This is the story of a village in Rajasthan where artisans have been able to save their dying art by shifting to online retail selling. An excellent report by Neetu Chandra Sharma in DNA.
Kakani, a dusty and nondescript village in Jodhpur, Rajasthan, is bustling with activities these days as artisans work day and night to save the local art and craft form. Villagers are even giving their afternoon siesta a miss in a bid to keep alive the fast-fading art and craft of Rajasthan, including durry making, hand block printing, pottery making and Kolhapuri chappals.
It is the youth, mostly studying or working in the metros, who have inspired their families to take up the work again, which solves the dual purpose of providing livelihood and upholding the legacy of Rajasthan. The youth have given the idea of dumping the middlemen and directly selling their produce online. And this has picked up well. The artisans have also approached the Rajasthan State Handloom Development Corporation which is in discussions with e-commerce giants such as Flipkart and Amazon at present, to market the products.
