlooms in our location, Majuli. Our expertise comes from generations of hands-on experience, enriched with traditional wisdom. We draw design motifs from nature (inspired by the Mishing tribes) while incorporating contemporary design standards and principles to produce high-quality, sustainable textiles.
Q. What’s your most exciting recent design or art discovery that’s influencing your current thinking?
Project – Gado/Mirisim: A Handwoven Cotton Blanket
We’re thrilled to collaborate with two generations of artisans—elders aged 90+ and the younger generation (25-35 years old)—creating a vibrant exchange of traditional wisdom and contemporary perspectives. Witnessing this knowledge transfer firsthand is deeply inspiring.
Through careful intervention, we’ve unlocked exciting design possibilities, blending ancestral techniques with modern innovation. This project not only honours the legacy of the Mishing tribes but also opens new creative and economic opportunities for sustainable textiles.
Q. How do you build visibility and reach out to potential clients – what platforms and strategies have worked best for you?
Our most effective strategies include exhibitions, pop-up shows, awareness camps, and demonstration-sales events, where potential clients—both individual buyers and B2B partners—can see, touch, and understand the craftsmanship behind our fabrics.
After these in-person interactions, we connect with them through Facebook, Instagram, and our website, where we regularly share:
- Live weaving processes
- Weavers’ lifestyles and stories
- New product updates
This digital engagement helps visitors relate the fabrics they see at exhibitions to the craftsmanship they’ve witnessed online. Over time, this approach also helps us attract new clients organically, creating a sustainable cycle of awareness and appreciation for our work.
Q. From your experience, what are the crucial dos and don’ts for young designers trying to establish themselves in India, and what professional forums or communities would you recommend they join?
Do’s:
a) Be honest, true, & transparent about the raw materials used in the product.
b) Stick to the basics of design and be original in your work.
c) Sustainable and nature-friendly fabrics always flourish and give slow, steady, happy, prosperous progress.
d) Kaizen – Accept the faults, rework, and execute.
Don’ts:
a) Don’t exaggerate your work.
b) Don’t make false promises.
c) Don’t go beyond the acceptable limits.
d) Don’t be unfair to the workers/team you are working with.
Q. As you look ahead, what kind of projects or directions would you like to explore?
Nature-related. Looking forward, I wish to explore the profound artwork of our ancestors, who worked in harmony with nature, absolutely pure, handcrafted (no machines), yet the outcome was the finest artwork ever, which can’t be replaced or replicated by any machine. We wish to work to preserve that knowledge and techniques, which might be on the verge of getting lost or have been passed on through generations, to live a sustainable life.
Q. For aspiring designers looking to make their mark in India’s design landscape, what wisdom would you share from your journey?
As I hold onto my roots in Assam, I feel designs & textures are everywhere around us, and nature is the best inspiration. Interweave creatively, apply the basics, and build your own design portfolio.
Cushion Cover. Courtesy of Kiron Foundation
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