The consumer market is flooded with commercial goods. With a little variation they exhibit to some extent a homogenous quality. They look the same and score poorly on creativity. Like a breath of fresh air, hand crafted items come to your rescue.

Besides being creative, colourful, and eco-friendly, they most importantly carry a human touch.
Handicrafts offer a niche market and are now steadily rising on its own. The handicraft market of Goa is no exception. Goa is not only a tourist destination but is also now a favourite choice if you want to purchase handicrafts. To take it to the next level the GHRSSIDC (Goa Handicraft Rural and Small Scale Industries Development Corporation) is now hoping to market the tribal craft of Goa that was hitherto lost in the commercially driven market.
Currently, the GHRSSIDC is documenting these handicrafts and the artisans of Goa and will be publishing their findings soon. Led by historian, Vinayak Khedekar, the research has stumbled upon many interesting tribal crafts of Goa.
“The tribes in Gaodongri, Canacona are of the primitive types. Through our research we came across the handicraft they produce. We are now planning to find a market for their products,” says Mr Nikhil Desai, Managing Director of GHRSSIDC.
These tribes belong predominantly to the Velip community who have been engaged in this craft for many years. For them making this craft is a part and parcel of their life. They indulge in making interesting baskets, wall hangings and other artefacts all made from plant creepers that grow in their backyard.
“These products are not only hand crafted but are also useful and eco-friendly,” adds Mr Desai. To give a boost to this craft the GHRSSIDC is planning to help these craftsmen easily procure raw materials. “There is a need to come up with a policy to make these resources free available as in the coming years demand for such products will rise,” says Mr Desai.
The craftsmen mainly make these handicraft products for self consumption and are not fully aware about the know how of marketing. Helping them is the GHRSSIDC who are also working hard to make the handicraft industry an organised sector. “It is a highly unorganised sector so there is a need to give them raw materials and also an assured salary per month for the products they make. It could be like a small-scale manufacturing unit,” informs Mr Desai.
Further in the interior regions of Canacona there are certain tribes who make interesting articles from coconut leaves which closely resemble the artefacts made of cane in the North-Eastern parts of India. The articles are mainly made by the elders and as such have not evinced an interest in making it on a regular scale and sadly the younger generation are not interested in learning the art.
Looking at this scenario, Mr Desai commented that it was very important that the handicraft market should attract the younger generation. “To have a continuous flow of products in the market there will be a need to mechanise it. We can mechanise it by 50 per cent as the Supreme Court judgement allows us to mechanise the products by 85 per cent. Also there are other factors like the proper flow of credit, good demand and so on,” explains Desai.
He hopes that the ever changing world will take a serious note of the utility and beauty of handicrafts. It is now a fashion to opt for handcrafted products and the markets of USA, Europe are already opening up and welcoming such products. The best example of this changing trend is the global market demand for Azulejos tile paintings that received a tremendous response at the Thessaloniki Gift Fair, Greece last year.
Mr Desai concludes, “Goa receives around 2.5 million tourists per year and if each tourist buys at least one handicraft from Goa it could generate a whopping income for the State and will give a required boost to the market.”