Providing advanced machinery & fostering Market Readiness… an endeavor of SETU/ Kallista to uplift the Silver Jewelry artisans..

Since ages, different forms of craft work have been practiced in India and widely appreciated across borders. This is true for Indian silver jewelry & artifacts as well.. Indian men and women have an unmatched inclination towards gold and silver jewelry. Gold & silver are also passed on from generation to generation as heirloom collection!

However, with the changing times, people indulged in jewelry making as their ancestral businesses are now shifting to new job avenues in search for better monetary gains. Here, we are talking about the small underprivileged artisans who are unable to compete with giant production houses in terms of designs, quality & pricing.

In the city of Jaipur, many artisans have migrated here from West Bengal, in search of livelihood options. These artisans are struggling to make a decent living & are striving hard to get employment & Market opportunities. SETU’s sister concern, Kallista Designs, is engaged in the upliftment of sterling silver jewelry artisans, & has been providing design and infrastructural aid to such artisan groups, with the aim of providing them sustainable livelihood & bring their products at par with those of large, affluent production houses.

Kallista has been helping artisans of one such group by providing them with advice on contemporary product designs, in accordance with the international market trends. Earlier, the artisans could only make traditional designs catering to the local market and thus the marketability of their products was limited. Also, their product quality lacked the fine finishing which is desirable by modern consumers. To help them achieve better quality & finish of the products, Kallista has sponsored & installed machines like ‘Ultra-vibratum’ and ‘Ultrasonic cleaner’ in the group premises. These machines are used for imparting lustre and ultra sonic cleaning processes during jewelry making. Earlier, in the absence of the required equipments, their products could not compete with high finished jewelry or the artisans had to go far away to get the work done which lead to waste of productive man-hours & was also very expensive.

The artisans are very happy with the timely installation of machinery. The artisan group also trains the migrated & uneducated youth to gain expertise in jewelry making. This way, instead of landing in slums & live a life of crime, they can earn a dignified & lucrative livelihood. SETU / Kallista continue to support the artisan group by providing them livelihood opportunities and will keep planning other future endeavors.