Crafts Council of West Bengal was formed in 1966 under the Presidentship of renowned scholar, Dr. Suniti Kumar Chatterjee with the well known social worker and Parliamentarian Sm. Ila Palchoudhuri, as Honorary Secretary.
Crafts Council of West Bengal is a non-profit non-government registered body working for promotion of Arts & Crafts, and the craftspeople of Eastern India. It is affiliated to Crafts Council of India and through it, to the Copenhagen-based World Crafts Council.

Its main aims & objectives are :

• to revive, preserve and support declining indigenous knowledge, resources, skills.
• to update artisanal technologies.
• to create a sustainable source of raw material.
• to act as facilitator in assisting the crafts community.
• to understand the ever changing markets.
• to awaken the creativity of a community through sensitive design intervention.
• to organise income-generation programmes for women by imparting training and setting up
  various production centres.
• to organise craft workshops in various school, training given by rural craftspersons.
• to organise craft workshops for children of craftspersons to ensure continuity of tradition.

In pursuance of these goals CCWB has till date set up numerous training/production centers and organized several design development and technology upgradation programmes. It initially set up a Kantha embroidery training center and a Jute embroidery training center in the city outskirts of Kolkata with underprivileged women. These are now very successful production units producing high quality items. A successful tribal jute weaving initiative in Santiniketan in the Birbhum district of West Bengal has also been converted to a production center. Over the last few years CCWB has started an unique programme to revive an ancient extinct indo-portuguese embroidery form known as the satgaon quilt embroidery. It is now producing amazing replicas of the old museum pieces from different parts of the world.
CCWB has over the years conducted various technology upgradation programmes in metal casting, terracotta, basketry, weaving , dyeing, painting etc. as well as numerous design development and product diversification workshops with different craft groups.

It has endeavored ceaselessly to expose talented craftspeople, nationally and internationally, and facilitate craft marketing through fairs, festivals and exhibitions. It has helped craftspeople and performers participate in Festival of India in UK - London, Festival of India in USA - Philadelphia, Festival of India in JAPAN - Tokyo. It has also organized many Entrepreneurship Development Programme (EDP) for grass-root level craftspersons. However the high point has been the setting up of Council's marketing center Artisana in July 2003 with borrowings from the bank.

CCWB has also collaborated with various museums, research institutions and cultural centers over the years. Some of
the major collaborations have been with -

• Ashutosh Museum, University of Kolkata.
• Gurusaday Museum, Joka, 24 Parganas(South).
• National Museum of Ethnology, Osaka, Japan.
• Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, Massachusetts, USA.
• University Museum, University of Pennsylvania,
• Royal Edinburgh Museum, Scotland, UK.
• National Museum of Wales, Scotland, UK.
• onolulu Academy of Arts, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA.