C for Craft, C for Colors, C for Channapatna...
A hot sultry afternoon it was… me skimming through the colorful artifacts and toys on display… hands busy picking up many of the exclusive items, eyes picking up the vibrant patterns, mind picking up the details being narrated by artisans and camera picking up all of these collectively !!…
This was a short but enlightening trip to Channapatna, a town about 50 odd kms from Bangalore, renowned for wooden lacquered toys and artifacts, made from eco-friendly materials (wood and vegetable dyes)... This art has been handed down from generations and the artisans we met were the fourth generation into this craft... Sadly, the number of people working on this craft has reduced drastically… while a small manufacturing setup used to employ 200+ people on monthly wages, now the same units employ 30-40 people on daily wages, daily because there is no guarantee of work everyday… and this can be attributed to many reasons like competition from Chinese products (they are not eco-friendly mind you), no innovation in designs, lack of marketing setup, abysmal support from the government and so on…
After having seen the units, it is amply clear that there is enormous amount of skill lying dormant there… some units which cater to the overseas markets produce outstanding quality products… however the ones manufactured and displayed for local market are simply run-of-the-mill products with compromises on the quality of wood, finish, artificial/chemical colours (do remember this before picking up anything branded as channapatna craft)… but why this difference? Just goes to show that while there is enough capability to make products with precision, the economics is something that is misplaced…
To correct this very economics, the existing artisans have come together to complement each other with each of them specializing in smaller part of the process and eliminate competition within themselves… also NGOs are taking active interest in promotion and revival of the craft with the help of government machinery… But is it really helping? Not very sure… Like any free market, this is also a demand/supply game… demand needs to be created in first place before pumping money and efforts in the supplychain…
Let us start with some appreciation of this craft, it would go a long way in creating that demand…
Here is a glimpse into the Channapatna Craft…
This was a short but enlightening trip to Channapatna, a town about 50 odd kms from Bangalore, renowned for wooden lacquered toys and artifacts, made from eco-friendly materials (wood and vegetable dyes)... This art has been handed down from generations and the artisans we met were the fourth generation into this craft... Sadly, the number of people working on this craft has reduced drastically… while a small manufacturing setup used to employ 200+ people on monthly wages, now the same units employ 30-40 people on daily wages, daily because there is no guarantee of work everyday… and this can be attributed to many reasons like competition from Chinese products (they are not eco-friendly mind you), no innovation in designs, lack of marketing setup, abysmal support from the government and so on…
After having seen the units, it is amply clear that there is enormous amount of skill lying dormant there… some units which cater to the overseas markets produce outstanding quality products… however the ones manufactured and displayed for local market are simply run-of-the-mill products with compromises on the quality of wood, finish, artificial/chemical colours (do remember this before picking up anything branded as channapatna craft)… but why this difference? Just goes to show that while there is enough capability to make products with precision, the economics is something that is misplaced…
To correct this very economics, the existing artisans have come together to complement each other with each of them specializing in smaller part of the process and eliminate competition within themselves… also NGOs are taking active interest in promotion and revival of the craft with the help of government machinery… But is it really helping? Not very sure… Like any free market, this is also a demand/supply game… demand needs to be created in first place before pumping money and efforts in the supplychain…
Let us start with some appreciation of this craft, it would go a long way in creating that demand…
Here is a glimpse into the Channapatna Craft…
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| Multi-purpose kitchen jars with glass lid [eco-friendly for storage of all kinds of food items] |
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| Colorful containers |
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| Ice-box - an enchanting piece for your bar... |
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| A splash of colors and designs on Handpainted Napkin rings |
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| Candle stands - dont they deserve a corner of your home? |
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| Plate/Bowl holder - Carved out of a single piece of wood !! |
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| Coasters - in natural wood finish |
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| Double-decker jewellery box [Handmade carvings with brass inlay] |
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| Handpainted pen stands [not to miss the detailing...] |
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