Bisam Katak: Shawls woven by Dongria Kondh women living on the hills of Niyamgiri in Rayagada district will be made available in the international market by the district administration.
This came to the fore after the district administration decided to sell these shawls intrinsic to Dongria Kondh tribals in the international market.
The district administration will organise a training camp to train women who have specialised in weaving the shawls. At the camp, Dongria girls will be trained in the weaving of shawls and in making beautiful designs on them.
A shawl woven by a Dongria tribal is sold for prices between Rs 2,500 and Rs 3,000. The thread used in weaving the shawl is also priced high in the market, but the Dongria women who make the shawl are paid very less.
Sources said the primitive Dongria tribals live on the hills of Niyamgiri spread over 250 sq km in Rayagada and Kalahandi districts. The articles made by the tribals have substantial demand in national and international markets among the rich and the elite.
The demand for the shawls made by the tribals and the beautiful designs on them has grown with time. However, keeping pace with the times the Dongrias have changed their attire.
Dongria women are no longer interested in weaving shawls as it is not a paying proposition. Sensing the change, the district administration has started making efforts to keep the tradition of weaving beautiful shawls by Dongria women alive by marketing it in the international market.
This is part of the government’s plan to make Dongria women self-sufficient and to keep alive the tradition behind the beautiful shawls. As part of this plan, around 75 women of Hundikhali, Khajuri, Khambesi, Patalamba and Upparguma villages in Kurli panchayat underwent training in the first phase.
The weaving of a shawl is a time consuming affair as a Dongria women takes at least two to three months to finish a shawl. The district administration has provided them with raw materials like clothes, thread and needles and Rs 300 as wages.
A Dongria woman will earn only Rs 300 if she works for two months to weave a shawl. They are now not interested in this as the wages are much less compared to the efforts they make to weave the shawls.
Dongria weavers Sindhi Wadka, Kule Wadka and Sim Wadka said the low wages have failed to make them self-sufficient.
Observers said Dongria weavers will be attracted to the job if the administration provides them subsidised raw materials and increases wages.
Dongria women can also be trained to make wallets, bags, diary covers and paintings on canvas portraying beautiful Dongra arts.
The government should provide adequate marketing facilities to help them sell their goods as the Dongria Kondh Development Agency (DKDA) alone cannot do the job.
DKDA official Suresh Chandra Dixit ruled out negligence on the part of the agency, and said the agency has brought raw material for 200 shawls from Baripada for the weavers.
A weaver who delivers within a week will be paid Rs 400 to Rs 500. Raw materials are being supplied to the weavers to help them deliver within deadlines, he added.