Several people involved in the traditional trade are giving up pottery business and are embracing other lucrative trades due to the bleak future in the business, reports Bhiva P Parab

With the introduction of modern kitchens in the state of Goa, the earthenware has lost its importance and the demand has decreased over the years and considering the bleak prospects in the traditional pottery business the younger generation of potter families is unwilling to take up the profession and so the number of potters in the state has dwindled over the years due to the poor demand for

earthen wares.

A pottery vendor said that today it becomes difficult to find youth having knowledge of the pottery and some youth feel that they are educated and this type of work is not suitable for them, and there is not much demand for the traditional clay pots which once were used in every kitchen. The prices of the pots used for preparation of curry ranges from Rs 100 to 500 depending on the sizes, however more demand is for the clay ‘Kombo’ cocks which are used to store water especially during the summer season and they are priced from Rs 400 onwards and nowadays instead of clay cock head to the clay pot, a plastic tap is attached to the pot.

“Our family has been involved in pottery business and as a childI had learnt the art and is involved in the business for more than 20 years now and over the years some local artisans have given up pot making as the trade as it has not become profitable. The clay was abundant in the past and in the past one decade the situation has changed so much that clay is hard to come by and we place bulk order,” said a local clay artisan. Traditionally the clay artisans in the state used to make water jars, flower pots, ghumot, lamps, etc apart from the kitchen clay pots, however several customers these days go for China clay items as in appearance, shape, size, texture and especially due to the low price they are preferred over the traditional

earthen pottery items.

A grievance of the pottery artisans is that there is no space to sell their products and are left at the mercy of contractors who purchase at throw-away prices leaving the pot makers high and dry and nowadays some of the vendors also buy the clay pots from Maharashtra bordering villages as these villages are well connected and it may be that the quality of the products from Maharashtra may be not as good as which are prepared in Goa, but the prices are less and so the vendors or the middlemen get more profit.

An elderly woman said, “Earlier we used to use clay pots for almost everything to cook, however with easy availability of the aluminum and steel utensils which are reasonably priced and durable we have replacedthe clay pots with changing times and all the way we have to go to Mapusa market to get clay pots as here in Mandrem there is no clay items market, however the taste of the food which is prepared in clay pots is unique and so sometimes we do prepare especially fish curry in clay pots and for that we have bought one from the Mapusamarket.

A potter informed that the process is very tedious and painstaking before placing the clay on a spinning wheel. That is not all as the earthenware has to be left to dry for 24 hours before giving finishing touches and ensuring that the base is joined properly. This has to be done manually before they are baked in an insulated furnace with straw and wood before the earthenware is finally ready for sale.

If the artisan go for decorative clay items there is some demand in the state as it being tourists destination and it may turn out to be a profitable business and the unemployed youth who have interest in art can take to this as there is lots of scope in this field, according to information available from a pottery artisan from coastal taluka.

The artisan feel that Goa being a tourism destination and several tourists both foreign and domestic visit the state if more youth take to the pottery can really earn handsomely from it.

“Thousands of tourists both domestic and foreign come to Goa every year and if youth take to pottery seriously they can sustain their livelihood through the pottery and there is scope for this in Goa and more youth should take to this work which could make them self employed,” he said.

“The Goa Handicrafts Rural and Small Scale Industries Development Corporation Ltd have been promoting the development of the handicrafts in the state and they have been very supportive if one takes to the handicraft and several benefits an artisan can get,” he said and added, “I do pottery work and I am ready to teach one who is really interested in it and I have been doing this work of pottery for last so many years.”