8th October 2021: A joint initiative by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs (MoTA) and 101-year-old apex Industry body- the Associated Chamber of Industry and Commerce (ASSOCHAM), the TEDP has become a game changer for most tribal artisans and their respective communities. The tribal artisans post the training in curriculums like digital technology and financial management have managed to successfully apply that in their daily life and have seen a slight hike in their annual income, despite the pandemic.
Post the 21-day workshop which centred on Jharkand’s traditional art forms – Sohrai Khovar paintings resulted in the creation of nearly 300 paintings. The trainings were organised in the months of February and March this year and had almost 26 tribal participants mostly from the local tribes of Oraon, Munda, Kharia and Santal. Almost 77 percent of the beneficiaries were women artisans.
The workshop at Jharkhand threw up some interesting and yet contrasting things about the tribes there. The average monthly income of a tribal artisan in Jharkand is Rs 4269 per annum. They were also the least savvy when it came to the Internet and social media networking. While the Oraon women artists of village Dipugarha were familiar with the use of emails and social media like Whatsapp and Facebook – for instance, the Munda artists only knew how to use WhatsApp and the Santal artists used their mobile phones to only make calls.
Things have changed since the TEDP training, and the artisans have not only benefited from the exposure at high-profile government exhibitions where they showcase their artworks but are now adept in handling online networking.
The trainer helped these artisans take the first steps towards the use of digital technology by creating an online marketing profile for the paintings on social media platforms like Facebook and showcased their work there.
Their paintings and artworks have also been digitised photographically and textually for publication of a catalogue, exhibition through websites, and direct B2B interaction of tribal artists with the clients and customers. The average income before TEDP was Rs 1,27,000, which has now jumped to Rs 1,31,000 post workshop and the artisans find that to be an encouraging sign.
The TEDP initiative was launched on 2nd October last year on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti. Since then, under this initiative more than 350 tribal artisans from all parts of the country have benefitted.
