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Centuries-Old Craft Revived: Soapstone Pots Make a Comeback
1 Nov
Summary
- Crafts Council of India helped revive the centuries-old kalchatti (soapstone cooking pots) craft
- Artisan Ramaswamy trained to use a lathe and introduce innovative methods for lighter, thinner pots
- Kalchatti found new buyers, especially after the pandemic, as people rediscovered traditional cookware
As of November 2025, the Crafts Council of India (CCI) has been working to revive centuries-old crafts across the country. One such success story is the revival of the kalchatti (soapstone cooking pots) in Tamil Nadu.
In the 1990s, with sales dwindling, the kalchatti makers approached the CCI for help. The council identified an artisan named Ramaswamy who had learned the craft from his father and began working with him. The traditional process of making the vessels was laborious, so the CCI trained Ramaswamy to work with a lathe and introduced innovative methods for producing vessels with thinner, lighter walls. This made the tedious work easier and faster, allowing Ramaswamy to scale up production.
The CCI also helped with marketing, finding alternate uses for the stone by creating tableware products. Over time, the kalchatti found new buyers, especially after the pandemic, when people rediscovered the value of traditional cookware.
The kalchatti revival is just one of the many crafts revived by the CCI, which celebrated its 60th anniversary this week. The council has been working to revive, sustain, and promote all kinds of crafts, with a focus on empowering artisan communities and adapting traditional designs to suit modern needs.
