BY AKSHYA ROUT<\/p>\n\n\n\n
JAJPUR-Golden\ngrass craft has finally come of age, and finds a place in the market ,thanks to\nthe sincere efforts of at least sixty women and girls of villages of Nalipur, Balichandrapur, Nanapur,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
,,jenapur\nand other villages of Jajpur district\nand its nearby areas. .<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Golden\ngrass (Vetiver zizanoids), known locally as \u201cKaincha\u201d is a wild grass found in\nmany parts of the district and other\nareas of the state. It grows to a height of about 5-6 feet and the inflorescent\nstick, which appears after the monsoon, is used for weaving. Now-a-days the\ngolden grass is making waves and more and more city dwellers are discovering\nthe beauty of golden grass product as the \nproducts are eco-friendly , biodegradable and reduce the use of plastic\n. As a golden grass craftsperson,\nMamatai Swain\u2019s gnarled but still-dexterous fingers bind a golden grass cap,\nthere is a look of satisfaction on her face. Adding to her satisfaction is the\nfact that she along with 70 women of village Nanpur have been eking out their livelihoods by\nmaking golden grass crafts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At\n50, Swarnalata Swain is the titular head\nof one of the women group of village Balichandrapur, whose traditional vocation\nhas been making and selling golden grass \ncaps, fans, baskets ,toys and other items. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe formed a Self Help Group comprising 15 women in 2004\u00a0 and developed the art of making golden grass crafts . Golden grass\u00a0 hats, baskets, hand-fans, tablemats ,flower-pots\u00a0 etc\u00a0 of our are now\u00a0 well known and\u00a0 in great demand\u201d, said Swarnalata.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cA\nnew concept of grass jewellery has come from here, where we make attractive and\ndesigner jewellery and other accessory items like bags, key chains and other items from the golden\ngrass\u201d, added Swaralata.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIndeed, the coloured golden grass fans with uniquely \u2013painted petals and bright golden grass\u00a0 hats, flower-pots and other items\u00a0 speak of fine craftsmanship. Today the demand for\u00a0 golden grass crafts has increased and this testifies to their beauty, utility and lasting quality. Beautiful collectibles in golden-grass craft that have been used for house-hold purpose for years by the people of Jajpur\u00a0 and its nearby areas\u201d, said\u00a0 the assistant manager of Jajpur\u00a0 branch of NABARD.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNow golden craft items\u00a0 are redesigned for the international buyers according to their taste and preference, but not detaching it from the ethnicity. The origin of this craft as it is in the case of other art and crafts , is centuries old. Since generations golden grass items like bowls, fans, mats etc have been used\u00a0 as utility items in many parts of the state. Women during their leisure time prepare these high quality craft items at a common place. This traditional craft has \u00a0transcended down from generation to generation said\u00a0 the general manager of District Industry Center(DIC) of Jajpur.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thanks to the huge demands of golden grass crafts, the\u00a0 bustling colonies of golden craft-persons of many villages\u00a0 today reflect their economy growth . Even the lanes and by lanes of the areas reflect the change that has come about . \u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
BY AKSHYA ROUT JAJPUR-Golden grass craft has finally come of age, and finds a place in the market ,thanks to the sincere efforts of at least sixty women and girls<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[46],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-34700","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-top-stories"],"yoast_head":"\n