Women use dry grass to earn livelihood in Jharkhand village

DABANKI - The poverty-ridden women of Dabanki village in Jharkhand make beautiful apparels and accessories with the help of dried grass and thus earn a decent livelihood.

A voluntary group called Kala Mandir is helping these women to make household articles by processing locally available long grass.

“It has been two years, our area has not received rain. The land is no longer fertile for farming. Therefore, to earn our bread and butter, we are bound to do this,” said Dukhi Tudn, an artisan.

Kala Mandir is an institution that promotes art and culture, and it has provided a loom to the women to enable them to weave grass. It also provides them with marketing facility.

Recently officials from northeastern states of Nagaland and Assam visited the village to learn the art as the same type of grass is found in abundance there as well.

Kala Mandir officials said the aim was to convert impoverished people into entrepreneurs.

“Our main aim is to make them entrepreneurs and let them learn everything possible, be it accounts, marketing, communication, table manners, make them learn everything,” said Amitabh Ghosh, a Kala Mandir member.

This grass is mostly found on the banks of rivers. So there is no shortage of raw material throughout the year.

Tourists flock the village to watch this unique art and also to buy articles made of this grass. By Girija Shankar Ojha (ANI)