A think-tank on international relations has initiated a project aimed at helping West Bengal’s rural economy that has taken a hit due to the COVID-19 pandemic and also cyclone Amphan.
Jadavpur Association of International Relations (JAIR), which originated as a group of professors, students and scholars of Jadavpur University in 2008 and is now a pan-India group that works closely with the Ministry of External Affairs, plans to source handcrafted goods — artworks to clothes — from villages and sell them on a dedicated website.
Under the project, called Glocal to Global, the group, to begin with, will procure handcrafted materials from the districts of Purulia, Bankura and Birbhum, and sell them on the website on a no-profit-no-loss basis. They will be sold under the banner of Triyaa’s Creation, a brand owned by local model and designer Triyaa Das, who is also a JAIR member. The project will also cover southern parts of the State once the post-Amphan situation there improves.
“During the lockdown and the post-Amphan period it came to my notice that our rural economy is in a very difficult shape. Since our think-tank is widely engaged in connectivity and regional cooperation and development, we thought if we could link our rural economy to the global market in line with the U.N.’s development goals, our rural economy will get a big boost,” Imankalyan Lahiri, general secretary of JAIR and professor of international relations at the Jadavpur University, told The Hindu.
Exploring creativity
“The project will allow us to explore the creativity of our rural stakeholders besides giving them a gentle livelihood. They will get appropriate attention from the strong national and international reach of JAIR. Without boosting the rural economy, no relations — including international relations — can sustain,” Mr. Lahiri said. JAIR has about 5,000 members at present and works with the Policy, Planning and Research division of the MEA and also has links with several foreign missions in India.
According to Mr. Lahiri, JAIR approached Triyaa’s Creation because Ms. Das has been a long-time member of the organisation for her interest in international economy and that she agreed to join the Glocal to Gobal project without any remuneration.
“This is not a commercial venture but a social venture for me,” Ms. Das told The Hindu.
“I always wanted to do something for society and I realised this was the time, when a large number of labour force is returning to their respective villages (due to the COVID-19 situation). I can get them to use their own creativity to make some money. I plan to source from them typical village stuff, such as dokra items, wooden crafts, tant fabric, mud dolls and ornaments.
“But the idea is to make these products appealing for the younger generation and the urban population. That way we can make an impact on the international market,” she said.