The village of Ratadi which was the subject of this ethnographic study is located in the Saurashtra area of western Gujarat. The village is inhabited mainly by the Mers, a community of cultivators wellknown in the region. The researchers were attracted by the abundance of the traditional arts and crafts in the village, including its stonework, metalwork, pottery and leatherwork. Today, changes of many kinds are taking place even in remote villages and many similar crafts are disappearing. Documentations of this nature, linked as they are with centuries-old lifestyle, have assumed great urgency in recent times. The enthnographic research organised by the National Institute of Design was carried out jointly by Dr. Eberhard Fischer, the Swiss ethnologist, and Haku Shah, the well-known artist who has worked extensively amongst the tribes of Gujarat.