Tribal jewellery on display in Ranchi. Picture by Hardeep Singh

Ranchi, Jan. 12: Jewellery made by tribal artisans of the state are going places.

They are now sharing shelf space with heavy ornaments at swanky showrooms in Mumbai, Delhi, Jaipur and Jodhpur. And the fashionistas are picking them up fast.

The jewellery — beautiful silver, jute, wooden and terracotta pieces — are designed in pockets of Pithoria block, Lari near Ramgarh, Sukari Garha near Chitrapur, Chelagi near Khunti and Murhu.

“We are getting an overwhelming response from customers not only from Ranchi, but also from Delhi and Mumbai. Recently, we got an order from Calcutta for 25,000 pieces of kangans and mandali necklaces,” said B. Jena, the handicraft promotion officer of Marketing and Service Extension Centre, office of the development commissioner (handicraft), Jharkhand.

Jena added a few days ago, some customers had flown from Mumbai to buy tribal jewellery at an exhibition.

“The group also expressed its desire to visit villages and meet the artisans specialised in making funky jewellery. They claimed that even Bollywood stars are fascinated by the jewellery. We found the same enthusiasm for tribal ornaments during our visits to Mumbai and Delhi. Showrooms there sell tribal jewellery and the customers are quite taken with it,” he added.

The price ranges from Rs 5 to Rs 50,000 depending on designs and weight.

Jena added that further steps would be taken to further boost the trade. “We are taking the aid of NGOs — Chhotanagpur Craft Development Society, Tata Steel Rural Development Society and Society for Rural Industrialisation — for the promotion of tribal jewellery and handicraft products,” he said.

Earlier, the artisans used white metal, but in keeping with the market demand, they are now using black metal, too. “They have linkage with the Bank of India, Khunti, that provides them credit cards to purchase the raw material,” Jena said.

As for the profits, each artisan has been given Rs 1,000 from the Handicraft Extension Centre.