DOKRA SHANTINIKETAN
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT This project has been a learning experience for our group and has immensely helped us to comprehend our design development in a broader context. To begin with we would like to express our heartiest gratitude towards Fashion Communication Department, National Institute of Fashion Technology, Kolkata and to all people associated with it. We would like to thank our Centre Coordinator, Sreenanda Palit and Craft Cluster Coordinator, Sandeep Mukherjee as well as our faculty members for guiding us throughout the project. Finally, we would like to thank all our library staff for their immense support and help throughout the documentation process. Thank you, Ankita Banerjee Aishwariya Chottoraj Avril Sasha Damani Hitesha Bajoria Sejal Agarwal Fashion Communication 2014-2018
OBJECTIVE The main objective of this project is to learn different aspects of Dokra; to study the process involved in making of Dokra and the methods used to develop the final product. We will also learn about the benefits and problems faced by the artisans with a detailed questionnaire. To go about this, we have also prepared a set of two-dimensional sketches of motifs and designs to facilitate and help the artisans with a more creative manner, plus we have done a full fledged branding process - from tags to logo development to help the artisans brand and market their product better.Visiting Dariapur Dokra Artisans co-operation industrial society also proved to be beneficial as it gave us a detailed overview of Dokra.This project is also aimed to understand the topic and its correlation with the subjects in our course. All this has given us a lot of exposure on the different designs and techniques used prominently in Dokra,making it unique and distinguishing it from other crafts and understand its significance in the modern society.
CONTENTS 1. OVERVIEW OF THE LOCATION 2. ABOUT SHANTINIKETAN 3. PLACES OF INTEREST IN SHANTINIKETAN 4. INTRODUCTION TO DOKRA 5. HISTORICAL AND GEOGRAPHICAL EVIDENCE 6. RAW METRIALS 7. TOOLS 8. PROCESS 9. PACKAGING AND DECORATION 10. ROLE OF WOMEN 11. PRODUCT DESIGN 12. RANGE OF PRODUCTS 13. PRICING OF PRODUCTS 14. MARKET ANALYSIS 15. QUESTIONNAIRE 16. PROBLEMS FACE BY ARTISANS 17. SUGGESTIONS FOR CHANGE 18. SWOT ANALYSIS 19. CONCLUSION 20. BIBBLIOGRAPHY
OVERVIEW INDIA The name Dokra is used to indicate a group of craftsmen of nomadic type scattered over Odisha, Bengal and Madhya Pradesh and are identified by their beautifully shaped and decorated metal products. Dhokra crafts people are settled over a vast tract in the mineral rich central Indian tribal belt specially the regions of Jharkhand, Chhatisgarh, and parts of Andhra Pradesh. Dokra system of metal casting is said to be the oldest form of metal casting technically known as Cire Perdue or lost wax process. The technique is supposed to be of high antiquity in India. According to certain scholars, the small bronze statue of the dancing girl found in Mohenjodaro was probably manufactured by the Cire Perdue process. The socio-cultural links for Dhokra remains strong in Odisha. Rural brides receive a dowry of brass and bell metal home wares. Betel nut boxes and a round deep bowl for regional rice specialities, are daily essentials. Temple deities and associated ritual objects (such as bells & thalis) are made from brass or bell metal. The classical Odissi dancer adorn’s his/her ankles with tinkling bell metal anklets.
WEST BENGAL Most of the craftsmen have now settled down in some areas of Burdwan, Bankura and Midnapur districts of West Bengal.The Gharua or Dhokra Kamar tribes are the traditional metal workers of West Bengal, they are now semi-nomadic and are closely related to the Malhars of Bihar. There are only 60 families of Dhokhra Kamars, of these some 25 families live in Dariapur village district of Burdawan and some 15 families in Mednipore district. One of the major remaining foci for the dhokra craft in West Bengal is some kilometres to the north of Bankura in West Bengal. Thirty six related families live in a close-knit clan community in Bikna village. The actual caste origin of the Bikna artisans is obscure.
DARIAPUR VILLAGEBURDAWAN DISTRICT Guskara is a small town in Burdaman district. Durgapur and Birbhum are located to its periphery and is well known for its dokra craft. Dariapur village area in Guskara is famous for its dokra metal craft. It is a well developed town with presence of good schools, colleges,hospitals hence an easy provision of raw materials for dokra. Dokra Damar tribes are the traditional metal smiths of West Bengal. Their technique of lost wax casting is named after their tribe, hence Dokra metal casting.
BIRBHUM Railway Network (West Bengal)
ABOUT SHANTINIKETAN Shantiniketan is a small town near Bolpur in the Birbhum district of West Bengal, India, approximately 160 km north of Kolkata. Santiniketan was previously called Bhubandanga (named after Bhuban Dakat, a local dacoit), and owned by the Tagore family. Rabindranath's father, Maharshi Debendranath Tagore, found it very peaceful and renamed it Santiniketan, which means abode (niketan) of peace (shanti). It was here that Rabindranath Tagore started Patha Bhavan the school of his ideals, whose central premise was that learning in a natural environment would be more enjoyable and fruitful. After he received the Noble Prize (1913), the school was expanded into a university. The weather in Santiniketan is usually a pleasant one although you will come across the normal weather changes during summer, winter and Monsoon. Nonetheless Spring has its own charm in Santiniketan not only because of its natural beauty blooming to its fullest amidst the lush greenery but also due to the famous Vasanta Utsav held to mark the festival of Holi with the onset of Spring.
PLACES OF INTEREST IN SHANTINIKETAN
TAGORE’S ASHRAMA One of the most valued places in all of Santiniketan, Tagore's Aashram is located in the Uttrayan Complex. It is the place that Tagore's father first built when he arrived many years ago.
AMARKUTIR Located in close vicinity of the University, Amar Kutir showcases a number of locally made handicrafts, including leather printed bags, printed cloth etc.
CHHATTIMTALA This place was the meditation spot of Tagore's Father, Maharshi Debendranath Tagore. A scholar himself, he advocated meditation and introspection as the keys to success and world progress.
KALA BHAVAN Kala Bhavan, as the name suggests, promotes art among the students. The place focuses on developing the artistic bent among its patrons and very aptly also has the most beautifully done block.
VISHVA BHARATI UNIVERSITY Vishva Bharati University was founded by Rabindranath Tagore in 1921. In this university, the classes are held in the open-air.There are faculties in all major disciplines and the humainites and performing arts.
DEER PARK About 3 km from the main campus is the Ballavpur forest. The forest shelters a naturally bred large family of deer. It is now known as the deer park.
KHOAI MELA If you want to attend this fair, you will have to plan your trip around a Saturday. The fair starts at 4 am in the morning and artisans from all the nearby places set up stalls. Household items, Handicrafts, clothes etc are sold in plentiful.
NIPPON BHAVAN Nippon Bhavana, just like the China Bhawan, aims to foster Japanese- Indo relations. The Centre, though located in the main campus is an autonomous body and not controlled by the university.
POUSH MELA One of the most celebrated events of the year, the Poush mela is held every year in late December to mark the harvest season. The mela sees local artisans and tourists from all over the country coming together in this spirit of celebration.
KANKALITA The small rural town is located about 7 km from Santiniketan. The drive, and if you prefer the walk, takes you through the beautiful landscape of semi urban India.
SANGEET BHAVAN The Sangeet Bhavan is the block that fosters talents of Music and Dance. Regular practices are held and one can see students taking singing or dancing lessons at all times in the day.
RABINDRA BHABAN MUSEUM The museum is perhaps the most satisfying place for your historical inquisitiveness. Built back in 1961, it houses some Tagore's original manuscripts, letters, documents, paintings, certificates and photographs.
UNVEILING DOKRA Dhokra Kamar, a tribe native to West Bengal have been the finest metal-casters in India since ancient times. While the craft is predominant in Bengal, states such as Orissa, Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh too are centres of the craft. Dokra craft is over 4000-years-old art and its earliest signs were seen in the sculpture of a dancing girl found in the ruins of Mohenjadaro. Dokra artists use a very interesting method to cast metal into the craft, a technique that is known as ‘Cire Perdue’. Cire Perdue is further distinguished into two categories: ‘Solid-casting’ predominant in West-Bengal and ‘Hollow-casting’ predominant in the Central and Eastern states of India. The craft mainly involves creating sculptures of owls, horses, elephants, peacocks, religious images, measuring bowls and lamp caskets etc.
HISTORICAL AND GEOGRAPHICAL BACKGROUND The Dhokra people are settled over a vast tract in the mineral-rich central Indian tribal belt covering the modern regions of Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Orissa and parts of Andhra Pradesh. They are also settled in the adjoining alluvial districts of Bankura, Bardhaman, Purulia and Midnapur in the western most part of Bengal. The lost-wax technique, called cire perdue in French, is a metallurgical art form that is at once one of the oldest and the most advanced. Apart from India it was used in ancient Egypt,Mesopotamia, China and Greece The technique flourished in the hands of the Aztecs in Mexico during 14th-16th centuries AD and in the Benin kingdom in south-central Nigeria during 14th-19th centuries AD. It has been a favourite of many modern-day sculptors and for the last 100years employed in dentistry and industrial manufacture.Modern technology is the art of making things on the basis of explicitly statedprinciples of science. The procedure of traditional Cire Perdue includes moulding a rough clay core sculpture of the required craft. After the core, a layer of molten wax is sculptured over clay and finishing touches are given to it so that the wax layer exactly replicates the required final metal sculpture.
RAW MATERIALS USED IN THE PROCESS All the raw materials are sourced from the local market of Guskara. The artisians personally go to purchase materials as per their need and order size. Everything is bought from Guskara, except ChiniMitti Crucible that is sourced from BurraBazar, Kolkota.They personally travel and buy the ChiniMitti. Honey Bee Wax (mohum), Brass Metal Scrap, Bell Metal, Dhuno/Dhup, Mustard Oil (Sarso Tel), Sand (balu), Chini Mitti Crucble, Coal, Cow Dung(Ghute), Wood, Brick. For Making the form the materials are bought from the local Guskora Market : • Honey Bee Wax (Rs 250/kg) • Dhuno (Dhup) (Rs 300/kg) • Brass (Rs 350/kg) • Sarso Tel (Mustard Oil) (Rs 120/kg) • Sand (freely available around) For the Firing the materials required are: • ChiniMitti Crucible (Rs 50 per inch)* • Coal (Rs 1,100 Quintal) • Ghute (Cow Dung) (Rs 20 for 80 piece) • Wood (Rs 400 for 100 Kg) • Brick (Rs 8 per piece)
TOOLS ASSOCIATED WITH DOKRA Basic tools used by the artisians are Furnace (bhatti) , Sulka (to give impressions) , Small chisel (nihan) , Bigchisel(batani),Hammer,Graphite container to melt brass (kui) , Tongs (chimta). These days to save time grinders are used to do the polishing and final finishing touches to the products. Usually they use spatualla and knife for clay modeling, blade for wax modelling, a flat sheet of wood for preparing of thin strands of wax, Hammer to break the mould that is done after firing and then manual polishing of the artefact are done. In line with availability of improved material for tool-making and a changing understand of their needs instead of continuing with traditional tools. The ideal tool has to be durable, ergonomic and user friendly made from the material available around inthe environment.
PROCESS The process is the main part any craft. Dokra craft involves molten metal work.There are two method practiced for Dokra. One is age-old wax vanishing technique and The other method practiced by the artisans is hollow casting. In Dariapur village ‘wax vanishing technique’ is practised at large.Even today the artisians use the same age-old wax vanishing technique using simple conventional tools. The process is termed as the ‘wax vanishing technique’ because during the process, wax vanishes while playing its most important role in giving shape and designs to the object. The process of Dokra making majorly involves six steps.
A clay core is made from local clay some how resembling the end product that they are trying to replicate from the drawing or a finished Dokra piece. The fine clay-loam which are found around the roots of bamboo is usually preferred. The clay is dried, strained and then mixed with uncrushed sand. The mixture obtained that is sand-rich clay is then mixed with water to an level and is used to make suitable core-figures. The cores are then slowly sun-dried over three or four days or by mildly firing in an oven.
CORE MAKING
After the cores have been sundried, the fine details of the object is built on the core figure using wax stripes and thin wires to make the thickness of metal desired by the artisians in the finished object that is smooth and expressive. Ideally, wax (‘mohum’) is the best modelling medium, but the Karmakars prefer to use ‘dhuna’ too. Bees-wax is often mixed with dhuna and boiled in mustard oil. Dhuna holds the shape very well, even in high temperatures.
MODELLING
MOULDING
The wax completed model is covered in a layer of a very fine clay which takes an impression of all its surface details. This layer is then sun-dried. When the first layer is dry, a second layer is built onto it. The clay used for the second mould coat is usually mixed with sand. At this stage, one or more channels are created in the mould to allow the flow of molten brass into the space.
DE-WAXING
The mould is pre-heated to melt the wax, and the molten wax is poured out (hence it got its name lost-wax technique and it may be recovered for subsequent re-use). This leaves a cavity which has the exact size, shape and surfacecontours of the intended artifact; The closed system moulding used by the artisians have made it impossible to recover the wax (or dhuna), which was therefore either vapourised and burnt or else absorbed into the clay of the mould.
CASTING
Molten metal is poured into the cavity and the mould left to cool; A crude furnace is built in a convenient open space, using loose bricks. The fire is made using cowdung and bought charcoal.Completed moulds are laid in the fire. When the mould is ready to use it was removed from the fire using tongs or a pair of green sticks. It is inverted allowing molten brass to run down into the mould space. Then the clay mould is broken and the artifact taken out for cleaning and polishing. A new artifact has been created out of metal scrap.
FINISHING
The artifact is broken out of the mould. Traces of baked clay are removed and surface blemishes and defects repaired. After the finishing process has been completed the Transporting and Cleaning of surfaces done by the family members. The kids in the village enthusiastically playing his part too and help the adults willingly. The age old method of manual grinding and polishing is used after the product has been completed.Though it is a time consuming procedure, the result cannot be achieved by machine. The Fresh made dokra products are then filled in the bucket for transportation purpose.
DECORATION AND PACKAGING
DECORATION: 1) Dokra products are generally not decorated with anything, due to the high prices. 2) There is however use of beads of different sizes in Dokra jewellery, which includes terracota beads. 3) There is a lot of usgae of wool while making jewellery as it reasonable in comparison to other materials.
PACKAGING: 1) Due to lack of proper storage the artisans cannot store many products at home. As seen during our visit the products are simpley dumped into a bi carton, semi folded in newspapers. 2) In a conversation with the artisans it was known that, if they sell directly from the village, they do not really package it, Its simply wrapperd in a newspaper and sold. 3) During transportation due to lack of proper packaging, the proudtcs are often damaged. This was one of the problems noticed.
ROLE OF WOMAN Women are equally involved and are important in the process of Dokra making.Women usually help in processing the raw materials and involves themselves in the marketing of Dokra accessories. All the accessories like necklaces, bangles, rings, chokers. etc. are all designed and made by the women of the village.They even handle the marketing and selling of the accessories. Apart from this, they help their families in the entire process of Dokra making. they even prepare the base models, help in the intials steps, mixing the raw materials. etc. They equally participate in the process. There is no fixed job they do but they know the entire process of Dokra.But mostly they do grinding and polishing the finished Dokra products.when there are bulk oders and pressure from the market they work full time with their families to finish the respective oders.
PRODUCT AND DESIGN MOTIFS: 1) The inspirartion is mostly drawn from folk culture. 2) This includes folk art like men and women involved in their daily life chores. For example a man reading book, working. 3) A lot of inspiration is drawn from Nature, which is visible in their small and big statues. 4) A lot of their work inlcudes animals like bulls, cows , horses. 5) They are believers of God, and this is visible in their designs. A lot of their work revolves around lord Ganesha as they consider him to be the god of strength and wealth. 6) They draw inspiration from their daily life activities, and this is mainly due to lack of exposure that they are not being experimental.
CHANGE IN THE TYPE OF DESIGN The design has not changed much in case of the dokra products. Since most of the design inspiration come from Nature and daily activities. However the design has become a bit contemporary as noticed in few products where Lord Gnaesha was seen reading a book or riding a scooter. This change has come with a very few maybe 2-3 artisans travellling to nearby cities and across India and taking inspiration. This then gets replicated in the village by the other artisans.
CHANGE IN PRODUCT: 1) There has been a change in the type of products the artisans have been making, mainly due to the demand of the consumer. 2) Earlier the products were not made depending on utility purpose but simply for the purpose of ornamenetation and decoration. 3) Due to rise in the price of dokra products, consumers do not wish to pay such a high price for simple decoration purpose. They look for utility. 4) Due to this reasons artisans have started thinking of designs which are less ornamental and more functional. 5) Initially the products used to comprise only statues, small show pieces. Now the product range includes utensils, jewellery, wall hanging.
CHANGE IN THE TYPE OF DESIGN The design has not changed much in case of the dokra products. Since most of the design inspiration come from Nature and daily activities. However the design has become a bit contemporary as noticed in few products where Lord Gnaesha was seen reading a book or riding a scooter. This change has come with a very few maybe 2-3 artisans travellling to nearby cities and across India and taking inspiration. This then gets replicated in the village by the other artisans.
PRICE Reasons for change in the price range of the products: 1) The dokra product prices have changed over the past few years. A lot of factors have affected the prices of the products. For example the increase in the price of the raw materials , have made the dokra products more expensive now. 2) A lot of competitors have set up factories where similar products are produced however it is not Dokra. 3) The dokra artisans are dependant on the middle men to sell their products in the neighbouring cities, this results in higher pricing of the products by the middle men. 4) The demand for the dokra products have also reduced, as there is a lot of difference in the pricing of the products. This discourages the consumers to buy the Dokra product
Type of the Product Doll (Small) Doll (Big) Elephant Horse Ganesh Durga Set
Cost
Intermediary Market price
80/120/280/300/225/2400/-
40/80/100/120/75/250/-
120/200/400/500/350/3000/-
MARKET ANALYSIS MAIN MARKET : SALE OF THE PRODUCT Dokra products are sold right from the adjacent Guskara and Birbhum markets to Kolkata. They are also tansported to the other parts of the country. However most of the Kormokars are not exposed to the worldly market and are not aware of the right channel to use to market their product. Only one or two artisans have been successful in building connections with the outer world, mainly beyond West Bengal. The majority mainly depends on Government orders which they usually receive twice in a year.
EFFECT OF GLOBALISATION : Globalisation has improved the market conditions for the dokra crafts. But this has not really helped the artisans because most of the profits are made by the middlemen who help them connect to rest of the world. Lack of awareness and education is the major reason for the loss experienced by the Dokra artisans. Most of the times they are unaware of the demand for their craft.
MARKETING PROBLEMS The main problems faced by the artisans when it comes to marketing is : 1) Due to shortage of financial resources , advertising publicity cannot be undertaken by them. Absence of marketing network has been a discouraging factor in this region. 2) The practice of artisans depending on the middlemen for the procurement of raw materials and selling of finished products has been a major disadvantage, as this has reduced the profits earned by the artisans. 3) Huge disparity in the pricing of the products has also reduced the demand for the products. For example the same products in Dariapur is found for Rs200 however in another part of Shantiniketan it is priced differently. This has also affected a consumer's behaviour. 4) Lack of proper transportation facilities has also restarined the artisans from travellling to nearby places to explore more and find other channel to sell their products.
INTERACTION WITH THE ARTISIANS
1) Artisan's Name: Ganga Karmakar 2) Contact Number : 3) Location : Dariapur 4) Age : 60 5) Sex: Male 6) Education : Primary Level 7) Languages Known: Bengali, Hindi 8) For how many years the craft has been practiced by the family? 10-25 Years 9) What is your area of speciality? Nothing specific. 10) Where were you trained? No special training. 11) Who trained you? Self taught, no special training. 12) What are you currently producing? Dokra showpieces, ganesh statues 13) Do you teach others? Yes, only younger family members. 14) Passed on skilled to other fsmily members? Yes 15) What are some of the challenges you face in continuing with the craft? > Since he is aging it is difficult to work for long hours sitting on the floor. >He is unable to think of more innovative ways to design his products so that they sell more. >Too much emission of smoke while working has affected his lungs. > Better transportation facilities would help them commute and carry heavy raw materials more easily. 16) Are there are occupational health hazards/diseases, linked with your craft practice? Yes, breathing problems and eye sight has also got affected. 17) In which of the following areas, would you want to be trained? Design Innovation
1) Artisan's Name: Suresh Karmakar 2) Contact Number : 3) Location : Dariapur 4) Age :28 5) Sex: Male 6) Education : Primary Level 7) Languages Known: Bengali, Hindi 8) For how many years the craft has been practiced by the family? 5-10 Years 9) What is your area of speciality? Nothing specific. 10) Where were you trained? No special training. 11) Who trained you? Self taught, no special training. 12) What are you currently producing? Trying to work on new designs for statues. 13) Do you teach others? No 14) Passed on skilled to other fsmily members? No 15) What are some of the challenges you face in continuing with the craft? >Due to lack of proper education they are not able to understand the mathematics of pricing resulting in heavy losses. >Provision of tables would help them work more efficiently. > Lack of proper Electricity facility affects their work, as they cannot work after sunset. 16) Are there are occupational health hazards/diseases, linked with your craft practice? Yes,major back pain and neck pain. 17) In which of the following areas, would you want to be trained? Design Innovation and advertising techniques to sell products.
1) Artisan's Name: Ramu Karmakar 2) Contact Number : +91 9775758037 3) Location : Dariapur 4) Age : 48 5) Sex: Male 6) Education : Primary Level 7) Languages Known: Bengali, Hindi 8) For how many years the craft has been practiced by the family? 10-25 Years 9) What is your area of speciality? Nothing specific. 10) Where were you trained? No special training. 11) Who trained you? Learnt it during childhood as entire family is involved with this craft. 12) What are you currently producing? Dokra showpieces and jewellery. 13) Do you teach others? No 14) Passed on skilled to other fsmily members? Yes 15) What are some of the challenges you face in continuing with the craft? > lack of exposure often results in losses, as products are bought at very low prices but sold at very at very high prices. So almost zero or no profits. >Demand for Dokra has reduced due to increase in the price of raw materials, Hence they are not to earn much nowadays. > During monsoons due to bad infrastructure they do not have a proper place to work, Hence the work has to stopped during monsoons. >Very little support from the Panchayat. 16) Are there are occupational health hazards/diseases, linked with your craft practice? Yes, specially during pre heating the bhatti before the desired product is finally obtained a lot of gas is produced which is very hamrful for teh eyes and also results in breathing problems. 17) In which of the following areas, would you want to be trained? Skill Development , Capacity Building , Design Innovation
PROBLEMS FACED BY THE DOKRA ARTISANS 1) Increase in the price of raw materials have affected the artisans in numerous ways. Some of them have shifted to other ways of earning their living, while few are still struggling to manage the low sale and high value of raw materials. This has also affected the enthusiasm of the artisans, resulting in little or no innovation in the products. 2) Lack of knowledge about the new designs that are being experiemented with , lack of encouragement to work with innovative ideas is causing a major setback among the artisans. 3) Like most traditional crafts people, the artisans of Dariapur district have no formal training as such. 4) Most of the artisans do not have a bank account and depend on the local money lenders to take loads, who charge them at a higher rate of interest. They are unaware of the various minimum wage facilities available from the Government. 5) Dokra Crafts, which are produced with traditional skill are under threat of steep decline because of competition from the cheaper machine made local substitues and imports , which give greater unifromity and finish. 6) Protection of own cultural identity is a major issue faced by the artisans. Numerous business men who are not producers of Dokra but have set up factories that produce similar metal products and get traded withing and outside India. 7) Following the old technique and not adapting to the modern technology, is causing a delay in the production process. 8) Lack of proper lighting has affected the work of the artisans. Since they are not able to work much in the evening , as they are mainly dependant on natural lighting.
REASONS FOR DECLINE OF THE CRAFT 1) The major reason for the decline for the craft is the increase in the raw matrials that has discouraged most of the artisans to continue with the craft. 2) Increasing competition due to new business ventures where metals products with better finish are available in the market. 3) Lack of proper technology has slowed down the production process, resulting in smaller quantities of products produced at one time. 4) Lack of proper initiative by the Governement to promote and sustain the craft. 5) Decrease in demand for dokra due to cheaper options avaulable in the market.
SUGGESTIONS FOR IMPROVEMENT: 1) Artisans due to long hours of work often suffer from body pain because of the posture they sit and work in. Hence providing them with a proper work place would help improve the production process. Providing them with small tables would really help them sit and work for longer hours avoiding bending and working for so long. 2) There is a lot of smoke that is emitted from the furnace while de waxing and moulding. This smoke is very harmful for the eye and also while inhaling, resulting in a lot of diseases. Proper masks should be provided to the artisans to avoid such health issues. 3) The sanitation facilities in the village area were really poor. Washrooms were under renovation , however proper gates were not made. This has also affected the health of the artisans resulting in spread of various types of diseases. 4) The drainage in the village was mostly left open , which results in a lot of insects and mosquitos in the work area of the artisans. This not only causes hindrance while working but also making the area very unhealthy. 5) Either through Government initiatives or through Private Industries more craft cluster initiatives should be undertaken, this would help create awareness among the artisans and wouls also result in encouraging them to perform better and showcase their talent. 6) More exposure would enhance the knowledge of the artisans and help them to produce more innovative designs using better and faster methods thus imrpoving production.
SWOT ANALYSIS STRENGTH
WEAKNESS
1) Skill 2) Demand 3)Availability of Raw material
1) No exposure to market 2) Health and hygiene 3) Space infrastructure
THREAT
OPPORTUNITY
1) Lack of unity within community 2) Slow technology adaptation 3) Illetracy
1) Acceptance in international product markets 2) Availability of common space to work/ conduct training programmes.
CONCLUSION Our experience at Dariyapur was very educative. our trip was very informative regarding the design aspect and the problems related to their economic condition of the Karmakar community. The critical part of the effort to improve their well-being can be done through intervention that can address economic and social issues in tandem. An external body needs to invest years with this cluster and help the karmakars grow as a community and at the same time, become sensitive and adaptive to the outer world and its customs. To conclude with we would like to mention the fact that, with the help of this cluster our visual balance and design concept got enhanced and we achieved more fluidity in our design development process.
BIBLIOGRAPHY Most of the information was gathered during the cluster visit to Dariyapur as well as visuals. Our questionaire regarding the artisians was a success due to our core interactions with the artisians working there. We also gather a few general and basic information from our resource centre present at our college, National Institute of Fashion Technology. Few guidelines were also taken from the internet to finish our document.
C R A F T C L US TE R I N I TI AT I V E 1 2 TH JU NE -17TH J UNE 2016