Radhanpur set to get handicraft park

The Ahmedabad-based Self Employed Womens Association (Sewa), in association with the commissionerate of cottage industries of the government of Gujarat, is setting up an handicraft park at Radhanpur in Patan district.

The move is in a bid to ensure that rural artisans get a fair deal for their products, which, until now, are being mostly exported through middlemen.

The project, expected to cost between Rs 2.50 and Rs 3 crore, is being funded jointly by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Sewa. ADB will bear 75 per cent of the project cost and Sewa the remaining 25 per cent.

In the second phase of the project, Sewa will expand the facilities to five acre. Designed by architect Ranbir Vasavada, a former professor of Centre for Environment Planning and Technology, the proposed industrial park, apart from providing facilities for rural artisans to develop their skills, will serve as the disaster management centre for the district, Sewa officials said on Monday.

"The whole aim of the project is to ensure systematic production of craft related lifestyle products and so the project is being facilitated through the state cottage industries department. Sewa will use all its production and marketing expertise apart from providing health, insurance, banking, nutrition, childcare and education back up for the artisans of the district," said Vilu Mirza, project director of the handicraft park. The membership of Sewa in the district alone is abut 1.80 lakh covering 150 villages and over 15,000 artisans.

Although the park is not functional as yet, Sewa has helped export handicrafts of artisans of the region to countries such as the US, Spain, Germany and UK.

Mirza said the handicrafts park will produce garments, lifestyle products, furnishings and accessories.

To cite an instance, hand embellishments produced elsewhere will be sent to the handicrafts park for value addition, where rural artisans will add value to it.

"The Sewa Trade Facilitation Centre has been working to ensure that handicrafts by rural artisans reach national and international markets and these artisans get a fair share in the value addition process," Mirza said.

He said there is a need to have such handicraft parks in each district of Gujarat, because rural artisans have not been getting their due for years.

"Middlemen usually purchase these goods before exporters. We will strengthen the first such park before proposing more such parks in their districts," the project director said.