VIJAYAWADA: Premier fashion technology institute, NIFT has been striving to help the weavers community and artisans in its own way.
Apart from offering suggestions and technical expertise for designs and product diversification, NIFT Hyderabad helped Pedana Kalamkari (near Machilipatnam in Krishna district) and Budithi brass and bell metal craft (Srikakulam district) to get GI tag.
Since, GI Tag is one way of helping protect the identity and intellectual property rights of the communities traditionally engaged in production of certain products, NIFT on the directions of the Ministry of Textiles for years have worked in helping those communities get the GI tag. In the last one decade, NIFT had helped 50 to 60 traditional crafts and designs get GI tag.
“As we are part of the Ministry of Textiles, we are entrusted with the duty of helping weavers and artisan communities in rural areas, which we do from time to time. Every year, a group of students from NIFT will visit a community of either weavers or artisans. The students give suggestions and techniques that can enhance the quality of product, make it a more saleable commodity and also suggest ways for product diversification,” explained G Hari Shankar Prasad, chairperson of the department of Fashion Management Studies, NIFT Hyderabad.
“NIFT Hyderabad had helped a total of nine such communities, three each in the undivided Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and Chhattisgarh. In Andhra Pradesh, we had helped in Pedana Kalamkari (block printing in textiles using natural dyes) in Krishna district, Budithi brass and bell metal craft in Srikakulam district and in Telangana it was Nirmal painting,” Hari Shankar said.
He said NIFT students and faculty will continue to identify such communities and extend whatever help they can.