Rafooghar -رفو گھر - The House that mends

(inspired from the word Rafoogar/ Rafu Gar, needle-worker, darner or a cloth mender, رفو گر)

Rafooghar is a socially engaged art practice and a community space in one of the most marginalized neigborhoods of New Delhi, India where women gather for ‘sukoon’ and fursat’ - for some moments of rest and leisure, which most women living on the margins, don’t get time or permission for.

Here, embroidery and textiles become tools for emotional repair, rejuvenation and resistance, creating room for mending that goes far beyond fabric. Sitting and stitching together becomes a way of building agency, sisterhood, solidarity, and interfaith friendships.

Rafooghar is conceived by Pooja Dhingra-the founder of Compassion Contagion and is currently housed at Yusra Khan’s Yellow Streets- our community collaborator and nurturer. Shivangi Singh, artist and an art educator at Artreach India and Roshni Bhatia- a Bengaluru based art therapist are our lead facilitators co-thinkers and core-team members on this project.

Embroidery activist- Rubina Singh was part of our core team from October 2023 to May 2025.

Rafooghar was funded by ART, University of York and Pollination grant in 2023.

Meethi Baradari- a project under Rafooghar was awarded the Futures in Formation- public art grant by FICA AND SERENDIPITY FOUNDATION in 2025.