Home / All Socio-economic Activities / Covid Relief: Free distribution of essential commodities during Pandemic to Dhokra artisans.. (Orissa)
Place: Villages Navjiwanpur and Sadivareni (District Dhikanal, Orissa), 26 May 2020
The present Covid 19 situation has ruined economies, taken a toll on the whole world and is still showing no signs of slowing down. In India, the daily wage laborers and the migrant laborers are among the worst affected. They have no security and have to earn on a daily basis to fulfill even the basic needs of their families. A complete lockdown had to be imposed for more than 2 months. Though it helped in containing the virus spread, it also had serious repercussions on the lives of the poor & daily wage laborers. The Covid scare still continues and many artisans are left with no income source. SETU is associated with a number of such underprivileged artisans who are solely dependent on the sale of their artifacts. One such group is Anwesha, who makes Dhokra artifacts & jewelry, based in Dhikanal Orissa.
These artisans are skilled and talented but need buyers for their products. Because of the coronavirus pandemic, the whole market scenario is changed. Tourism has come to a standstill, negatively affecting the sale of artifacts. The local people have become selective in their buying choices due to limited income resources during this pandemic and are spending mostly on the essential amenities, at the same time refraining themselves from going to crowded markets or shops for purchasing.
Consequently, the artisans are suffering and have to face tough challenges just to arrange two square meals a day! We, at SETU, are committed to support them to make their lives a little easier. To fulfill this objective, on 26th May 2020, we distributed free of cost food packets comprising of essential items like groceries for 1 month and face masks to 80 families in the Dhokra artisan group.
The food packets included the following items:
