As part of the Design and technology Development Workshop (DDW) program approved under Development Commission, Handicrafts, Govt. of India, a team of four professionals visited Balikuda Block of Jagatsinghpur district, Odisha on 28th November, 2023. The team comprised of Mr. Debashis Tripathy, Senior Manager and Ms. Subhasmita Sahoo, Young Professional from KIIT-Technology Business Incubator (KIIT-TBI), Ms. Sonal More, founder of a handicraft-based start-up OCAL and Ms. Lily Jenamani, Founder- KRIAA Foundation.
The objective of the visit was to conduct an extensive market survey and intelligence gathering activity as well as understand the emergence of grass, fiber, leaf and reed-based craft in Jagatsinghpur district, the degree of engagement of artisans with the said craft, gaps in the existing system and the market potential of the craft.
The team interacted with Mr. Satyaratha Prakash Parida, Block Program Coordinator and Mr. Deepak Mohanty, Skill Development Coordinator at Department of Mission Shakti, Balikuda to understand the feasibility of the program, availability of crafts persons, their mode of operation and the status of prior interventions in the proposed location. The officers were very cordial and ensured to extend all their support for the successful execution of this 25-days long program.
In the later phase, “Craft demonstration & awareness programme”, was conducted at Govt. high School, Singiri in collaboration with DC, Handicrafts, Bhubaneswar. Kumar Premendra Sinha, Handicraft Promotion Officer had an introductory session on different crafts and explained the students on the future scopes of the same. Expert craftsmen also demonstrated making of different craft items such as; pottery, sabaigrass products, applique work, and paddycraft. The session was very engaging and the honorable Headmaster, other teachers, and the students supported the team by giving their valuable time throughout the programme.
