Colourful bamboo fans made by tribal artisans will dot the ramparts of the Red Fort this Independence Day.
The Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India Limited (TRIFED), which functions under the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, supplied the handmade fans to the Defence Ministry that organises the I-Day event.
The fans will be offered to the invitees, including ministers, parliamentarians, and other VVIPs.
"These bamboo-based fans have been made by the artisans belonging to the Mahali tribe of West Bengal. The hand-painted 'pankhas' have tribal motifs on both sides. Each fan costs Rs 150 and all the money goes to the tribal people," Managing Director, TRIFED, Pravir Krishna, said.
The fans are available for sale on tribesindia.com and amazon.in.
Also, members of the Shariya tribe of Madhya Pradesh have crafted plantable rakhis, which are organic in nature and can be grown into a tulsi, lupin or marigold plant, he said.
A plantable rakhi kit comprises a plantable pencil (lupin flower), a plantable letter (tomato), and round paper boxes for "roli and chawal".
The rakhis, each costing Rs 120, are available at 42 Tribes India outlets across the country and on tribesindia.com, Amazon, Snapdeal, PayTM and Flipkart.
Ethnic clothing meant for Raksha Bandhan is also on sale at all the Tribes India outlets and e-commerce websites.
"The idea is to promote small tribal enterprises... An attempt to eliminate the middlemen and give tribal people direct access to big markets and big orders," Krishna said.
"There are 16 regional centres of Tribes India across the country that procure the products directly from tribal people and sell them in the market. Our aim is to help the tribal people get the best price for their products," he added.
(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)