Handicrafts in Kerala is either hereditary occupation or practised by amateurs who has great interest in the art.  Kerala has the tradition of making beautiful handicrafts with ivory, bamboo, palm leaves, seashells, wood, coconut shells, clay, cloth, metals, stone etc. Many old handicraft classics can be seen in Palaces, old heritage homes, museums, etc. The artists are experts in making beautiful flower vases, ash trays, ornamental plates, jewel boxes, miniature boats, elephants, idols, kathakali masks, embroidery works, etc

The ornaments, head gears and costumes for classical arts and ritual arts are entirely made by artists expertised in handicrafts. They make all necessary materials for Kathakali, Theyyam, Mudiyettu, Koodiyattam, etc. They use the locally available turmeric, powdered rice, powdered leaves of Acacia etc. for making excellent colours and combination of colours for painting faces of performers, which is a very good example of handicrafts of Kerala

Rather than an art the handicrafts have evolved into a small scale industry in Kerala. The making, domestic selling and exporting are increasing and now there are many institutes giving training in handicrafts

These boxes are traditionally used for preserving the Kathakali Costumes. There are normally being painted for artistic appeal. Brass cut out design and hinges fitted for these boxes to use them for keeping the valuable known as 'Abharana Petti'. Mainly Rosewood is used for manufacture

The large number of temples scattered throughout and the door, windows and ceilings of most of the ancient houses are testimonial of the high level of craftsmanship and tradition of Rosewood carving. Statutory and relief work were of a high order of perfection in wood craft. The main theme of carving in those days were drawn out of mythology. With the cessation of the temple building activities in the state by 18th century and urged by the necessities of the modern society, the ancient wood craft of Kerala took a surprisingly new form to carve items like Elephant, Tiger, Deers etc. in different poses to suit as paper weight, book ends, lamp stands etc. Decorative furniture also produced in large quantities besides the individual to suit to figures with realistic appeal of different tastes

Metal as a media of expression by the craftsman weather it is for creating objects to meet the religious commitments or for meeting the domestic necessities of common man, has the tradition going back to the second millennium B. C. The studies also revealed that the metal alloys have been in use for workshop art in India from time immemorial, perhaps as old as lamps, bells and other temple requirements and utensils to meet the customary requirements of the public is yet another form the metal craft practiced mainly in Kerala

Of all the materials used for carving, coconut shells the hardest medium. Consequently, high degree of skill is required for carving coconut shell items. The usual items of manufacture are cups, flower vases, snuff boxes, sugar basins, nut bowls, powder boxes and spoons. The brass broidered coconut shell articles which have come into existence is an admirable deviation from the usual coconut shell carving. Ever since the arabs took interest in the brass broidered coconut shell hookahs, the trade had maintained a certain continuity. The craft is mostly concentrated in calicut district. The shells are cut into proper sizes or shapes by using a handsaw. Specially made chisels are used for carving the shells.

Screw pine mat weaving is one of the major cottage industries in Kerala. Three types of mats are woven with Screw pine leaves. As regards the history of this craft, it can be said that Screw pine mat weaving has existed for more than 800 years. Embroidery on Screw pine mats is a commendable deviation from the ordinary cloth embroidery. This craft concentration areas are Karunagapalli Taluk of Kollam Dist, Mavelikkara & Karthikapalli Taluks of Alappuzha dist. Thazava, Vachrai and Vallikunnam Panchayaths, some villages in Thiruvananthapuram & Kottayam Districts

Horn carving in Kerala has been in existence from time to time immemorial. The craft is mainly concentrated in Thiruvananthapuram . artisans belonging to Viswakarma Community are mainly practicing this craft. A wide range of utility and decorative items like flower set, birds, animals, combs & cigarette cases etc. are made out of horn

Bamboo mat painting is one of the major craft which requires more concentration and devote as well as an artistic mind with the craft person. Most of the paintings are gods, goddess, animals, birds, scenery etc. in different size and in attractive colours. The craft persons initially make mat of required size as canvas of draw the sketch according to the required painting, finishing with bamboo reed frames at bottom and top with a tag for handing to complete the painting

Essentially, an alien craft, this industry was introduced sometime early in the Christian Era by a colony of Syrians who settled in Kerala. The present form of embroidery is of a recent origin and it is believed that the London Mission Society gave a start to it during first quarter of the 19th century. The main concentration for embroidery and lace work are Eravipuram, Changanassery, Kottayam, Pala, Parrasala, Trissur and Cannoor. In the matter of pillow lace, the entire lace work is done by passing fine thread attached to wooden pages around pins fixed on a cardboard while in embroidery work, the designs are first drawn on the cloth by hand or copied through a stencil. The embroidery work is done only after selecting the different colours to form an attractive pattern

The laminated wood craft originated in and around Ernakulam District in Kerala around 1975. Rosewood, Plywood, Whitewood and brass metal pieces are the main raw materials used in the craft. The rosewood and whitewood are cut into required sizes and pasted on the plywood pieces according to the various designs by using araldite as adhesive. After drying, the entire piece is fixed into the lathe machine for turning. Generally sheenlac is used for final polishing. The brass metal pieces are fixed in different designs to make the final product ready. The product rare include Anjali Face, Dancing Lady, Peacock, Candle Stand, Star Wheel, Kathakali Heads, Wheel of Furniture, Key Stand and Butterfly etc

Having the recent origin this craft is only concentrated in and around Quilandi of Calicut District. Rose Wood, Coconut Stem and Soft Wood (Karimuruku) are the three varieties of wood used as raw material for making the laminated joint wood table mats. The wood sliced into small sizes of diamond shape by using table saw machine, holes are made crosswise, jointed together by using nylon thread to form the mats of deferent shapes and sizes. The mats are given a coating of mansion polish by using cotton cloth and after sometime rubber to get fine finishing. Star mat, Flower mat, oblong mat, stripped mat are the most popular designs. The laminated joint wood table mats are used as table mats as well as wall decorates

Kerala, known as 'God's own country', has its own textile tradition. Kerala Sarees are symbolic of Kerala culture and tradition and is not seen anywhere else in India

The elegant Kerala Saree, off white with gold border is unique for their natural colour, texture and golden border. These sarees lend an extraordinary elegance to the person wearing it. Every Malayali woman possesses at least one Kerala sari in her wardrobe

Traditionally women in Kerala also wear a two piece cloth named 'settu mundu', also known as 'mundum neriyathum' with natural body colour and breathtaking border shades, which when worn, exactly look like a saree

The typical Kerala saree is hand woven and is 100 per cent unbleached cotton. It is known for its fineness of count in weaving. The traditional design of a Kerala saree had a 1 inch to 6-7 inch pallu while the body remained plain. But now the pallu goes up to one metre and the border and pallu is decorated with common designs of animals such as peacock and flowers. The sari is now available in checks, stripes and a wide variety of designs as well as in cotton mixed with silk

Men in Kerala wear Kasavu mundu or dhothies during festive occasions. In all places of worship, specially in temples, the most preferred dress is the dhoti. This light pure cotton handlooms edged with golden thread is some times touched with contrasting bright colours. Dhoti's are available in regular, large and extra large sizes

Kerala is also known for its unbleached cotton handloom crepe popularly known as 'kora' cloth which has entered the foreign markets and occupy a proud place in the garment industry

Balaramapuram in Thiruvanathapuram district, the capital of Kerala is the most historically important place for Handloom fabrics, especially the traditional wear. It follows a tradition  about 150 years old. It was during the regime of His Highness Maharaja Balaramavarma, which dates back from 1798 to 1810, that handloom weaving was first introduced at Balaramapuram. The weavers here originally belonged to Saliyas community who migrated from Nagar coil and Tirunelveli in Tamil Nadu. They used to produce super fine 'Mundum Neriyathu' for the need of the royal family. The tradition spread from them to the local weavers. The weavers use original type throw-shuttle pit looms for the production of exclusive cotton sarees with pure jari. Besides Sarees, 'Mundum Nereyathum', 'Mundu', 'Earezha thorthu' (bathing towel), 'Melmundu' etc. are woven here

Named after the village of its origin, Chennamangalam handlooms in North Paravur, Ernakulam district is famous for its fine weaving and special effects in the weft direction. Besides sarees, both pure cotton and silk, Chennamangalam also concentrates in the production of settu mundu, earezha thorthu, kavani and super fine double dhothies

Kasaragod sarees from the north of Kerala are masterpieces made with high quality yarn using traditional hand made methods. It is known for the design, quality, varied colour pattern and ornamented jaris or borders. The weaving is done in a unique style by giving care to the thread and applying a special kind of paste to make the saree strong and long lasting

Koothampalli in Thrissur district is also well known for its handloom fabric. Here a community of Devangas who immigrated from Karnataka are engaged in weaving. The 'Kasavu Sarees' which are being produced here is mostly with half fine jari and hence more economical. Koothampalli sarees are preferred by the middle class people for its comparative low prices

The districts of Malappuram, Kozhikode (Calicut) and Kasargode are famous for the 'Malabar loom'. The products, mainly furnishing fabrics, Jacquard products,Bed sheets, Table mats etc. are unique for the excellent texture of the cloth, colour combinations, wide width (98"-120") and craft man ship. Calicut is also famous for its 'Calico cloth'

The history of export trading practice of handloom fabric in Kerala can be traced back to the15th century when handloom cloth of excellent qualities were exported to Asian and European countries

In Kerala, almost 2 lakh weavers are earning their livelihood from the handloom industry, 75% of them in the co-operative line