Field of intervention :Local know-how
Association : Dastkar
Project :Technical and sales training for traditional craftsmen
Localisation :14 Indian provinces
Country : India
Supported Group :2,000 traditional and underprivileged craftsmen
 
Objective

To enable 14 communities of traditional underprivileged artisans to live from their traditional expertise.

Project holder

Ashwin Shirali, Director of Human Resources, Accor India.

Association

Dastkar (“artisan” in Hindi) is an Indian NGO established in 1981 with the aim of bringing to life and restoring traditional Indian craftsmanship. As an official government partner, Dastkar supports artisans (over 14 millions in India) in training and searching for commercial outlets.

Project

With the advent of industrial products in India, traditional Indian artisans are increasingly excluded from the economic backdrop of the country. To enable them to find a place in the economy and society, the Dastkar NGO wishes firstly to help them adapt their products to domestic and international demand and then to train them in marketing techniques. Artisans are selected on the basis of their artistic potential and motivation.

The project’s objective is to enable 14 communities of traditional underprivileged artisans, living in 14 different provinces of India, to be able to “live” from their traditional expertise: wood-working in Rajasthan, hand weaving in Bihar, silk painting in Chhattisgarh, leather-working….

The project is implemented over three years and includes three types of action: targeted and tailored training in each province to help artisans develop new models of products with modern and attractive designs, workshops for training in sales and marketing in Delhi to help artisans in their offering (price, packaging, distribution….), a market study identifying new opportunities, monitoring test exhibitions in Delhi and Bombay (targeted know-how is increasing rare in India, such as creating leather puppets in Andhra Pradesh).

support €50,000 for 3 years (2009 to 2011)
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