OUR MISSION

Awalkhana Institute, an effort to promote ‘Everyday Heritage’, is powered by Neeman Initiatives Foundation (NIF), as a part of its commitment to support art and culture. The Awalkhana Institute is focused on developing, supporting and recognizing various form of everyday heritage existing amongst the diverse communities of India. ‘Awalkhana’, derived from Persian word for ‘first home’ aims to engage with artisans and communities in retaining their traditional skills and knowledge which contribute to the vast source of tangible and intangible forms of heritage and culture in India.

We believe that heritage in India, can be seen in our everyday lives, which comprises a legacy of tangible and intangible attributes of the past, inherited and conserved for future generations. ‘Everyday heritage’ is the heritage in the private domain of people, its tangible forms housed and locked in their households, kinship and families strung together by the intangible thread of memory, folklore, legends, myths and other such narratives. At Awalkhana, we focus on creating a discourse on development which intends on preserving the ‘everyday heritage’ by safeguarding the livelihoods, skills, and well-being of many engaged in production of such creative heritage and traditions; by adopting new paradigms of knowledge such as design thinking, social business, sustainability approaches, research, archiving, conservation and use of digital tools and technology.