For craftsmen it is not just money

When she took charge as president, Usha Krishna had formulated a few targets to achieve during her tenure. “ I wanted to focus on educating people about crafts, EDP (entrepreneur development programmes) for craftspeople and networking among all the five regions of WCC -- Africa, Asia Pacific, Europe, North America and Latin America,” she says.

In early 2009, WCC launched a programme in schools to sensitise school children between class six and eight.

Currently, there are seven schools enrolled in the programme that aims at sensitising school children about crafts. “The aim is make them understand the hardwork and effort that goes behind crafts. They learn to appreciate the work more. It is not an attempt to make crafts a vocational option for them later in life,” she says.

She adds that the schools, as part of the programme, also put up stalls of the students’ exhibits. “The students learn to price their work, accordingly. They know how to value their hard work, as it takes at least three weeks to make a one basket, “she says.

Discussing the role of the government, Usha says that the government is doing all that is possible to help craftsmen find their space, making crafts a viable option for them. However she adds at times, the plans aren’t effectively implemented. “It may come as a surprise, but the government is doing a lot. But, as with everything, there is always more to be done,” she adds.

Taking a leaf out of the books of other countries, as regarding promotion of crafts, Usha Krishna shares a few success stories from across the world. “Thailand follows a unique model – one village on craft. However, in India, considering that there are so many types of crafts, initiating something similar would be difficult,” she says.

On the home scenario of dying crafts and the situation of several craftsmen opting for mainstream vocation, she says, “Finance is not the only constraint for craftsmen. It is also the status that they have in the society. WCC has always worked towards giving them the same status as people involved in regular and mainstream vocations get,” she says, adding that it may not be possible to revive every craft that is on the verge of extinction.