The committee, comprising officials of District Rural Development Organisation, Forest and Industrial departments, will prepare an action plan to promote the toys and to support the artisans
Published Date – 18 January 2024, 06:30 PM
Various wood toys carved by Naqashi handicraft artisans are meant for sale at a store in Nirmal. Photo: Santosh Padala
Nirmal: People from all walks of life love to buy the exquisite Nirmal wood toys. However, they can buy the toys only if they happen to visit Nirmal town or Golconda Handicrafts, run by the government in Hyderabad. Now, they will soon be able to purchase the toys online from anywhere, any time.
The district administration, which explored ways to support the handicraft artisans of famous Nirmal wood toys, formed a coordination committee recently. The committee, comprising officials of District Rural Development Organisation (DRDO), Forest and Industrial departments, will prepare an action plan to promote the toys and to support the artisans, who were reeling under financial crisis due to decline in sales particularly after the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Nirmal wood toys, carved by Naqashi artisans, will be sold on e-commerce portal Amazon, soon. A memorandum of understanding (MoU) between a society of the artisans and the portal would be signed in a month or two. Similarly, Poniki trees, the raw material used for the toys, will be grown to address the shortage of the wood,” A member of the committee and Nirmal DRDO Project Director K Vijayalaxmi told ‘Telangana Today.’
Once the MoU is inked, the members of self-help groups will be involved in packaging the toys. The DRDO will take up plantation of the trees to cater the needs of the artisans. It is already raising the trees in three places. The committee will coordinate with the artisans in enhancing marketing opportunities for artisans and to promote the antique craft.
The artisans have been relying on handcraft for 400 years. They aesthetically carve and hand-paint wood toys of birds, animals, fruits and decorative items. They use softwood of Poniki trees, scientifically known as Jiuotia Rotteri Fromis to make the toys. They operate an exclusive store to sell the beautiful toys in the heart of Nirmal district centre at affordable prices.
As per the members of the society, the store is now registering sales worth Rs 3,000 a day when compared to somewhere between Rs 20,000 and Rs 30,000 recorded in the past. Due to poor sales, the artisans are forced to enter into construction, carpentry and other lucrative occupations. Barely around 100 artisans are currently depending on the craft as against 2,000 families that used to sculpt the toys many decades ago.
