Jharsuguda: Vedanta Aluminium, India’s largest aluminium producer, organised a three-day Medium-Density Fibreboard (MDF) Craft & Skill Development workshop under Project VedKala, its community livelihood initiative which focuses on empowering rural women artisans in Odisha’s Jharsuguda.
Conducted at VedKala Experience Centre in collaboration with First Sutra Foundation, Odisha Livelihood Mission (OLM) and Odisha government’s Department of Handicrafts, the workshop trained over 60 female artisans on how to create contemporary lifestyle and souvenir products.
The artisans were awarded certification on conclusion of the programme, designed to enhance livelihood opportunities.
Project VedKala aims to preserve Odisha’s artistic traditions and channel them into sustainable livelihood opportunities for women.
Led by state awardee Gurakh Chandra Nayak, an accomplished exponent of tribal art, the workshop introduced participants to contemporary applications of traditional Saura art across products like earrings, pendants, bracelets, fridge magnets and key rings.
Project VedKala currently supports over 100 artisans in Jharsuguda through training in Bamboo, Saura and Sabai Grass crafts, and market-access initiatives to promote sustainable livelihoods.
“Odisha’s rich artistic traditions represent both an invaluable cultural legacy and a significant opportunity for community-led economic progress. Through Project VedKala, we are creating an ecosystem where women artisans can strengthen their skillsets, embrace contemporary design and access newer livelihood opportunities. Our endeavour is to enable these women to emerge as confident entrepreneurs while ensuring that indigenous art forms such as Saura continue to remain relevant, valued and economically sustainable for generations to come,” said C Chandru, Vedanta Aluminium CEO (Jharsuguda).
One of the participating artisans Jharana Bhusan said the training showed women how the traditional art forms they have grown up with can be seamlessly adapted into everyday products. “Learning these techniques has given us new ideas and the confidence to create products that can appeal to more customers. We hope these skills will help us earn in earning a sustainable livelihood while continuing to preserve the art that has been passed down to us.”