Shilpa Gurukula: A Novel CSR Initiative

Abstract

This paper is a case study of the Shilpa Gurukula, an art school for stone and wood carving and a creation of Cauvery Handicrafts (The Karnataka State Handicrafts Development Corporation better known by its popular sobriquet, Cauvery Handicrafts), a government owned corporation. What interest does Shilpa Gurukula hold for a scholar? Conventional scholarship associates CSR with the private corporate sector. But how does a public enterprise balance its largely commercial presence with a social developmental role? This is an area hitherto unexplored by CSR scholarship. The paper uses a case study methodology with a qualitative grounded theory approach to explore the formative process of the Gurukula. In addition, the utility of using a CSR approach for the preservation and dissemination of knowledge, rather than mere distribution of benefits, is also uncharted territory. By studying the process, and how constraints are faced and overcome, the paper aims to make recommendations for the design and implementation of unconventional CSR initiatives customized to transitional societies on the cusp of change.