CUTTACK: The ban on single-use plastic in the state has come as a boon for earthenware makers. Clouded in uncertainty and once considered a dying craft, a sudden surge in demand for clay cups and plates have revived hopes of the cottage industry.
Om Sai Mahila Producer group in Talabasta village under Damapada block in Cuttack district has taken the initiative to replace plastic cups and bowls with those made of clay at Baliyatra, the largest open-air trade fair of the state. The women self-help group is busy preparing different terracotta products like utensils, artefacts, flower vases and water containers for sale at the fair and hopes to make brisk business.
“Considering the ban on single-use plastic items, we have been manufacturing a huge number of three pottery items to be used as a substitute for plastic cup, plate and glass at the fair for the last two months.
Apart from supplying the items to food stalls, the products will also be sold in our stall at Baliyatra,” said the group’s secretary Sakuntala Muduli.
While disposable clay cup and miniature pot are priced at 50 paisa and Rs 1, reusable cup and serving pots are set to be sold at Rs 4 and Rs 5. Similarly, the cost of reusable clay drinking pot and saucers ranges from Rs 7 to Rs 8, she added.
“Apart from these items, we are making clay cooking pot, pitcher, pipkin, cauldron, spittoon, flower vase and bed lamp for sale,” said Sakuntala.
The women have been provided skill training on traditional pottery works and mud processing techniques by Odisha Rural Development and Marketing Society (ORMAS). The society has also been providing electric pottery wheels and mud grinders to the group besides the marketing facility, said the group’s president Pramila Muduli adding that they are hopeful of doing brisk business at the trade fair.
To leverage the generational skills of the women who have been practising the craft form, ORMAS imparted guided training and provided them necessary assistance with forward linkage, focusing mainly on product development and diversification leading to drudgery reduction, exponential increase in productivity and efficiency level, said Deputy Director, ORMAS, Bipin Bihari Rout.