As an effort to support their income amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the Dongria Kondh tribals in Odisha’s Rayagada district have started producing hand woven and embroidered cotton masks.
The masks with traditional Dongria Kondh tribal motifs have the scope to be marketed as style statements for the urbanites. Red, yellow, green and brown threads are used to embroider the traditional designs.
The Tribal Development Cooperative Corporation (TDCC) Corporation of Odisha Ltd. has already placed an order with the Dongria Kondh Development Agency (DKDA) at Chatikona in Rayagada district for 500 handcrafted masks. These masks are to be sold through TDCC outlets in Bhubaneswar and other urban centers of the State.
The COVID-19 threat is expected to increase the demand for stylish masks. With the normalisation of transportation and trading network, these masks made by the tribals can attract buyers of national and international markets, officials of the DKDA said.
At present, three Dongria Kondh Women Self Help Groups (WSHG) of Khamberi village under Bsamkatak block are manufacturing these handcrafted masks. DKDA has decided to include women of Khajuri and Hundibali villages in the production process to increase its volume. Apart from the masks with traditional tribal embroidery, Dongria Kondh women are also preparing simple masks made up of hand woven base cloth called ‘kapda ganda’.
The Dongria Kondh WSHGs are procuring the hand woven cotton base cloth from traditional weaver families of their area. DKDA is to procure 10 handloom units, which will be used by Dongria Kondh males to prepare the base cloth. With this, both men and women of the tribal families will be able to take part in production.
Making the Dongria Kondh masks take extra time and effort for production. A Dongria Kondh family is able to produce around 10 masks in a day.
The hand embroidered shawls of Dongria Kondh tribals were popular in both national and international markets, but the COVID-19 lockdown has reduced the sales.
Guha Poonam Tapas Kumar, director of the Scheduled Tribe and Scheduled Caste Development Department, who had also served as collector of Rayagada in the past, has requested TDCC to promote production and marketing of masks by Dongria Kondh tribals sticking to the designs of their traditional shawls.
