Building Rural Enterprises - KRuSHE

IntroductionMyriad forms of art and crafts, exceptional artistry, unique styles of expression and executionhave been the hallmarks of the cultural history of Andhra Pradesh. The state has been blessedin terms diversity and exclusiveness of handicrafts and handlooms . Almost each village hasnot only preserved the age old artistic traditions but also modified their work to suit the contemporarytaste.Government of Andhra Pradesh has over the years, through its Rural Development department(SERP) supported Self Help Groups (SHG) members, who have turned into rural entrepreneurs.They have been provided trade/skill training and budget support. The enterpriseshave come up in the following major nonfarm livelihood sectors- like Textiles, Handicrafts,Jewelers, Toys, Forest based, Leather, etc.VisionTo be the largest and the best Non-farm enterprise promoter and developer in the country.To provide one Nonfarm based livelihood to every poor SHG household by promotingMicro, small and medium sized rural enterprises in rural environments.

About SERPThe Society for Elimination of Rural Poverty (SERP)was established by the Government of Andhra Pradesh(GOAP) as a sensitive support structure to facilitatepoverty reduction through social mobilization and improvementof Livelihoods of rural poor in AndhraPradesh. The vision of SERP is to enable every poorfamily in rural Andhra Pradesh to come out of povertyand stay out of poverty.About Knitting Rural Self HelpEnterprisesKRuSHE wing under SERP has been incepted topromote entrepreneurship in Farm and Non-farm livelihoodsamong the members of rural SHG households with focus onPOP on saturation basis and to engage each household in anentrepreneurial activity for drought proofing the rural households.For restoring the traditional art and crafts of AndhraPradesh, KRuSHE is an attempting to link numerous artisans,craftsmen and rural producers of the state to remunerativemarkets. The objective is that the artisan gets the correctworth for her produce and there is a substantial increase in theincome.

Clusters IdentifiedLac / LaquerEtikopakka ToysDokraLace ParkLeather CraftsKarlapudiNirmal ToysWrought IronLac Cluster, AdilabadAdilabad district is having large forest area and 25 lakh Lachost trees are available in the district. Lac products are havinghigh economic value and exported to many countries. To utilizethis abundancy, rural people in Narnoor Mandal of Adilabadare making lac products and selling them in the market.Products Toys, pen stand, key chains, necklaces, bangles etcEtiopakka Toys of VishakhapatnamEtikopakka toys are famous for their beauty and simplicity. Inthe hands of the artisan, wood becomes an expression for lifeitself. Armed only with a simple lathe machine ,along withskills passed down from generations and a desire to createsomething ethereal the artisan bends over a pieces of wood andcarves it into intricate designs. The finesse of the work of theseartisans is what differentiates them from others manufacturingwooden toys. In the quest for perfection the artisans at Etikoppakahave experimented on a wide number of styles and designs,creating not just toys but marvellous works of art also.

Leather products, AnantpurIn the sixteenth century AD the Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh was witness to the migrationof artisans from Marathwada region. These artisanswere master craftsmen capable of combiningthe multiple dimensions of painting, sculpture andtheatre into one syncretic vision of creation in theform of leather puppets. Under the patronage of theVijaynagar rulers this art form flourished. Thethemes for the puppet shows were mainly epics fromRamayana and Mahabharata. Hence the puppetswere mainly characters from such epics like Ram,Sita, Lakshaman and Ravana. Currently this art formis practiced by a handful of artisans in the Nirmalkuntaand Dharmavaram mandal of Anantapur district.Karlapuddy toys, ChittoorWooden toy making has its origin in thisregion some 300 years ago. In Karlapudivillage, the artisans are engaged inturned wood and lacquer ware toys making.In this cluster two different productsare producing one from hand lathe andother from machine lathe.

Nirmal Toys and Paintings, AdilabadNirmal toys and paintings are one of the most wellknown products of this state. This unique form of craftis practised by the group of artisans in the town of Nirmalnear Adilabad.. This art form is more than 500years old. Nirmal painting started as representation ofscenes from the epics like Ramayana and Mahabharataon its characteristic black background painted with goldcolor and later adopted styles like Mughal and Kangraminiatures. Nirmal toys are typically known for beingprecise imitations of natural forms like birds, animals, fruits and vegetables. An extremely lightwood called Poniki is used for making smaller products and teak wood is used for larger items.Wrought Iron Products, VishakhapatnamPractised traditionally by the tribal inhabitants of Basar in Chattisgarh, it is the art of mouldingwrought iron in various small figurines. The tribals used iron as a medium of representing thethings they saw around them. Thus traditionally, thearticles consists of wild animals like deer, antelopes,bulls, monkeys or human beings engaged in hunting orin formation of a traditional dance. The craftsman isgenerally a skilled iron smith as well. The beauty ofthe art is in its rustic form, no application of paint isdone. The artisans have also come up with productslike mirror frames, lamps, wall panels and even furnitures.The thread continues………

Effort of bringingtraditional andcultural Andhra atyour doorstep throughpoorest of poor……Contact Us55-10-192, 3rd 4th Floor,Hermitage Office Complex,Huda Building, Hill Fort Road,Nampally, Hyderabad-500004.Telephone : 91-40-23298665Fax : 91-40-23211848 432www.serp.ap.gov.inKrusheserp.com