Hariyaben was born in Thar Patiya, Pakistan, and migrated to India when she was 8. Her family lived in Bakasar camp in Rajasthan, and in 1980 they came to Sumrasar. Hariyaben learned stitching from her mother. Before she understood the value of tradition, she sold her old work, for nothing. But she has used what she remembers at Kala Raksha. Hariyaben is a founder Kala Raksha artisan, and a Trustee. She has been a tailor at Kala Raksha, and Head of the Design Committee. She supervised the replication of museum pieces, attended many design workshops, and taught suf embroidery and narrative work.

“A good artisan must love the work,” she says, “and have new ideas. Good design speaks itself.” Hariyaben did suf work until the earthquake of 2001, after which she left it for appliqué and patchwork. In 2009, she attended Kala Raksha Vidhyalaya. “I didn’t know anything about outsiders’ taste,” she says. “At KRV we learn from each other. And the main thing is that we can talk about our work.” Hariyaben’s innovative appliqué garments won the award for Most Marketable Collection of 2009.

Hariyaben has served as a mentor at Kala Raksha Vidhyalaya, and an advisor to incoming students.  She participated in workshops to develop products inspired by Kala Raksha’s Museum Collections. She represented Kala Raksha artisans at the launch of the Artisan Design label in Delhi in 2011 and served as a design intern in 2012.