Kadam Haat, Kolkata, West Bengal
At Kolkata-based Kadam Haat, the process is as important as the product. The organization, which sets up self-sustaining craft clusters across the country, has a detailed process before embarking on each product. The organization also works with the eventual goal of handing over the clusters to the artisan members, which makes its approach unique.
The Sabai grass products, for example, were created after a detailed study of the region, the traditional livelihoods of the people, and the demands of the market. Sabai grass grows in Shivalik range in India, and India harvests nearly 0.4 million tons of grass every year which can be dyed in various colors.
Kadam Haat studied the process and the trade, and came up with products that could be produced locally.
What was initially just rope now became baskets, floor mats, and planters.
Kadam Haat’s products undergo detailed analysis before introduction in the market, and their work extends to Orissa, Jammu and Kashmir and Uttar Pradesh as well.
Surjo, cluster head at the West Midnapore cluster which works with Sabai grass, says, “Working with Kadam has made my life so productive that I have started believing in Utopia!”
(Input from: www.kadamindia.org)
