KENDRAPARA: The century-old golden grass craft of Kendrapara now finds a place in the international market with e-commerce giants like Amazon and Flipkart extending their helping hands to the craftspersons of Bari and Jaganga villages.The two e-commerce sites have already displayed the items made from golden grass on their sites, said Santosh Kumar Mishra, general manager of District Industrial Centre, Kendrapara. As the golden grass products are eco-friendly, biodegradable and reduce the use of plastic, those have now reached the international market, added Mishra.
As many as 800 women and girls of Jajanga and Baro villages, on the outskirts of Kendrapara town, have been weaving magic with golden grass, locally known as ‘Kaincha’. It is a wild grass found in many parts of the coastal district, after monsoon, and grows to a height of about 5 to 6 feet.
“We formed a Self Help Group, comprising 150 women in 2008, and developed the art of making golden grass crafts. Now, around 800 craftspersons are in the business. Golden grass hats, baskets, hand-fans, tablemats, flower-pots besides other daily use items of Kendrapara are well-known and in huge demand. A new concept of grass jewellery, has come from here, where we train the craft-persons to make attractive and designer jewellery from golden grass, added Mishra.
Owing to ban on plastic and craze for eco-friendly products, the demand for golden grass crafts has increased in the international markets. The DIC is providing skill up-gradation training to around 800 craftspersons of Jajanga and Baro village with an aim to make golden grass crafts available in the international market,” added the officer.
“The golden craft items are redesigned for the international buyers according to their taste and preference, but not detaching it from ethnicity, said Sampads Nayak, a craftswoman of Baro. The bustling colonies of golden craft persons of Jajanga and Baro, which once had meagre demand, today reflect their economic growth thanks to the demand for eco-friendly household and jewellery products.