Artisans at work with products at various stages of development.

Morung Express news Kohima | August 23

For youth like Kezevito Khanyo, items carved or decorated out of wood and used for different purposes were known to him but he had never received any formal training to learn intricate designs and techniques.

He was among the 15 artisans from Viswema village under Kohima district who had recently received a training on wood carving workshop under Upgrading the Skills and Training in Traditional Arts/ Crafts For Development (USTTAD) project and implemented by the National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) which was culminated in the end of July, this year. The project was funded by Ministry of Minority Affairs.

Refining skills During the course of the workshop, these artisans sit it the verandah where the trainees have rented a small home in the village. All of them are engaged in a wood activity with their hand chisels.

“Hand balance is a technique to master when it comes to wood carving,” Zakuvito Khanyo expresses adding that although these activity maybe part of the village life, many lack skilled training.

After the training, Kezevito says he is making plates that he has learned during the workshop. He says it has given him new ideas to refine his skills. These skills that he have acquired, he believes will create an avenues in the market too.

The workshop has been designed with the “aim to preserve heritage of traditional arts and crafts of minority communities and build capacity of traditional crafts persons and artisans and establish linkages of traditional skills with the global market.”

Workshops under USTTAD project  Since 2017, under the USTTAD project a series of four workshops had been completed in this Village with 15 artisans each in a batch. This particular art, wood carving had been one of the crafts selected from the Northeast.

In March 2017, according to NIFT Co-ordinator, Tshering Dolkar, a detailed diagnostic survey of the wood craft and identification of artisans was done and Viswema village was selected as the main cluster.

The artisans are carving different items as part of the workshop which ranged from kitchen and serving ware to items in the bed and living rooms and souvenirs. Among them were salad servers, bowls for dry fruits and snacks and trays, cheeseboards, ladles with interesting handle designs, spoons and forks, fruit trays, tea-light holders, candle stands, wall hangings, book ends, table shelves and planters which served as decorative and utility items etc among others.

Traditional touch  Speaking to one of the designers during the training, Ranjan Bordoloi said that research and study into items are made before a final product sample is introduced to these artisans. “We explore everyday things with various forms as seen around Viswema village such as horns, pumpkins and rabbit heads etc, but the design complex so that it will be difficult to replicate,” he says. The wood items although carries a traditional touch or symbol.

During the different sets of workshops that ran for 15 days for each of the four phases, 25 products were developed in each workshop making a total of 100 products.

The products developed during the earlier workshops were exhibited in 2019 at Crafts Museum, Delhi. 

Inherent need to maintain traditional knowledge  At the end of the training, Miathou Krose, Chairman of the NHHDC Limited and Tekatemsu Ao, Deputy General Manager, NHHDC also paid a visit to the workshop and examined the work done during the workshop. 

The chairman spoke about how there is an inherent need to maintain the traditional knowledge of one’s culture through handicrafts and handlooms especially for the younger generation. He also stressed on the fact that it is important to pay attention to cultural misappropriation which has happened many a times and maintained that a deep research and understanding should be conducted before anyone uses Naga symbols or motifs for various contemporary products, accessories or apparel. 

He encouraged the artisans to register for artisan cards so that they can avail of opportunities like USTTAD project and asked NIFT team to also help the artisans in promoting and publicising the work accomplished. 

The Deputy General Manager interacted with the designers and from his prior experience of having managed the Nagaland State Emporium at Delhi gave them ideas about the products and styles that customers preferred, while visiting the store. 

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The Morung Express is a people-oriented alternative newspaper based in Nagaland that was conceived from the Naga people’s historical realities and is guided by their voices and experiences. It emerged from the well-recognized concept that the core of a free press is based on “qualitative and investigative” journalism. Ensuring this is essential for contributing to an informed Naga public that makes sound decisions on issues that affect all spheres of life.