KOCHI: Having made positive interventions in different sectors, Kudumbashree is on a new mission now: Reviving indigenous tribal art forms facing extinction. The community network has come up with ‘Jana Galsa’ to provide the traditional art forms practised by 37 Kerala tribes a stage at events organised by government and quasi-government agencies, giving its practitioners a means to earning a livelihood. Utilising the art forms in the teaching-learning process in tribal schools, to ensure students are familiarised with the subjects through their own traditional art forms and language, is another aim.
“The first step would be gathering information about the popular and not-so-popular tribal art forms. That begins on August 9,” a Kudumbashree official associated with the project told TNIE.
The aim is to create a directory of the art forms with the help of organisations like Kirtads (Kerala Institute for Research Training and Development Studies of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes). “It is important to identify art forms that the tribals are comfortable presenting in public. There are some art forms that they (only) perform within the community during rites and rituals,” said the official.
Once that is done, Kudumbashree will help practitioners get a stage to perform and earn a livelihood. “They could be provided an avenue in association with the tourism department to perform at tourist destinations or festivals. They might also be registered as Kudumbashree’s micro-enterprise groups or used in various Information Education and Communication (IEC) activities,” said the official.
Another objective is to use the art forms to help students studying in schools in the tribal belt understand the lessons. “We will analyse how to connect the art forms with science or maths to help tribal students assimilate the concepts and facts better. However, a module has to be developed for this, and that will happen only after the first phase is over. We aim to complete the survey by the end of August,” the official said.
“All eligible beneficiaries under the tribal project currently implemented by Kudumbashree will be identified for the purpose. It is hoped that by forming a state-level consortium by including art forms under the enterprise model, the tribals will be able to find better livelihood,” the official said.
