In this article by The Express, it is clear that the eco-friendly title is being more closely associated with handloom. In many ways, handloom is leading the way to sustainable products.
Rajya Sabha MP Kanimozhi checking out the artefacts at an exhibition organised by the Handloom and Handicrafts Today Karigar Society
CHENNAI: The eco-friendly bug has now caught the traditional Indian artisans, who have long been trying to draw the attention of the city dwellers to their products and capture the urban market for handicrafts.
Several NGOs like the Handloom And Handicrafts Today (HAST) Karigar Society that organised an exhibition of 35 product lines from 16 different States in Chennai, are educating the traditional artisans to use reusable and waste materials.
“The artisans use vegetable colour for block painting on their products, jewels and slippers made of jute and other fancy products using renewable and eco-friendly raw materials,” said the Secretary of HAST Karigar Society, Sarmistha Lahiri.
“The handicraft product that were usually known for preserving the country’s tradition and the source of income they provide for several economically backward families, will now have a new tagline to promote their market,” she added.
The sales manager of Tamil Nadu Handicrafts Development Corporation Ltd (Poompuhar), Gopalakrishnan, said the State government has been stressing the need for renewable products for quite some time now.
“The government funded handcrafted products make use of re-melted brass scraps for making lamps and waster paper, which are then mixed with chalk powder to make paper dolls,” he said.
The Madras Craft Foundation has been conducting workshops for artisans on products made of renewable and waste products at the Dakshina Chitra.
“This trend of eco-products is picking up slowly as the workers are new to such raw materials and also lack funds to experiment on them.
Dyes from vegetables and wasted paper are the popular fields they are looking to develop now. The other developing area is reconstituting fibres from scrap fabrics,” said Deborah Thiagarajan, President, the Madras Craft Foundation.
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