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Promoting pottery as a vocation

Jinan, who has been working with potters in Aruvacode in Nilambur in Malappuram district to help them perfect their skill and attract buyers, has come up with a proposal for a project aimed at ensuring a better future for the craft. The future of pottery, Jinan says, is bleak, as potters’ children are not taking up the craft.

Pottery in the present context would not appear promising to potters’ children, though the reality is that there is a big demand for crafts in the urban spaces that is invisible to the artisans, especially in the rural areas, Jinan says.

As a designer, Jinan has been working as an active collaborator with artisans, helping them conceive new design possibilities and extend their design and product vocabulary.

“It is crucial to me that they do not become mere labourers, instead they should use their imagination freely and retain their creativity and self-respect. Practically, it means opening up avenues for craft usage in daily life,” Jinan says.

Kumbham , the project for potters at Aruvacode in Nilambur, is Jinan’s attempt to revive an almost wiped out pottery tradition. It was launched in 1993; he worked with over 150 artisans and in the course of 13 years developed over 500 designs and products.

A fundamental premise of the training interventions at Aruvacode is the cultural, aesthetic and creative superiority of the trainees, compared to the “developed” mainstream of Indian society.

The prime objective of the training programme that Jinan plans to undertake with financial support of pottery-lovers is to help the individuals regain their wisdom and confidence that lies embedded within their own communities and culture. Jinan has spelt out his programme on the web site www.kumbham.in. His work in Aravucode has led him to explore an essential aspect of all crafts — that of enabling the artisan’s children to take forward their skills as a viable livelihood option. He plans to do a learning activity with 10 potters’ children in the age group 18 to 24.

The training that would be of nearly two years duration will enable them to obtain the skills needed to pursue pottery in the present context. The participants will be given exposure to pottery, especially to the present interest among the urban population as well as role of craft in the coming ecologically sensitive era, modern ways of marketing,

R. Madhavan Nair

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