INTRODUCTION

The handicrafts in the district of Mayurbhanj (Odisha) were in a manner acknowledged

as an important part of rich cultural heritage of this region. Now though this sentiment
continues to be repeated there is pronounced change in the general attitude towards
crafts, which is completely insetting our basic sense of life values. For though
handicrafts fulfilled a positive physical need in the daily requirements of the people of
this region, they also served to satisfy the aesthetic hunger in man and provided a
vehicle for his urge for self-expression which reveals a conscious aesthetic approach.

The concept behind the handicrafts of this region as originally conceived was imbuing
everything used in the daily life, no matter how common or insignificant with touch of
beauty to add brightness to an otherwise dull and drab existence. The handicrafts of late
got partially submerged under the rising forces of modern industrialization with its high
mechanization, and lost their basic role in the overall perspective. Efforts are being
made to find new market now for the handicrafts of this region, hence it is necessary to
adapt certain changes particularly in the forms of improved product, design, efficient
production technique. At the same time scrupulous care is being taken to prevent any
violence to the folk character and rustic vitality of these handicrafts and preserve their
beauty of form and color, perfected over long centuries. Craftsman of this region are
now also trained to use, in articles of modern use traditional motifs and designs without
vulgarizing them.

Sabai grass is grown in a wide part of Mayurbhanj district which is mainly used for
making Sabai Rope. Sabai Ropes are mostly sold outside the state for use in weaving
Charpai (Cots) and in paper manufacturing concerns. Sabai rope is also used in making
Sofa sets, Chairs, Tea-poy etc. The main body frames of the Chairs and sofas are made in
Bamboo and wood and Sabai rope is woven and coiled over the frame to give a finishing
shape, which attains exceptional excellence.

Promotion through workshop and training

We have promoted some niche clusters of Sabai Craft by forming those to producer
Groups with involvement of members ranging from 30 to 90 members in each Producer
Group. Presently we are supporting 350 artisans. To update the skill and acumen, we
are organizing design training-cum-workshop with the help of NIFT, Bhubaneswar and
NID, Ahmedabad. Till date, about 50-60 handmade designs of different home decor and
utilities categories of products have been developed.
The Craft Showroom “Mayur Shilpa” and Market Linkage:
For providing regular market support to these artisans of the District, the District
Administration has established one craft showroom in the name of “Mayur Shilpa” in
District Headquarter- Baripada, which is totally managed by the skills artisans among
the Producer Group Members.

Special care has been taken by the District Administration, Mayurbhanj and ORMAS for
marketing of the products produced by the Producer Groups through participating
different District, State and National level exhibitions organized at different places of
the State and Nation. Some marketing tie-ups have also been made with different Govt.
& Corporate Agencies.

Government Aid
The government is promoting craft-based activity to enable the artisans to improve
their quality of life by delivering simple yet innovative solution for consolidating their
livelihood. In this juncture, the District Supply & Marketing Society, Mayurbhanj-the
District Unit of Odisha Rural Development & Marketing Society (ORMAS), Panchayati
Raj Department and Government of Odisha has promoted some niche clusters of Sabai
Craft under different antipoverty schemes of both Govt. of India as well as Government
of Odisha by ensuring right kind of skill enhancement of the producers, strengthening
the enterprise with critical technological intervention and putting in long term robust
market linkages.

Artisans:
Ask Basanta Dhala to weave out a piece of craft from sabai grass, and this 50-
year-old craftsman at Sansarapasi village in Mayurbhanj district can juggle out a
masterpiece with his nimble hands like a magician within no time.

But it was not always so for Basanta. In the late eighties, he was a drifter with no
permanent source of income. His life charted out a new course after he
underwent training in sabai grass craft at the Mayurbhanj District Industries
Centre (DIC) in Baripada in 1991. Soon, his creations started featuring at craft
exhibitions in Odisha as well as other states like Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra.
Given his dexterity, the state government adjudged Basanta the best craftsman in
sabai grass craft in 1995.

“My craft fetches me Rs 15,000 to Rs 20,000 every month. Give me the sketch of
anything and I can craft out a stunning piece with finesse to your utter
satisfaction,” claimed Basanta. “Now, my wife and daughter, who have learnt the
craft from me, also assist me,” he added.

Similarly, Taramani Gadnaik of Deuli village in Mayurbhanj district has scripted

her own success story as an artisan. Before 1990, she earned the meagrely sum of
Rs 1,500 per month by making sabai grass ropes. But her economic life
registered an upturn after a few years when she started making different utility
and decorative items such as dining table mats, lamp covers, window screens,
flower vases and glass covers from sabai grass.Taramani now works with over
more than 350 women artisans residing in Mayurbhanj’s Suliapada block in the
district unit of the Odisha Rural Development and Marketing Society (ORMAS),
an autonomous body under the state government.

“Each female artisan now earns Rs 6,000 to Rs 7,000 by taking up work in our
spare time. It is very satisfying, as it can supplement our domestic income,” said
Taramani with a sense of contentment.

Like Taramani, a large number of women in Mayurbhanj district are engaged in

making utility and decorative items that sell like hot cakes in states like Delhi,
Maharashtra, West Bengal, Rajasthan and Haryana through different buyers like
FabIndia. Even e-commerce behemoths like Amazon and Flipkart have joined the
bandwagon to meet the demands for these women’s craftworks.

“We have formed nearly 50 clusters of artisans who belong to different villages in
four blocks—Baripada, Betnoti, Moroda and Kuliana. The artisans are mostly
women who were trained under master designers from the Ahmedabad-based
National Institute of Design (NID) in 2016. Now, they not only earn decently, but
also receive huge acclaim for their works displayed at different exhibitions in
cities like Bhubaneswar, Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Lucknow,” said
B Mal, the assistant director of the Mayurbhanj wing of ORMAS.

Rajan Christopher, an NID official, informed that a team of designers from his
institute had camped in Baripada for about three weeks and taught several new
designs to the artisans. “The team also tutored them about the methods of
polishing their traditional works so that the marketability of their products could
be enhanced,” Christopher said.

In a similar fashion, the Mayurbhanj DIC has given a new impetus to sabai grass
craft by roping in women artisans from scheduled tribe (ST) communities. As
many as 13 self-help groups (SHGs) of these ST artisans and a producer’s group
were formed to work in a cohesive manner. The DIC took a group of artisans on a
tour to West Bengal in 2015 to acquaint them with practices to weave out new
crafts easily and quickly. The DIC even hired an operator from West Bengal who
trained the artisans for a month about the use of looms. Now, about seven looms
are in operation for seven clusters of artisans. The female artisans weave out
door mats, door and window screens, wall hangings and flower vases among
many other items with the help of the looms, according to RN Bal, the industries
promotion officer of Mayurbhanj DIC.

“In 2016, we had also hired a designer from Kolkata to teach the artisans the
nitty-gritty of making 15 designs. Now, the artisans earn decently and
comfortably while doing their household chores simultaneously. Earlier, they
used to make only sabai ropes with the help of their men folk, which was time-
consuming and extremely labour intensive. They used to sell the ropes at eight to
10 weekly haats in Betnoti, Baripada, Suliapada and Balaiadiha,” Bal said.

Earlier, a DIC-trained female artisan earned around Rs 700 and Rs 800 by selling
40 kg of sabai grass ropes after days of hard labour. Now, however, each earns
more than Rs 1,500 every month as a part-time artisan, while her full-time
counterparts get over Rs 6,000. Moreover, the DIC also engages 15 master
designers to help the artisans to hone their skills consistently. Each master
designer gets a monthly honorarium of Rs 10,000.

The artisan SHGs are linked to different banks under the Odisha Livelihood
Mission. It helps the SHGs to avail loans from the banks on the basis of the money
deposited in their saving accounts, thereby freeing the artisans from the clutches
of private money lenders.

Even the central government’s Office of the Development Commissioner

(Handicraft), New Delhi, has taken an initiative to provide financial aid to the
artisans. “The central government has a scheme to meet Rs 10,000 and 6 per cent
of the accrued interest of the amount loaned out to an artisan by the bank under
the provisions of Mudra Loan,” said AK Panigrahy, the Bhubaneswar-based
assistant director of the Office of the Development Commissioner (Handicraft).

In a further boost to these artisans, the state government has withdrawn the
sales tax on sabai grass. Similarly, the central government went against its plan to
impose the goods and services tax (GST) on sabai grass and sal leaves to benefit
poor artisans in rural areas.

When the central and state governments along with autonomous bodies like
ORMAS are providing a fillip to sabai grass craftsmen, organisations like the
Asian Heritage Foundation (AHF), New Delhi and the Rural Active Women’s
Handicraft Artisan Association (RAWHAA) at Baliapal in Balasore district have
thrown in their lot to harness the potential of the craft.
The AHF in collaboration with World Bank and Japan Social Development Fund
forayed into the field with its ‘Jiyo Programme’ in October, 2017. It is now
operating in seven panchayat areas of Mayurbhanj district. It imparts training to
236 artisans every fortnight on design development, skill enhancement and
production exercise to come up with new utility and fancy designs. The AHF also
pays Rs 200 to each artisan per day. Besides, its trained artisans are at liberty to
sell their items to other buyers including the producers group formed by ORMAS
and at different craft exhibitions.“Each artisan earns more than Rs 7,000 on an
average. Earlier, they solely depended on selling sabai ropes. They used to
purchase Sabai grass from haats by paying Rs 10 to Rs 15 per kg. They needed six
to seven kg to make sabai grass ropes, which they sold at Rs 40 per kg. This
fetched them nearly Rs 130 per day on an average,” explained Asutosh Samal,
AHF’s Odisha coordinator.

The earlier articles made by the artisans were somewhat crude and repetitive.
But the designers from reputed institutes not only helped them polish their
traditional craft, but develop designs by incorporating the shapes and sizes they
came across daily.

“Tribal artisans go everyday to forests to collect fuel wood and see several things
such as beehives. We encourage them to recreate them in their craft and adorn
them with lights. Such items are fancied by customers and fetch the artisans a
decent amount,” explained AHF’s accessory designer Pankaj Saroj.

Similarly, RAWHHA has taught the craft to about 250 housewives at Baliapal in
Balasore district. Once confined to rearing children and household chores, these
women have now taken up making sabai grass articles in their spare time.

“We are now trying to set up a raw-material bank for the convenience of our
artisans. We also have plans to set up a design school so that they can keep track
of evolving designs to boost their craft,” said Prakash Patra, the project
coordinator of the RAWHHA.

Trade in Sabai grass products has proved lucrative for the groups of artisans as
well. “Our products sell in Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Kolkata and
many other big cities of the country. Our Bahaldihi Producers Group that
comprises 20 clusters was able to earn nearly Rs 30 lakh in 2017-18, out of
which our team got a profit of Rs19 lakh,” said Usha Rani, the leader of the
Bahaldihi Group in Mayurbhanj district.

“The artisans, who had earlier remained confined in their domestic spheres even
six years ago, are now having fabulous exposure by visiting different towns and
cities to showcase their crafts at different exhibitions. But the women have not
shunned weaving sabai grass ropes, because it is the traditional fundamental of
their livelihood,” said Bardhaman Kuanr, a Baripada resident.
Despite the rosy picture, the sabai grass trade in the state is still unorganized.
Moreover, the price structure is also erratic as different groups set their own
prices.

Some experts aver that the government should intervene by setting support price
for sabai grass like in the case of paddy. It would not only help the artisans and
farmers growing sabai grass, but also restrict the role of middlemen who
purchase sabai ropes at a pittance and sell them to paper mills with huge profit
margins.

The state government's initiative to add value to sabai grass, a natural fibre abundantly grown
in tribal-dominated Mayurbhanj district, has finally began to pay dividends.

The usage of the grass, locally known bobei ghasa, was earlier confined mainly to rope-
making. But now, its use has diversified into the process of making of various craft items
after women workers, mostly belonging to tribal communities, were imparted special training
for the purpose.

The grass is mainly grown in Baripada and Kaptipada revenue sub-division of Mayurbhanj
and harvested between November and June. The district's annual sabai production is
estimated about 20,000 metric tonnes, which fetches about Rs 300 crore.

The finished products, mainly household articles, not only have a market in the district and
the state, but at the national level as well. Being environment-friendly, the products have
gained a foothold across the country.

The district administration has a showroom - Mayur Shilpa - in Baripada where these
products are available. It has also made arrangements to sell these through e-commerce sites,
such as Flipkart, Jabong and Amazon.

The Odisha Rural Development and Marketing Society (Ormas) first took an initiative to
promote the sabai grass industry about 10 years ago. However, tangible progress was not
noticed till 2012. The district administration's active role in promoting the industry has seen it
gain an upward trajectory.

Mayurbhanj district collector Rajesh Prabhakar Patil said: "After adopting multi-pronged
approaches, the women workers have now found an uplift in their status."

"Not only are these women empowered financially and socially with group activities, their
products have also gained appreciation from far and wide. The next target is to encourage
local tribal communities to grow the grass in barren and waste lands," he said.
After identifying women involved in the activity, the district administration formed clusters
with financial support under Odisha Livelihoods Mission. There are nine producer groups
with 382 members that are currently promoted in the district.

The industry has given economic freedom to the women. "Earlier, we used to struggle to earn
Rs 30 after a day's work. But now, we earn Rs 200-300 a day by making sabai grass craft,"
said Kalpana Jena, an artisan from Suliapada block and Usha Murmu from Guhaladihi.

The district administration has also decided to engage experts from the National Institute of
Design, Ahmedabad, to impart design development training to the artisans. Besides, the State
Institute for Development of Arts and Crafts (Sidac) has engaged a designer from Bengal to
train 30 artisans and develop 20 new designs. The course will begin on April 11.

"We have also established a production unit at Guhaldihi in Baripada with the financial
support from the Horticulture Mission and provided 14 looms (10 at Guhaldihi and four at
Badsole) with support from Ormas. A materials bank has also been established at Guhaldihi,"
said district supply and marketing society chief executive Keshaw Jha.

"We have roped in the National Institute of Fashion Technology, Bhubaneswar, for designing
and promoting the products. They showcased products made by the artisans at a show in
December last year," he said.

Ormas has also conducted marketing tie-ups with organisations, such as Fabindia and
Utkalika, for round-the-year marketing of their products.

It has also tied up with the forest department to sell sabai products to tourists who visit the
Similipal sanctuary, Jha said.

"The showroom is self-managed by the producer groups involved in the sabai grass activities.
They have also appointed a marketing manager to manage the entire business operation,"
Patil said.