Namma Angadi, an exhibition-cum-sale of handicrafts, handloom and eco-friendly products that kicked off in St Aloysius College premises on Friday, successfully managed to bring in a rural feel amidst the busy city life.

Skillful artistic products designed by rural artisans resulted in downpour of customers immediately after the inauguration.

The three-day exhibition has a wide range of cotton kurtas for men, women and children, shirts, kalamkari dress materials, artistic sarees, lavancha products, terracotta products, traditional utensils and home accessories, traditional footwear, ethnic jewelery, pure wild honey, organic food products, kokum, shikakai, aloevera soaps, wooden furniture, rare paintings, stationery and display items.

Consumers were fascinated by the terracotta artworks and metal works crafted by the Dokra artisans. Metal Chennamane, tribal jewelery, uniquely designed Ganapathi, utensils, terracotta vases, pen stands were creatively crafted by the artisans.

Concerned for Working Children Assistant Director Shivanand Shetty told Deccan Herald that every year Namma Angadi invites Dokra artisans from Orissa to train students in Dokra art.

“The students are taught to craft many artistic items by melting waste metal and remoulding it into unique designs and shapes,” he said.

Customers were seen buying cotton kurtas which ranged between Rs 250 to Rs 500. Mouth-watering rural delicacies and short-eats was also on high demand.

Speaking to Deccan Herald, Namma Angadi employee Deepika said that she has been working in Namma Angadi for almost a year. “Namma Angadi is a great platform to sell our products. Many people in villages fear to take up skilled vocations as there is no steady money-flow. However, skilled artisans are given an opportunity to sell their products. Around 100 students are trained every year and this helps us to return back to our villages and be self-employed,” she said.

Through the exhibition, Namma Angadi is seeking to provide a wide range of eco-friendly products from cottage industry. Namma Bhoomi, the NGO provides alternate employment to the farmers who solely depend on agriculture, she said.
“I love all the products here, especially the kurtas. I have purchased a few kurtas to beat the summer heat," says Simmona, a student of St Aloysius College.

Inauguration

The expo was inaugurated by District Information Officer Rohini K, who stressed on reviving and preserving the rich tradition and culture of Indian folk art which is being affected by modernisation.

She also lauded Namma Bhoomi for creating eco-friendly products and hence safeguarding nature.

Assistant Conservator Forests (Mangalore Sub-Division) Padmanabha Gowda also spoke on the occassion.

About Namma Angadi

Namma Angadi is a collective marketing network for young traditional crafts persons of Karnataka who are ex-child workers. This is promoted by Concerned for Working Children.

Namma Angadi was set up in 1992 to help village based craftsmen, who could not visualise a future for their occupations in the village markets due to lack of raw materials and demand for traditional products.

This led to large number of migrants, especially children, who moved to urban areas in search of jobs and livelihood.

The Concerned for Working Children, which has been working for child labourers for almost two decades began to assist rural artisans and ex-child workers to improve and upgrade their skills, produce new products in an innovative way and help them to locate raw materials so as to meet the demands of the market.