EPCH’S INTEGRATED DESIGN PROJECT – GREAT LEAP FORWARD FOR HANDICRAFTS ARTISANS @epchindia
Saurabh Shrivastava Tennews
Shamshad Ali
Greater Noida: With an objective to train artisans & upgrade their skills to bring out more marketable products , connect artisans with handicraft product designers, EPCH has launched Integrated Design and Technical Development Project (IDTDP). This is an initiative of the Development Commissioner (Handicrafts), Ministry of Textiles (Govt of India) implemented by the Export Promotion Council of India.
Beautiful products from tribal shawl to stone carving craft were displayed at a stall of ID&TDP made by the artisans who are working in the project under the guidance of designers.
Sunil kumar, NIFT Bhopal Graduate, at a recently held world’s largest sourcing show IHGF Delhi fair Spring 2017 said “.I have made numerous handicraft works for foreign buyers where my work is appreciated by the International buyers in the Fair,” said a graduate whose project involves crafts of cane and Bamboo.
“The prevalence of this project work was domestic but the forum provided an appreciation to my work with proper design orientation,” An artisan said who is making new interpretations in the age old craft of Himachal Pradesh. Another designer Pramila Choudhary, who is working in Jalore near Jodhpur said that the new ideas to make products has somehow retain the importance of an age old crafts.
“We are making new designs and are innovating new works to capture the imagination of foreign buyers,” said Pramila who has 40 artisans working under her.
The Integrated Design and Technical Development Project has trained around 40 artisans, mostly women in a project spanning 5 months that starts with survey and research to access the existing designs in a particular craft , the available materials, technical inputs, production process and marketability of the product.
The aim of the project is to engage new generation artisans who are drifting away from their family craft practices, to guide them towards bringing out more products with a marketable demand.
