The success of the terracotta project proved that local artisans could supply goods that conform to strict specifications and high standards demanded by a major multinational company

From its inception, Sewalanka has worked to support people to use their traditional skills to build brighter futures.

Throughout Sri Lanka local communities produce a range of traditional crafts, often to a very high standard, but they lack the ability to design, market and package these products to meet international specifications and are therefore unable to access lucrative export markets.

A longstanding objective of the Sewalanka Foundation is to help local craftspeople raise their incomes by producing handicrafts that suit modern tastes and can be successfully marketed both locally and overseas.

Sedco, Sewlanka’s enterprise development arm, identified pottery—particularly the production of terracotta pots—as a traditional craft with the potential to successfully reach international markets.

In September 2005, Sewalanka approached a prominent multinational company, IKEA, and introduced them to a village producing traditional pots.

The Sewalanka team helped the village’s traditional craftspeople design a modern and ‘fashionable’ set of pots utilizing traditional methods. IKEA then contracted Sewalanka to produce three 40-foot containers of the product – over 54,000 pieces in total – representing over $36,000 in revenue.

With the help of Sewalanka the community completed the project in December of 2007, and all the parties involved were extremely satisfied with the results.

Traditional techniques were used to create pots with modern designs

By successfully completing this project Sewalanka was able to demonstrate that traditional techniques can be adapted to meet internationally accepted levels of quality and consistency and that it is possible for local artisans to supply major multinationals. We feel that this project is particularly important as this model may be applied to other handicrafts, allowing thousands of artisans to use their creative talent and traditional skills to build prosperous futures.

Through its involvement at every stage of the project, Sewalanka and the village craftspeople gained valuable experience in conducting a large-scale commercial project. Over the course of the project, Sewalanka staff were involved in managing a large team of workers, engaged in numerous steps of production at multiple facilities, and had to coordinate locally and internationally with foreign representatives to demonstrate our ability to attain a high level of quality and efficiency.

With the final shipment completed in December, the terracotta centre made the transition from the production of pots to traditional Sri Lankan New Year lamps. With enthusiastic support at the district level, more than 12,000 lamps were sold, representing a significant source of revenue and capitalizing on a valuable opportunity in the local market.

Sewalanka has invested substantial resources into this production, including the physical infrastructure, human resources and working capital, and the foundation is currently looking for a partner to make the operation more competitive and the products more marketable.

New year pots

Sedco, the enterprise development arm of the Sewalanka Foundation, was established to provide producers in rural areas with market linkages that would allow them to successfully market their products and receive the best possible price.

Prior to Sinhala/Tamil New Year, Sedco marketed sets of pots for boiling milk. Boiling milk is an essential part of Sri Lanka’s traditional New Year celebration. In almost every home milk is boiled on the hearth or on open fires. The sets marketed by Sedco were self-standing with a fuel a receptacle beneath the pot that allowed the milk to be boiled conveniently while maintaining the tradition of the wood fired hearth. The pots were sold at outlets throughout the island and proceeds from the sales went directly to the villagers involved in Sewalanka’s terracotta program.