Working with craft communities
Sewalanka Foundation is working with Sri Lankan craft villages to improve quality of life and to promote sustainable interactions between handicraft producers and their environment. Using the creative skills and local resources available in craft villages, Sewalanka is providing access to viable markets for traditionally made handicraft products.
In Sri Lanka, the tradition of making handcrafts is as old as the nation. According to Sinhalese tradition recorded in the great chronicle Mahavansa, when Prince Vijaya from India landed in Sri Lanka in the sixth century BC he met Kuveni, the queen of Yakkhas of ancient Lanka spinning cotton. The Prince, protected by a magic thread conferred by the god Vishnu, seized the Kingdom from her.
Historically, Sri Lankan handicrafts were widely used and traded and provided craft communities with a healthy income. In 1977 however, this changed, when the liberalisation of the country's economy saw cheap imports flooding the market.
Imported textiles largely replaced Sri Lankan handloom textiles and foreign-made materials began replacing traditional pottery, weaving, cane, coconut fibre, metal and wood work.
Customary markets for traditional products shrank and the income of craft producers declined dramatically, leaving craft communities among the poorest communities in the country.
Sri Lankan handicrafts are produced by village communities that have specialised in a particular craft for generations. Sustainable local resources and traditional, environmentally-friendly methods are used to produce the goods.
In order to improve livelihoods in these craft-producing villages, Sewalanka is coordinating capacity building and skills training programs to add value to traditional handicraft products. These training programs are teaching craft communities to differentiate their traditionally designed products from those that flood the market.
Sewalanka is also helping these communities form direct market linkages with interested buyers.
A snapshot of Sewalanka's handicraft programs
Lace showroom
Lace making has a strong and proud tradition in the Matara district. With this in mind, Sewalanka helped a lace producer group open a showroom in Dickwella. Funded by USAID, the lace showroom sells products made by students at the nearby lace training centre. The centre provides skills training for attendants who already have some experience in traditional lace making. Students learn how to transform their lace into marketable products for consumers. The training centre houses 10 sewing machines and student lessons focus on bags, serviettes, table clothes and linen.
Lace training centre facilitator, Mrs Nilanthi Gunasakaray said that her role is to teach women how to enhance the look of their products. "Once the women have finished my course they are producing products consumers want to buy. All proceeds from the handicrafts sold in the show room are directed back to the producers."
IKEA pot project
Sewalanka Foundation is coordinating the production of hand painted pots to be sold in IKEA outlets in Europe. The homeware store has ordered 18,000 sets of pots which are due for delivery in the first half of 2007. If the product sells well, Sewalanka will work with communities to expand the operation by finding additional buyers. The pots were designed by Sewalanka's Handicrafts Advisor from Australia, Ms Ella Cameron, and are being produced by a small community organisation at a terracotta production centre based in Polwatta, near Gampaha. To meet the order, Sewalanka assisted the community to expand their facility. A painting and packaging centre was also established close to the factory and 20 local women are working to hand paint the pots.
The project is providing an opportunity for local women to earn an income, as well as improving the skills and organisational capacity of the Polwatta community-based organisation (CBO).
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| Sewalanka CBOs will soon start producing handloom bags; pictured above is a sample. |
Handloom bags
A range of Sri Lankan inspired bags has been designed using handloom fabric manufactured by Sewalanka CBOs. The bags will be produced using fabric made on handlooms that were distributed to tsunami-affected women. Sewalanka Foundation distributed 850 handlooms to community members in Marathamunai, a small village located on the east coast of Sri Lanka after their own handlooms were lost to the waves.
Production of the bags will take place in the homes of these women. Sewalanka will collect the finished product from the producer's home and deliver them to local suppliers. The operation will start locally with the hope of expanding to international markets. The designs have been developed by Ms Cameron and will use natural dyes to differentiate the product from popular, brightly coloured brands already on the market.
Recycled papermaking project
Sewalanka is working closely with a mothers' group at the Deheyia Preschool near Galle to produce recycled paper products. The group of 12 women transform used office paper into greeting cards, note books, birthday cards, bags, photo frames and envelopes, which are then sold in shops in Colombo.
The initiative was implemented when Sewalanka identified that the mothers spent three hours idly waiting at the preschool while their children attended class. Following discussions with the women, the paper making project was conceived.
Sewalanka sourced funding from Concern Worldwide, purchased papermaking equipment and trained the women in papermaking techniques. Recently, Ms Cameron has worked with the women to develop a range of modern greeting cards, which were sold to foreign buyers within Sri Lanka.
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| Ahangama Community members learn colour skills to enhance their patchwork products. |
Colour workshops
Working with batik, patchwork and papermaking CBOs in the south, Sewalanka has conducted four training workshops on basic colour skills. The workshops covered colour theory and colour mixing – skills which can be applied to develop aesthetically pleasing items. In the future, design workshops will be conducted to improve design techniques and hopefully provide inspiration for communities to generate their own original concepts.
Online design community
Sewalanka has partnered with online global design community www.omnium.edu.au whose goal is to promote social awareness though responsible and sustainable design.
As a team, Sewalanka and Omnium will develop a range of environmentally friendly bags to be sold in Sinharaja and Unawatuna – popular tourist destinations. The cotton bags, which aim to replace plastic bags in the areas, will be produced by local sewing CBOs providing them with income generating opportunity. Omnium is currently developing a slogan and designing a logo for the product.
