From handicrafts like cane art and kunbi sarees to herbal medicines and tribal cuisine, the Tribal Craft Mela at Kala Academy is a sight to behold
ADITHI SHARMA | NT BUZZ
In a first, the Directorate of Art and Culture and Directorate of Tribal Welfare of the Government of Goa, in association with the Tribal Research Institute, Khairikattem, Sanguem is holding a ‘Digital National Tribal Craft Mela’ alongside the ongoing Lokotsav at Kala Academy. This project is sanctioned under the scheme, ‘Support to Tribal Research Institute’ of Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Government of India, New Delhi.
The mela consists of stalls arranged in a village set-up at the entrance of Kala Academy, besides the art gallery. Handicrafts like cane art, paddy toran, coconut leaf craft, mandri (mats), Kunbi sarees, brooms and patravali can be found at these stalls, apart from herbal medicines for various ailments, and food items from the tribal cuisine like ‘doney’, ‘taushyachi bhakri’, ladoos, local honey, various flavours of tea, etc. The Central Library also has a stall showcasing books on tribes of
Goa and India.
And the craftspeople and stall owners have expressed satisfaction on being invited to showcase their arts and crafts. One of the artisans, Radhika Krishna Gaonkar, is selling products of woven cane. “We started learning these skills since we were kids. For the past 30 years, I’ve been making long-lasting woven cane products. We collect leaves and fibres of palm trees, clean and soak them in water and sun-dry them before using them to weave
products,” she shares.
All the artists at this mela are provided free stalls, meals, and accommodation for the length of the festival. The crowd so far at Lokotsav has also shown a positive response and the artisans are happy to reach a new audience. “We have received more orders through Lokotsav, thanks to the interest of the public in such handicrafts,” shares Sana Gawde, an artisan, selling paddy torans at
this festival.
Sanket Gauli, a supervisor of Kunbi workshops too states that the response has been good. Gauli recently started volunteering at a Kunbi textile workshop in Raia that employs and trains women of the Kunbi tribe in making handloom textiles for sarees and other garments; and sells the finished products through their retail shop in Panaji.
“The Department of Art and Culture fully supports us and recognises our efforts in promoting the traditional Kunbi handlooms, and the public has also appreciated and given us a good response at Lokotsav,”
says Gauli.
Besides this, herbal medicines at the craft mela are selling out fast, with nature’s medicines for diabetes sold out already. There are only a few units left of herbs, roots, shoots, and other concoctions to treat acidity, blood pressure and
children’s indigestion.
