Stirring the ancestral pot

KOCHI: While on a visit to her grandparent’s house in Tiruvalla early last year, 26-year-old Kaviya Cherian noticed a stark difference between the way her grandmother cooked in her traditional Kerala kitchen versus how dishes were made at her comparatively modern home in Kochi. What Kaviya’s grandmother prepared in her heirloom vessels was markedly more tastier than dishes made usingnon-stick cookware she was accustomed to.

On cursory research, Kaviya found that traditional Indian utensils were dying a slow death across the country to be replaced by environmentally-hazardous machine-manufactured kitchenware. An actuarial analyst who had quit her job in Mumbai to pursue a path more fulfilling, Kaviya realised she had found her calling. Within a few month, bang in the middle of the pandemic, she launched Green Heirloom, a sustainable and organic cookware brand that works with traditional artisans across India to offer exquisit long-lasting products. 

“I worked a corporate job for a year-and-a-half but I soon realised that sitting at the desk and crunching numbers was not my cup of tea. After the stay at my grandparent’s, I observed that utensils used back in the day are no more accessible to us. We can’t buy them from a shop. That made me start Green Heirloom in August 2020,” says Kaviya who bootstrapped her venture. 

Less than six months into its operation, the brand offers a range of cookware including brass uralis, clay pots, cast iron tavas, skillets and Longpi pottery made from black stone by artisans in Manipur. Apart from cookware, the website also lists banana fiber table mats, tamarind wood chopping boards and soap stone mortar and pestles, all sourced ethically.

“We started off with cast iron, clay and stone products. But soon, our customers approached us for brass vessels. Slowly, we expanded our range and began sourcing from not just Kerala and Tamil Nadu but also other states including those in the north east. I am currently working with artisans in Meghalaya to launch a new line,” adds Kaviya whose team comprises three other employees.

While some products are custom-made by artisans for Green Heirloom, the brand also purchases pre-made items from cooperative societies. “Our clay products are from Palakkad and Aluva while stoneware is from a couple based in Salem in Tamil Nadu. Cast iron items are from a small society in Madurai. For brass and bronze vessels, I have associated with a family in Mannar, Alappuzha which still crafts the products in the traditional way,” says Kaviya who is on a mission to bring global recognition to traditional kitchenware of the country.

With big plans in the pipeline, Kaviya wants to diversify into cutlery in the near future. “We are in the process of breaking even. Once we do that, I intend to come up with a profit sharing model with artisans and communities I source from,”she says.Shop from the brand via website www.greenheirloom.in