Bhubaneswar, July 6: Need a handmade sari or a piece of dhokra art? It's just a click away.
A new e-commerce store www.thoomri.com, launched by a young entrepreneur from the city, offers a wide range of exclusive crafts that are procured directly from the weavers and craftsmen.
The store is the brainchild of Rakesh Rosan Parida, who has an engineering degree along with an MBA. Parida quit his job in 2011 to pursue his aspiration of doing something different. "I wished to make an identity for myself and work towards promoting my state. Odisha has master craftsmen and a rich legacy of age-old crafts. All it needs is promotion," said the youth.
Parida frequently travels to the interior parts of the state that are known for their crafts. "I found that when it comes to buying such products from national and international shopping sites, Odia people don't mind spending a lot. Now, they can buy their own ethnic products online. People from outside the state can also collect the artefacts from Thoomri," he said.
The e-commerce <>site is purely dedicated to Odia handicrafts. It has a beautiful collection of handmade saris, stone crafts, filigree, dhokra art, pattachitra and many more. Artists from Sambalpur, Sonepur, Dhenkanal, Boudh and other parts of the state have created all the products. "It gives a chance to everyone out there to support the local artists whose skills are still unexplored at many levels," said Parida.
With the help of his sisters Shilpa and Richa, the young entrepreneur launched the site last month after spending a year and half on developing the portal with a team of 15 people from the city and Bangalore. Silver jewellery, saris and dhokra crafts have already attracted buyers from Bangalore, Calcutta and other places.
"We can ship the products anywhere within India and will soon cater to orders from abroad," said Parida.
Parida wishes to help the rural craftsmen by promoting their art and selling the products at the same price or for less than other shopping sites, where the artists do not make much profit.