ADILABAD: In order to provide an alternative livelihood for the Kolam people, officials from the District Rural Development Agency (DRDA) have started providing training to the tribals in preparing baskets with cattail grass, which easily grows in lakes and other water bodies, instead of bamboo in Kolamguda under Errachintal gram panchayat in Nirmal district.
Speaking to The New Indian Express, the DRDA project officer K Vijayalakshmi, said that the tribals have shown interest in preparing baskets and other materials from cattail grass, which has long, flat leaves, making it easy to prepare. “I watched a YouTube video and prepared the baskets for two days. Later, I provided training to interested Kolam people in the village,” she said.
Currently, six Kolam tribals are involved in the preparation, and more are expected to join the initiative. “In search of marketing facilities, we will appeal to the government, with the assistance of Collector Ashish Sangwan, to purchase the baskets, which would be beneficial to the tribals. This would generate some revenue for them,” she added.
She explained that the process involves selecting the grass and soaking it in water for a certain period before preparation, similar to the process for bamboo. Generally, mats are prepared from this grass, which gives them a good appearance. “We are also ready to provide training to interested tribals from other districts who,” she mentioned.
Two tribals who are attending the training session, Attram Shantha Bai and Siddam Lachhu, said that for decades, they have been preparing baskets from bamboo without knowing about cattail. They said that the process with cattail is easier compared to bamboo. “While bamboo faces restrictions from the Forest department, cattail grass does not face any such restrictions. With marketing facilities, we can readily prepare such baskets,” they added.