Women terracotta artisans of Odisha brave Covid, bounce back

PARADIP: Showing example of resilience, local artisans selling traditional terracotta items in the State who were badly impacted with the pandemic hitting hard, have bounced back with renewed vigour. A few women groups of Fatehpur village in Kujang block have found ways to revive their business by reaching more buyers and improve their livelihood. 

Villagers in Fatehpur mostly depended on terracotta crafts using traditional methods which lacked quality and finesse. So the products never fetched them higher prices in the markets. Still, the women artisans used to travel across villages to sell their wares and earn some amount. But ever since the pandemic hit, they lost the scope to earn affecting their livelihood. So they decided to find a way out and formed a group named ‘Jibanjyoti Terracotta Producer Group’ under the aegis of the terracotta production unit in Fatehpur to render a new look to the products they made.  

With this in mind, the women artisans knocked on the doors of Odisha Rural Development and Marketing Society (ORMAS) for skill development training and proper access to markets to sell their wares. 
Gita Muduli, the supervisor of the group, said, “Our products lacked demand as they didn’t live up to the times. Around 50 women were inducted for the skills training and are now producing handcrafted eco-friendly terracotta items including water filters, jugs, plates, pans, pots, lanterns, toys, statues, vases, decorative hangings and bells, murals, Diwali oil lamps and other household decorations.

The demand for our wares has gone up significantly now.” Muduli added that the group has contacted local industries like Paradip Refinery of IOCL, IFFCO and PPL to market their hand-made products in their offices.  As per sources, IOCL and PPL have procured terracotta items from the group for their offices. “We are also encouraged to participate in different exhibitions as soon as things normalise and get orders from outside the State as well which can help us earn an income of around Rs 5,000-20,000 per month for each beneficiary in a year,” said Muduli. 

Deputy Chief Executive Officer, ORMAS Satyasunder Sibram Paital said the organisation is committed to such causes. “Along with promoting their traditional art and design, we have also extended Rs 2.04 lakh towards IB/CB and equipment cost and Rs 1 lakh towards working capital considering their market demand. The group’s turnover was a remarkable Rs 10 lakh last year,” added Paital.