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Indian handicrafts fair opens

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THE second edition of the Indian Handicrafts Festival opens today on the Upper Ground Floor at Joina City mall in the city centre.

THE second edition of the Indian Handicrafts Festival opens today on the Upper Ground Floor at Joina City mall in the city centre.

Entertainment Reporter

About 20 exhibitors are expected to showcase their handicrafts at the mall until October 6 when the showcase closes with an Indian Food Festival.

The main festival would have five main components, namely buyer-seller meeting, exhibition of handicrafts, live demonstrations by national award winning craftspersons and the Indian Food Festival.

It would be the second year that the Embassy of the Republic of India would be hosting this event at Joina City. Last year’s inaugural edition was a huge success as it attracted large numbers of sellers and buyers.

The festival brings India’s most prominent and honoured trade show for handicrafts and gifts, known as The Indian Handicrafts and Gifts Fair.

The connections forged through last year’s festival saw many local artisans and craftsmen participating at the annual handicrafts exhibition in the Jorhat town of India’s North-Eastern Assam State where they were able to sell their products directly to the customers.

The exhibition offered traditional attires woven by indigenous tribal women, various products of cane and bamboo, hand-made flowers, decorative items, showpieces as well as clay, wooden and silk products.

Apart from being a fascinating bazaar for the customers, the exhibition, which was organised by a non-governmental organisation, was a source of employment and a platform for many skilful rural craftsmen, weavers and artists from all over the country.

Commenting on this year’s festival, Joina City marketing and public relations manager Varayidzo Nhandara said its main objective was to promote small-scale entrepreneurs in craft.

“The main objective of the exhibition is to promote handicraft and handloom and to encourage the small-scale entrepreneurs in setting up various ventures,” she said.

“Globally, popular for its artisans, arts and Crafts, earthen concepts and captivating colours, India is one the fastest-growing economies in the world. It has the largest vendor-base on the globe “Before globalisation, handmade goods were popular amongst people, but for the past few years the popularity of handmade products has declined, rendering a lot of the artisans jobless.

“The festival seeks to promote this trade because sale of such products keeps thousands of rural workers employed.”