ITDA Utnoor to showcase Adilabad tribal handicrafts

Hyderabad: The emergence of the internet and social media has brought about a significant shift in marketing and sales, and failure to adapt this new paradigm shift can result in a loss of market share. The indigenous tribes of Adilabad in Telangana faced a similar challenge, as they too found themselves struggling to keep up with these changes.

To provide market accessibility to the products made by tribal communities in the State, Integrated Development Agency (ITDA), Utnoor in Adilabad came up with a unique initiative to promote the handicrafts made by them under their logo. The introduction of a logo will aid in promoting these crafts, increasing their visibility to a wider outreach of potential buyers.

In this gift pack, one can find decorative items and food products handmade by tribals. This package includes several items such as dorka metalcraft (brass display idols), Gondi art paintings, Giri pure honey (wild processed honey), ready to eat millets, mahua laddus and several other products in a carton box or jute bag.

Gond paintings and Dokra brass craft already have a Geographical Indication (GI) tag. Dokra metalcraft represents a time-honored tradition of fashioning metal objects through the intricate process of lost-wax casting, resulting in art pieces that appear seamlessly fused. This craft is upheld by the skilled Ojha craft smiths hailing from the States of Jharkhand and Odisha, who create an array of stunning pieces including peacocks, elephants, deer, horses, and other figurines fashioned from premium brass or bronze. The intricacies of this craft are not to be underestimated, as each piece demands an extensive amount of time and effort to bring to fruition.

Speaking to The Hans India, BNagabhushan, Jobs District Manager of ITDA, said, “We wanted to provide a platform for these tribal communities to exhibit their products, Unfortunately, they have remote access to the market, and this will help them in gaining traction in wider public for their products.”

ITDA Project Officer and Nirmal district Collector, KVarun Reddy said, “Several artisans have been identified by the administration and were sent to Bastar region in Chhattisgarh for training which enables them to learn new skills in finishing the product. This helped them in enhancing the value of the product. On several occasions, we reached out to ICRISAT and National Institute of Nutrition in Hyderabad to train our artisans for the ready-to-eat millets, mahua laddus and others.”

As of now, we are planning to exhibit these handmade products by tribals in various platforms so that it can aid in their economic development, once they have access to the market. We are looking forward to platforms like the upcoming G20 summit, Numaish exhibition in Nampally, T-Hub, We Hub and others. When foreign delegates visit our country, they will certainly be impressed by the work made by our tribals.”