Sabhiben was born in Kukadsar. Her father farmed so she never experienced the traditional migration of her Rabari community,
and she could attend school til fourth grade, which was the limit of her village. Later, she learned more from Pabiben, who conducted
literacy classes through Kala Raksha’s basic education program. Thought she is confident in embroidery, Sabhiben feels that it is not
really her subject. She never learned traditional Dhebaria embroidery, because the elders of the community banned it for personal
use in 1995. She learned embroidery from her mother when Kala Raksha started a group in Kukadsar in 1998, and does not have
much experience with the range of traditional patterns.
Through Kala Raksha, Sabhiben attended a health camp in Kukadsar, and design workshops taught by Krishna Patel and the
Sumrasar appliqué artists. Her mother attended Kala Raksha Vidhyalaya last year, though she was not able to graduate. With her
mother’s encouragement, this year Sabhiben will learn design. I liked sourcing from the sea, the whole process. “We live by the sea,
but I never knew there were so many colours.”
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