NEW DELHI: The Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India (TRIFED) will tie up with the India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO) to improve the visibility of tribal art and craft items in the international market.
TRIFED, an autonomous organisation operating under the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, will sign an MoU with the ITPO next week. “TRIFED will also tie up with the Art of Living retail outlets as a part of its promotional strategy,” said Pravir Krishna, MD, TRIFED.
The focus would be to increase the visibility of the products produced by tribals in the countries with a higher concentration of the Indian diaspora, he added.
TRIFED aims to increase the annual turnover to Rs 100 crore by the end of 2020. As a part of the expansion strategy, TRIFED will pool in more suppliers from tribal communities. Currently, there are around 70,000 tribal suppliers who are engaged in making products which are put on sale through TRIFED. The number of tribal suppliers will soon go up to 1.5 lakh for more people to gain employment.
“The expansion entails a two-fold strategy — to preserve the heritage value of the products made by tribal artisans and also to make a commercial sense of it,” said Krishna.
The government will launch a promotional campaign starting July 1 for the handmade products to gain popularity among consumers.