India

The vast subcontinent of India is a potpourri of ethnic, religious and cultural diversity. Various ethnic groups speak some 15 official languages (plus countless local dialects). Eastern religions dominate: 80 percent of the population is Hindu and 14 percent is Muslim; but India also has small Sikh and Christian minorities. Complicated social structures related to dowry and the caste system are observed in this nation.

The Himalayan Mountains, the world's highest, stretch across India's northern borders. Below the mountains is the wide, fertile Ganges Plain, one of the most densely populated regions of the world. India's population is the world's second largest (about one of every six people in the world lives in India). The pressures of a population growing at two percent annually have pushed millions of Indians into wretched living conditions.

Most Indians try to earn a living through rice farming, but craft production is also important. More than 28 million Indian artisans produce traditional handicrafts using time-honored methods.

A network of cooperatives markets a tremendous array of handicrafts produced by craftspeople throughout India. The cooperatives and export organizations market hand-made items including clothing, batik handicrafts, food products, brass and wood items, jewelry, block-printed tablecloths, carved and inlaid soapstone items, felt and cardboard Christmas ornaments, leather goods, hand-loomed bags and linens, brightly-colored dolls, assorted textiles, needlework, candles, greeting cards, palm leaf streamers, painted wood items, toys, games, key chains, scarves, decorative papier mache items and carved wood objects.

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