Enhancing the entrepreneurial capabilities of the tribal artisans through TEDP initiative

Jan 10, 2022

Last year, Paresh Rathwa (53) received the prestigious ‘Gujarat Travel and Tourism Excellence Award 2021’ in the Best Handicraft category from the Gujarat Government. Rathwa belongs to the tribal community from the Chhota Udaipur district in the state of Gujarat and has been involved in painting the traditional Pithora Painting. It is believed that this traditional art is more than 12,500 years old and is found in the ancient caves of Gujarat.

Another tribal artist is a 26-year-old, Yashwant Dhurvey from Madhya Pradesh. From a hand-to-mouth existence, Dhruvey is doing quite well today. Also, he was recently selected to showcase his handicraft products at the Uttarakhand Janjatiya Mahotsava, at Dehradun Similarly, artisan Awani Bhushan Ram, 52, who belongs to the Mahli tribe, has been making Sohrai paintings for the past 20 years. In the year 2002, he was felicitated by the then Vice President of India at Hisar, Haryana for his contribution towards art and tribal culture. Despite all these efforts, his art remained confined to a very limited sphere and could not reach the remotest corners of the world. But, this year during the peak of COVID, he bagged an order worth Rs 1 lakh, all thanks to digital technology.

What is the common denominator amongst all these artists that brought in the change? All of them are the beneficiaries of the prestigious Tribal Entrepreneurship Development Program (TEDP) which is a joint initiative by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs (MoTA) and the apex industry body ASSOCHAM. The main objective of the program was the upliftment of the tribal communities; leveraging their strength to help them contribute to the process of nation-building.

The tribal communities form almost 8 percent of India’s population and contribute substantially to the country’s GDP. However, their contribution till now had been unaccounted for. The joint initiative has succeeded in bringing these artisans into the mainstream of society. The program has helped create awareness about the age-old traditions and culture of the tribal community among the next generation as well. There were several challenges faced by the tribal artisans. Primarily, is the access to employment opportunities. Due to which these artisans were forced to leave their community and migrate to large cities in search of employment. They were not only losing their identity as tribal artisans but at the same time, their age-old tradition and culture were also getting extinct.

The joint initiative has till now managed to help more than 350 tribal artisans from various parts of the country get access to newer markets and financial linkages. They have been given practical knowledge on the benefits of using digital technology. 650 more artisans would benefit from the program over the period of next two years.

The program is in line with the vision of India’s honorable Prime Minister-Shri Narendra Modi of making the country AatmaNirbhar or self-reliant. The program hopes to create a robust tribal brand identity and in the process - build and enhance the entrepreneurial capabilities of the tribal artisans.

It is perhaps for the first time that the ministry of tribal affairs has used digital technology to provide training to these artisans. The recognition that the artisans have received today is primarily due to the popularity their products have garnered through social media. The initiative would not only motivate artisans to do a better job but will also attract the new generation towards it.