VIJAYAWADA: Household items worth Rs 30,000 were sold in three hours at an exhibition at Bengaluru this month. No, the lamps, planters and swanky containers weren’t IKEA’s, but those of a venture begun by four engineers who buy raw materials from the Komma Koya community, giving the impoverished tribal group a new lease of life.
The community which has a strong presence in East and West Godavari districts earns its livelihood mainly by performing its traditional dance form at functions. However, the dwindling demand for such performances has led to the tribals being exploited.
M Rajaiah from Tummala said it was not uncommon for clients to refuse to pay after functions. “It has happened to us a number of times. We will be given an advance and told to perform. In the end, they say the dance wasn’t up to the mark and refuse to pay us.
At most we would make around Rs 400 per head for a day’s work,” he explained. But Koyakal, the start up formed by the engineers from Kurnool’s G Pulla Rao Engineering College, is changing the fortunes of the community by making suave lamps, containers and planters using gourds supplied by the community.
Koyakal founder and CEO K Govardhan and his friends Gnanesh Kumar, Madhubabu Naidu and Krishna Prasad hit the road with their company in June, 2018.
Govardhan, who graduated from National Institute of Design in Hyderabad, told Express he was inspired after he saw a performance at Ravindra Bharati in Hyderabad last year. “IIT Hyderabad had taken up a tribal welfare project and recruited me as I am a designer who could help them market tribal products. When I saw the community’s dance, I was struck by its uniqueness, though the performers didn’t even have good costumes. When I decided to do some research on the community by hanging out with them, I got to know more about their history. One day, I saw a tribal carry a water bottle made of gourd and wondered what else could be made with it.
“The products generate Rs 4 lakh at the exhibition in Bengaluru. As ours was a test run, not all products were made from materials supplied by the community. We are only experimenting and so bought supplies worth just a few thousand rupees from them,” he said, but quickly added that the designs inspired by the subaltern group held great promise.
Koyakal is now planning to sign a MoU with the community seeking supply of raw material including bottle gourds and palm leaves for making ropes to hang planters. “We will also train them to hone their skills to make household articles that can be sold directly,’’ he added.
But before this idea struck Govardhan, he had already begun designing costumes for the dancers and training them to improve their rhythm and sync. The four friends spent around Rs 4 lakh for the purpose, of which Rs 1.7 lakh was reimbursed by the Language and Culture Department after they met its director Dr Vizai Bhaskar.
“We have handed over the amount and also invite the dancers to perform during functions. They are paid Rs1,000 per head for each performance, in addition to being provided transport, food and stay. The software engineers have brought a change to their lives through some very good initiatives,” said Dr Vizai Bhaskar.
Integrated Tribal Development Authority loan consultant M Nagamalleswara Rao said, “There are about 200 artists. Their dance has improved already. Their performances during this year’s Adivasi Day attended by CM Naidu.”