Shrujan began modestly as a small project sponsored by members of the extended Shroff family.

In 1969, Kutch experienced a particularly severe drought. Chandaben Shroff went there to assist with a famine relief project. During this trip, she realized that the rural women excelled at the local art of embroidery.

This culture of embroidery has been handed down from mother to daughter for generations immemorial. Each tribal group and community in the area has it’s own particular style of embroidery, and lexicon of stitches and motifs.

Chandaben Shroff developed a unique, sustainable means of income generation for village women. She got the local women to produce saris with exclusive embroideries. The first exhibition of saris was held in October 1969 in Mumbai with considerable success. The profits were re-invested into building the organization. Currently Shrujan works with 16 different styles of embroidery, done by 3,500 women across 100 villages.