Jamshedpur, Feb. 18: After success stories in candle-making and the pickles project, Tribal Culture Centre (TCC) is now laying the groundwork for a brush with modern art and craft through handmade paper.

Handmade paper and artefacts is the next ambitious project that the centre is looking forward to make a mark.

The project, according to R.K. Singh, head, TCC, will be carried out in collaboration with a Delhi-based organisation, Development Alternative.

The project will be divided into two phases to target peri-urban groups like Karandih. ?While ideally the first phase should have set up handmade paper manufacturing units, we will begin preparing artefacts out of the raw material,? Singh said.

Raw material and the technical know-how will be procured from Development Alternative, which will begin its training from March.

?Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) has come forward to fund our projects and we are awaiting the final fund allocation to give the final nod to our plans,? said Singh, adding that Tata Steel would be a key funding agency in the project.

The training will be targeted for low-income group women in the fringe areas of Jamshedpur. The women ? both tribals and non-tribals ? who will be chosen for the training, belong to areas that are under-developed.

Singh said Development Alternative will provide training in making lampshades, pen stands, note pads and notebooks, files and folders and other modern products.

?Beautiful and innovative products made of handmade paper will no longer be restricted to trade fairs and Gramshree melas. Our women self-help groups will now be able to churn out products, which had become synonymous with the upmarket of the metropolitan cities,? he said.

About four groups comprising 30 women have been earmarked for the training sessions in March. These women, according to TCC officials, have been involved in various projects of the organisation in the past. Singh added that the response of the products would pave way for the second phase of the project.

?Tata Steel is the most promising client that we have but we want to move ahead and create a niche for ourselves in the Jamshedpur market. We have approached different Tata groups to help us market the products and hope to get a positive response after which we have plans to set up an independent handmade paper manufacturing unit in the city,? he said.

Though the officials of the organisation are aware that products of handmade paper will cost about 3-4 per cent more than conventional stationary items, environment-friendly handmade paper is was likely to attract plenty of buyers.