A Proud Commemoration of International Women’s Day for Tribes India
What a great gift for the women artisans of Tribes India to have received an order from our Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi. It is an honour for Tribes India and the craftswomen of our tribal community to have their artwork picked by some of the accomplished leaders of the country. Our E-commerce portal which was launched around October last year is dedicated to bringing tribal products including but not limited to Tribal Paintings, Metal Craft, Tribal Textiles, Cane & Bamboo, Tribal Jewellery, Terracotta & Stone Pottery, Organic food produce and many more such handcrafted and naturally sourced items by our tribes to the larger markets. TRIFED has been unceasingly working towards upliftment of India’s Tribal Population and providing them with a sustainable source of income. We take pride in the fact that majority of our tribal artists are women, taking into account the marginalization and women being subjected to gender stereotypes in the rural areas, it is an accomplishment for TRIFED to have them in the workforce. Among the many tribal welfare initiatives undertaken by TRIFED skill development and capability building training for the tribal folks and specially women has greatly helped in their empowerment.
Shri Kiren Rijiju, Minister of State, Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports at TRIBES India Showroom, Mahadev Road
It is undebatable that the reach of internet and a boom in the e-commerce has presented a much needed opportunity to our people and organizations to reach wider markets, not only nationally but globally as well. TRIFED under the brand name of Tribes India has made the most of this opportunity by providing a platform for the artistry of our tribal people. Through tribesindia.com one can shop from a wide range of thoughtful and handcrafted products that carry an indelible mark of rich ancient tribal cultural heritage procured, marketed and made available by TRIFED. This place is sure a treat for a genuine art lover. But that isn’t all to further amplify the sales, TRIFED has made arrangements with other online marketing giants like Snapdeal, Amazon, Flipkart and GeM for sale of all its products.
The prime aim of TRIFED through these initiatives is to bring Tribal Art to the forefront considering it has stayed in shadows for a long time now since the modernization. Contemporary artist do have their share of exposure and opportunity to present their artistry to the world whereas when it comes to Tribal Craftmanship a lot of work needs to be done in order to benefit them. Our tribal artists are still unaware that their hard-work and skilled creations could actually be showcased and sold with a price tag. The Tribal artists still have a long way to go in realizing the worth and the uniqueness of their artwork that epitomizes the flavour of their region. The Government has stepped in to fill in this gap, impart confidence and polish their traditional skills.
There came a major boost to tribal artisans, and women artisans in particular, on the occasion of International Women’s Day, when Hon’ble Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi ordered few unique pieces from Tribes India. Among the tribal art items he ordered is a Gond painting by Smt Sarita Dhurvi, a tribal artisan from Dindori district, Samnapur Tehsil, Madhya Pradesh. Through the vibrant, earthy colours and her vivid imagination in this painting, the artist is depicting the creation of nature. Gond tribal art, practised by the Gond tribe in Madhya Pradesh, reflect man’s close connection with the natural surroundings around him. The leaves, trees, fish, water in this painting are but a reflection of how nature was created by ‘Badadev’, the overarching spirit or the God.
Equally unique is the exquisite form of embroidery practiced by the Toda tribes of the Nilgiri hills in Tamil Nadu. A pastoral community, mainly dependent on their buffalos and milk, the Todas have been living in the hills for over 3500 years. The clothing of the Todas, for centuries, has been a single unstitched garment which gave way to a set of two unstitched garments during the last century. A waist cloth or ‘Torp’ plus a cloak or shawl called Poothukuli forms most of their attire. Men and women, both wore the same garments, only draped differently. But with both styles, the drape shows off the rich embroidery. The Toda embroidery is also a GI tagged product now. The Toda shawl ordered by the Hon’ble Prime Minister has been crafted by the Toda artisan, Smt. Monisha.
Besides this, the Prime Minister also placed an order for a handmade jute file folder in maroon colour. Made by the artisans from the Santhal tribe of West Bengal. Ms Monisha belonging to the Toda Primitive Tribes of TamilNadu, Child and Social Welfare Society working with Santhal Tribals of West Bengal and Smt Sarita Dhurvi from the Gond Tribe of Madhya Pradesh are indeed proud today as they have added the Prime Minister himself as their customer on tribesindia.com.
Following the clarion call of the Prime Minister to promote women entrepreneurship, and in particular that of the tribal women, Smt. Smriti Irani, Hon’ble Minister for Textiles, Dr Harshvardhan, Minister of Health and Family Welfare, and Shri Piyush Goyal, Minister of Railways, also purchased products from Tribes India website. It is indeed a proud commemoration of the International Women’s Day for TRIFED and its commitment to serve the tribal master craftsmen and women.
