Design and Skill Upgradation Workshop for the tribal artisans of Odisha..

In the present times, a lot of the illiterate youth is moving to urban areas in search of employment and many end up living a life in slums, frustration & crime. Being unskilled, they do not have interest in practicing the traditional craft forms and thus they do not have any direction as to how to earn a decent livelihood and live a respectful life. There are a few tribal communities in Odisha where the craft and skill of making ethnic tribal jewelry is still alive amongst the local artisans but they need to upgrade their designs & teach the skills to their youngsters so that it can remain as a means of sustainable & lucrative livelihood. .

To achieve the above goal, SETU has been working with Anwesha, an NGO who works in the rural & tribal hinterland of Orissa to produce a range of tribal jewelry & artifacts. SETU is associated with them for the past many years and provides international marketing platform to showcase the products made by the group. We also guide the artisans on improving the product designs by making the services of eminent designers accessible to them. This is essential for polishing the artisans’ talent so that they can make products at par with contemporary standards and designs.

To upgrade the artisans on product designs and marketing skills, a 10 day workshop was organized from 7th to 16th December 2016 at karamul village, Dhenkanal.

Objectives of the workshop..
o To increase awareness on the unique and traditional craft form of tribal jewelry.
o Upgrading the design skills of artisans thus helping them explore and experiment with newer ideas of designs that they have not thought before.
o Adding new dimensions in tribal jewelry.
o Opening avenues in the craft form that can be used by the artisans as a source of income generation.
o To ensure artisans get work throughout the year with the help of new designs and innovative work.

An expert designer was appointed for training the artisans. 12 artisans attended the workshop. Interactive sessions were conducted with the artisans and assessment was done on their speed, adaptability & the ability to explore. Explorations on designs, color combinations & materials were done. Various new techniques were taught to the artisans. A total of 63 new designs were developed in the workshop, out of which many designs were developed in sets (earrings, necklace, bracelet, and anklet).

 Jewellery made in the Workshop: