Women at the Tribal Culture Society in Sonari. Picture by Srinivas

Jamshedpur, April 11: At a 21-day workshop tribal women discovered that jute could be used for making much more than just gunny bags.

As over 30 women today completed their training under Swaroop Mandal in making exquisite pieces of jewellery from jute, the organisers hoped that the move would help the women become self-sufficient.

Organised by the Tribal Culture Society, Jute Service Centre of Ranchi, and the National Centre for Jute Development (NCJD), this was the first such workshop conducted for tribal women working with TCS. “We have a year and half training programme in jute handicraft making, but this time we decided to go in for some design diversification so that these women can not only learn a new trade but also earn a living,” said Prashant, a senior official at TCS. “This is a programme where one gets to learn the basics about raw materials and designs, after which they have to undergo another advanced training programme. But we got them acquainted with both,” said Mandal, who runs a company called Artificial Ornaments Company at Barasat in Bengal.

“Our idea is to make these women self sufficient,” said Nishant Sinha, from the Chhotanagpur craft development society, one of the NGOs involved in this workshop.

“Last year our company alone exported jute jewellery worth Rs 30 crore to Spain and this is one art which has really picked up and the market, too, is available,” pointed out Mandal. “We wish there were enough people to buy our things even outside showrooms,” said Joba, one of the participants.