Jewellery sets made of jute on display. Picture by Ranjeet Kumar Dey

Patna, Nov. 4: Jute, the fibre, has come a long way from its humble, rustic look to a more glamourised and trendy appearance.

Once, jute only meant gunny bags and jholas. Now, however, it has donned a new avatar in the form of elegant jewellery that scores high on the popularity chart.

Jute jewellery may be synonymous with a rustic look in mind of customers. But a closer look at these kinds of jewellery reveals that these have a very ethnic and sophisticated appeal.

Rashmi Bharti, the owner of Shreya Jute, said: “Bangles, earrings and lightweight jute sets sell like hot cakes here. It is the uniqueness of this jewellery that has caught the fancy of customers.”

Shreya Jute is a Patna-based organisation, which specialises in manufacturing jute jewellery.

In a market flooded with junk and imitation jewellery, the pieces of jewellery made of coarse fibre is fast becoming popular to fashion lovers in the capital.

“Jute jewellery offers its customers the ultimate combination of innovative and classy. Moreover, they cause no skin irritation and are also lightweight. All these qualities makes for a good bargain,” said Sneha Kumari, councillor, ward 19, Mithapur. Sneha came across this type of jewellery at a local trade fair a few months ago. Since then, she has been a regular customer of jute jewellery.

This biodegradable jewellery, available in several colours, gives women a chance to adorn them in an eco-friendly way.

Made of raw and processed jute, wooden beads, pearls and jhumkis are used on these innovative and pretty pieces of jewellery to lend them a contemporary look.

However, Bihar has very few manufacturers of jute jewellery and one cannot find samples in local shops. Generally sold at local trade fairs or at manufacturing units, the jewellery ranges between Rs 20 and Rs 2,000. The customers’ range, however, transcends geographical boundaries.

Divya Rani, the proprietor of Arya Jute, has been making jute jewellery for more than three years now. She now has customers in the US and Russia.

“When it comes to Bihar, awareness about this new kind of jewellery and its makers is still in an infant stage. However, they are a hot favourite with foreign customers. It also has many takers in places like Delhi and Calcutta,” said Divya.

Micro, small and medium enterprise (MSME) training centres has also been instrumental in promoting this art.

MSME director Devendra Kumar Singh said: “MSME has been contributing to this art in two respects. First, we organise free of cost training sessions for those interested in learning the art of making these jewellery. Second, for promotion of these products, we give financial assistance to those who wish to take part in state or national-level fairs. For those who take part in fairs at international levels, we bear their full transportation and stall expenses.” Singh is responsible for 18 districts in Bihar.