The 25-days long Design and Technology Development Workshop (DDW) on golden grass crafts conducted under the scheme of Skill Development in Handicrafts Sector (SDHS), National Handicrafts Development Program (NHDP) of O/o DC (Handicrafts), Ministry of Textiles has come to an end. The closing ceremony of the programme has been celebrated with great enthusiasm in presence of all the golden grass artisans at Alikanta village of Balikuda block, Jagatsinghpur district on 28 th June, 2024. Sh. Samarendra Sahu – Advisor, KIIT-Technology Business Incubator (KIIT-TBI) along with Sh. Debashis Tripathy – Sr. manager and Ms. Subhasmita Sahoo – Young Professional from KIIT-TBI, Kumar Premendra Sinha – Handicraft Promotion Officer from O/o DC Handicrafts and Ms. Lily Jenamani- Founder of KRIAA Foundation graced the occasion.
The programme started with the address by Sh. Sahu and other officials to the artisans present followed by the interaction with individual artisans. The Master Crafts Persons – Ms. Sarojini Das and Ms. Rita Nayak also addressed the gathering putting light on the history and evolution of the said craft. The emergence of the golden grass crafts goes back to 1999, during the Super Cyclone period in Odisha, when it served as an alternate source of income to people of the region. It was later on taken up by the women members of the families as a sustainable income source. The twelve prototypes crafted by the artisans during the entire programme duration was greatly appreciated by the officials. These innovative products with a refined finish were developed keeping in view the contemporary customer requirement and current market trend. All the thirty women artisans involved in the DDW programme shared their rich experiences, feedbacks and expectations, highlighting the role of golden grass crafts in improving their economic condition.
Ms. Kumuduni Rout, who is a skilled craftsperson shared, “I have been involved in golden grass crafts for last ten years. Kaincha (golden grass) is the source of happiness in my life. Today I am a proud artisan for this golden grass crafts. Say it is a medical emergency or marriage ceremony, Kaincha has always taken care of my poverty and needs. When we were working under this programme, it felt like we were doing 10 to 4 job. It gave us a lot of satisfaction.”
The officials were overwhelmed to hear that the current generation, particularly the girls and women in the family are also getting engaged in the golden grass crafts making activity besides their education.
After one to one interaction session, the artisans were felicitated by the officials as a recognition of their active participation and contribution to the success of the programme.
Sh. Sahu also encouraged the artisans and master crafts persons to promote the skilled artisans of the region as National level awardees in golden grass crafts which would not only bring name and fame to the artisans of the region but also popularize the art form in the National and International forum. He also assured the artisans that skill upgradation trainings would be provided under “Incubation cum Acceleration Programme” in the village which will equip the artisans with improved design development skills, better understanding of the marketing nuances, opportunities for exposure visits to various locations and promote entrepreneurship among them.
Sh. Sahu also recognized the potentiality of the artisans to be covered under a cluster development mode. That would provide end-to-end opportunities to strengthen the existing activities of the artisans in the area. It was brought to his notice that initiatives have been taken to develop the cluster under SFURTI scheme of MoMSME, Govt. of India. Sh. Sahu mentioned that he would explore the possibility of developing the cluster under the relevant cluster development scheme of DC Handicrafts. The ceremony ended with a vote of thanks by Ms. Rita and Ms. Sarojini. They extended their heartfelt gratitude to the officials from O/o DC Handicrafts and KIIT-TBI as well as the artisans for becoming a part of this programme and setting a benchmark for other artisans through this initiative.
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