The Telangana government is all set to tie-up with India’s major online seller Amazon from Saturday to sell its traditional handicrafts. Telangana State Handicrafts Development Corporation (TSHDC) announced the tie-up on Friday.
TSHDC tied up with the e-commerce giant to garner publicity for its new brand or trademark ‘Golkonda’ in an attempt to promote the exclusive articrafts created by its artisans. Andhra Pradesh has agreed to retain the brand ‘Lepakshi’.
According to Shailaja Ramiyer, vice chairman and managing director of TSHDC, major handicrafts like dokra, bidri, nirmal artworks, cheriyal paintings, pearls and brassware would initially be sold on the online platform.
According to media reports, Flipkart will also partner with local artisans to source handicrafts from Telangana and sell them to customers through its platform. However, TSHDC has determined Amazon as the primary seller for now. “There are several more (handicrafts). Based on the response from the public, we will see if we can expand (the range of handicrafts) further,” Shailaja told a news agency.
The state government observed that there are about 55 crafts producing clusters in the state. Approximately 1.2 lakh artisans earn their livelihood through their craftsmanship. Certain handicraft trades like glass-blowing, stone-carving and Himroo are on the verge of extinction as craftsmen look for alternate professions.
According to Shailaja, the stone-carving art will die unless saved by the very few artisans who actually do it. She added that the only glass-blowing artisan in Hyderabad also works as an electrician as the craft doesn’t fetch him enough money to survive.
The Lepakshi handicraft showrooms in other states are run jointly by Telangana and Andhra Pradesh and they are yet to be bifurcated.
