To provide the much-needed leg-up to the traditional artisans of Kondapalli village in Krishna district, Vijayawada Lok Sabha member Kesineni Nani has brought them under the fold of the National Institute of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (NIMSME).
Kondapalli toys are famous for their light weight, vibrant colours and age-old production techniques. Themed around mythology, rural life and animals, these toys exhibit joyous and realistic expressions but the artisans, who have been practising this art of making toys using a wood called ‘puniki’ have never got the recognition they deserve.
Under the Central scheme, funds to the tune of ₹1.85 crore have been sanctioned to impart training to the toy makers in skills needed to upgrade their living standards. The Centre bears 90% of the cost and the remaining 10% is to be borne by the beneficiaries. Since the artisans cannot afford it, Mr. Nani allocated the funds (₹42.50 lakh) from MPLADS (Member of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme).
"A society called Kodapalli Toy-Makers' Association has been formed and a new society building is being constructed from where the scheme would be implemented,” said Mr. Nani. This is done under SFURTI (Scheme of Fund for Regeneration of Traditional Industries), launched by the Ministry of MSME in 2005 to promote cluster development.
“We are also building nearly 25 shops in Kondapalli village. Of the many toy makers' families, only 80 of them are left in the village. We want to help them eke out a decent living sticking to their traditional art,” said the MP.
New building
In 1963, the State government constructed a building that housed the artisans society, along the main road. The building is in a dilapidated state. The plan is to demolish the old structure and raise a new building there for the society to function.
Mr. Nani said over the years, the toy-making families left this traditional art and shifted to other works as it was no more lucrative in terms of financial benefits. “The idea is to equip the artisans with enhanced skills and help them bring a novelty in their work and attract the younger generations to this unique art,” said the MP, adding that the plan to help the artisans originated a couple of years ago but is being implemented now.
The foundation stone for the society building was laid at the village on Friday.
