BY BISHESHWAR MISHRA
UNION Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship has launched two pilot projects with a view to revive and catalyze the traditional Namda Craft and upskill the Artisans and Weavers of Kashmir.
The projects are Revival of Namda craft of Kashmir as a special pilot project under Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) 3.0 and Upskilling of artisans and weavers of Kashmir under Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL), a component of PMKVY. The pilot projects have been launched by Minister of State for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Rajeev Chandrasekhar.
The objective of these projects is to boost and preserve the traditional Namda craft of Kashmir and upskill the local weavers and artisans to enhance their productivity through RPL assessment and certification. Namda craft is a rug made of sheep wool through felting technique instead of normal weaving process. The Namda project will benefit 2 thousand 250 people of 30 Namda Clusters from 6 districts of Kashmir including Srinagar, Baramulla, Ganderbal, Bandipora, Budgam and Anantnag while RPL initiative targets to upskill 10 thousand 900 artisans and weavers.
The Namda project will be an industry-based training program with beneficiaries involved in Namda Crafts Production who will contribute towards preserving and reviving the rich heritage associated with Namda craft in Kashmir. This will also improve the access of existing artisans of Namda crafts cluster in Kashmir and will improve their prospects of employability.
Launching the initiative, Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar said that India has a rich heritage and is home to several traditional art forms. He said, it is the vision Government to revive and promote traditional and heritage skills and to give them support to make them economically sustainable.