Pedana Kalamkari Craft Village

Pedana Kalamkari Craft Village is a traditional handloom and hand-block printing centre located in Pedana town, Krishna district, Andhra Pradesh, near Machilipatnam. It is renowned for the Machilipatnam Kalamkari, a GI-tagged textile art using natural dyes and hand-carved wooden blocks. The village comprises artisan workshops where visitors can observe printing, dyeing and washing processes that have been practiced for centuries and sustained by local artisan families.

Visitors can expect a cluster of small artisan workshops and homes where craftspeople demonstrate hand block printing on cotton fabrics. The setting is a rural town environment with open work areas, drying yards with fabrics laid out, wooden blocks, natural dye vats and washing areas. Visitors can walk between workshops, observe the sequential steps of printing, dyeing and washing, interact with artisans and view finished textiles and products on display for sale.

Pedana Kalamkari, known as Machilipatnam Kalamkari, developed as a hand block-printed textile tradition associated with the historic port town of Machilipatnam. The craft flourished under the Golconda Sultanate and later under Mughal patronage, with Persian-inspired motifs adapted to local techniques. It received Geographical Indication (GI) tag for Machilipatnam Kalamkari, recognizing its distinct method of using natural dyes and hand blocks practiced by artisan communities in Pedana for several centuries.

The village sustains a living craft community that preserves natural-dye block printing techniques passed through generations. The textiles feature traditional floral, paisley and figurative motifs and are culturally significant as a representative handcraft of Andhra Pradesh, supporting local artisan livelihoods and showcasing the region's textile heritage.