Bhubaneswar, May 19: Students from the fashion and lifestyle accessories department of National Institute of Fashion Technology in the city has embarked on a 10-day trip to various traditional crafts villages of the state.

The Odisha Khadi and Village Industries Board is conducting the enterprise to promote contemporary designs in the making of crafts items and conduct cluster development programmes in the areas.

As many as 26 students of the department have been divided into four groups that will be visiting Khali Sahi and Kantilo in Nayagarh district popular for belmetal crafts, Khairpadar in Kalahandi district famous for woodcraft and Belaguntha in Ganjam district known for its brass fish crafts.

The students will conduct surveys at the clusters and develop new designs that could suitably be incorporated in the crafts. "Most of the shapes and forms of the crafts have been implemented since long. To attract contemporary buyers and suit the people's tastes, it is necessary to give a contemporary touch to the artworks," said board president Tejeswar Parida.

At present, each of these clusters house around 500 to 1,000 artisans, and the families in these areas are responsible for carrying forward the legacy of the state's unique craftsmanship.

The students will also submit a project report at the end of the trip. It would be utilised to get funds to develop the clusters. "Depending on the report, we are hopeful of garnering funds ranging from Rs 1.5 crore to Rs 8 crore under various government schemes," said Parida.

For popularising the items, the scope of online medium would be utilised. "We would tie-up with shopping portals such as Flipkart and Amazon to provide a global platform to the craft items," said Parida.

That apart, the items will also be sold in the forthcoming exhibitions planned by the board. "We will also get in touch with the governments of other states to exhibit them at various places," he said.

The students are quite upbeat about the trip. "We will try to talk to as many craftsmen as possible. We will first study their designs and thereby try to polish them and try new styles. Our basic aim is to update their designs," said Jay Krishnan, who is a part of the Kantilo team.

The students are hopeful of coming out with at least 30 new designs.