Imphal: Textiles, Commerce & Industries, Minister Thongam Biswajit Singh inaugurated a two-week long ‘Strategic Design Intervention Workshops For New Product Development and Production Capability Enhancement for Manipur Crafts’ Tuesday at the Classic Royal Hall, Hotel Classic, Imphal.
The workshop, organized by the Mission for Economic Empowerment of Traditional Artisans and Craftsmen (MEETAC) will conclude on December 1.
Minister Thongam Biswajit Singh, addressing the gathering as the chief guest, highlighted achievements of MEETAC, and expressed gratitude to former Governor of Manipur Dr. Najma Heptulla for her vision and assistance in establishing MEETAC.
Stating that MEETAC has helped in preserving the dying traditional crafts and designs of Manipur, and in standardizing these designs, Thongam Biswajit Singh asserted that it will further aid in developing the traditional crafts design. This will also ensure enhancing the production capabilities and economic status of artisans and craftsmen.
Another big achievement of MEETAC is the preparation and launching of a Craft Map of Manipur and Coffee Table Book- Panorama of Handlooms and Handicrafts of Manipur.
He continued that under MEETAC, surveys and training are conducted in all 16 districts of the State.
MEETAC would establish linkages for traditional crafts/arts of Manipur with national, international markets and e-markets, he added.
MEETAC has helped in exploring the hidden talents of our craftsmen and artisans. By the end of the Phase II of MEETAC, more than 160 Souvenir Proto-Types have been developed and more than 124 traditional artisans have been trained, he added.
As part of the inaugural function, seed money was distributed to 50 artisans in the craft of Doll Making, Dry Flower, Bead Jewellery, Loin Loom Woven Fabric, Cane & Bamboo, Metal Craft/Metal Tribal Jewellery and Wood Craft.
MEETAC in collaboration with National Institute of Design (NID) has already completed two projects and currently the Phase III project is being implemented. During the First two projects, seven crafts namely Doll Making, Dry Flower, Bead Jewellery, Loin Loom Woven Fabric, Cane & Bamboo, Metal Craft/Metal Tribal Jewellery and Wood Craft were covered.
Mission for Economic Empowerment of Traditional Artisans and Craftsmen (MEETAC) is an autonomous Society under the Dept. of Textiles, Commerce & Industries.
It was launched on September 1, 2018 by the then Hon’ble Governor of Manipur. The Society is chaired by the Hon’ble Minister (TCI) and function of the Society is executed by a duly appointed CEO.
MEETAC is operating in all the districts of Manipur. It is working in collaboration with National Institute of Design (NID), Ahmedabad, CUTS Institute for Regulation & Competition (CIRC), New Delhi and DASSO, USA.
The Inaugural Ceremony of “Strategic Design Intervention Workshop for New Product Development and Production Capability Enhancement for Manipur Crafts” was also attended by Shri S.S. Chhabra, CEO, MEETAC, Shri Michael Achom, Secretary (TCI), Shri C.S. Susanth, Principal Designer and Smt. Bindoo Ranjan, Senior Designer, NID, Km. Elangbam Nirmala Chanu, Director (Training & Extension), MEETAC among others.
The Workshop will train around 90 artisans from 5 crafts namely Clay Pottery – Nungbi & Andro Pottery, Cane & Bamboo, Kauna Craft, Stone Craft and Textile – Moirang Phee, Lasing Phee & Rani Phee.The Product development would be for daily utility and lifestyle products. The Workshop will be conducted at seven venues namely, Sawombung, Khangabok, Luwangsangbam, Kongba Nongthongbam Leikai, Toupokpi, Kongba Nandeibam Leikai and Andro Khunou Leikai. The Artisans will be trained by designers from NID.
