Programme Nomenclature: Implementing Of Handicrafts activities under Mawsynram area.

Total Numbers of villages to be brought under implementation	TEN (10)
Total financial implication	16,0,4600
Total Number of benefited families	480
Time of Completion of the project	3(Three Years) (2009 -2012)
Project Funding	District Industries Center

Training programmed to be conducted during the project duration.

Name of the Programmed: Training Programmed for handicraft workers

Objective: To equip field handicraft workers with basic skills to promote and improved their products.

Target Trainees: Handicrafts worker people youth and individual interested to take up handicrafts works.

Expected members of participants: 100 – 150 members in each groups.

Duration: 1 – 2 months

Location: Project area preferred.

Organized By: The SPV Nangroi Hynniewtrep Organisation in associations with Training establishment.

Training Method:

• Practical
• Experience sharing
• Interaction
• Discussion
• Video
• Field Visit
• Lectures

Introduction:

Handicraft plays a very important role in the development of the society and the state as a whole. It is an artistic manual work done by expert and skilled persons. Handicraft works include carpet making, hand printing of cloth, wood carving, toy making, earthenware, metal ware, bamboo and cane work, stone carving and coin making. Mostly handicrafts activities are done in the rural areas where there are many resources of raw materials.

Cane and Bamboo products have always occupied an important position in the handicrafts sector, cane & bamboos are renewable resources, grows widely and abundantly available in the Meghalaya. The products also have a great demand both in the national market as well as international. Over the years, rural artisans have imbibed wide range of skills in the manufacture of various items and the skills have been passed from generations to generations. There are still more villages in the corner of the state where the raw materials exists but are ignorant about the process of such handicrafts activities.

Thus, with the growth of population jobs and government employment are slowly decreasing   therefore handicraft activities is one of the major opportunities that help in solving the unemployment problem, improving the standard of living of the poorer section of the society especially in the rural areas where people live a very hard and difficult life and also to raise the economic development of the state as a whole through self – employment. Special training programmes of handicrafts activities felt the need to be conducted to both the skilled and unskilled people. Thus our training programmes aim at reducing poverty, improving the livelihood, increase employment opportunities towards economic development.

The Product:

Handicraft products are highly demanding as most of the products are eco -friendly and can replace polythene fibre to some extent (i.e. they are harmless to the environment.) Cane and bamboos are largely used as handicrafts in the North Eastern States of the country, as they are easily available. Cane is used for furniture making, whereas bamboo is used for making decorative items like lamp stand, partition, screen, flowers, pots, baskets, fans, mats etc. In recent years, users of cane furniture have considerably increased not only in middle class homes, hotels and offices but also among foreign tourists coming to North Eastern Region. Most of the class hotels are using cane and bamboo items to give elegance and stylish traditional look to their interiors.

Market:

Though Meghalaya has increased in handicraft works, only cane and bamboos are usually used as the major handicraft works in the state due to the availability of raw materials.  Some of the products that are exported from the whole of North East to internal as well as external markets are as follows:

• Basket ware
• Cane furniture
• Mat & matting
• Decorative items