BHUBANESWAR: Notwithstanding the rain that lashed the city for three days last week, rural artisans made a whopping business of Rs 3.28 crore till Saturday at the 10-day Sisir Saras national crafts fair. Official sources said business on the last day of the fair on Sunday was expected to cross ` 1 crore. It was hosted at the Exhibition Ground here by the Orissa Rural Development and Marketing Society (ORMAS), an autonomous organisation under the Department of Panchayati Raj. Over 750 rural craftsmen and SHGs participated and 350 stalls were set up for the purpose. An artisan from Karnataka who had come to the fair with wood art paintings alone made a business of ` 4.78 lakh. “All his products were sold by Sunday evening. This apart, artisans from Rajasthan and Gujarat made brisk business,” said B N Das, Director of ORMAS. He added that business was at its peak during the last three days. “Last year we generated a revenue of around ` 3.46 crore, but this year, we are expecting a turnover of over ` 4 crore by Sunday night. The amount generated will be used for development of rural artisans and provide them market linkages and product development skills,” Das said. The Sisir Saras fair saw participation of as many as 16 states and from Odisha, artisans and women SHGs had brought in rural products like paddy craft, terracotta and seashell handicrafts, handlooms and food products such as badi and papad of various varieties. ORMAS has been hosting exhibitions under the banner of Sisir Saras, Gramshree Mela and Pallishree Mela across the country to provide a platform to the rural artisans to showcase and sell their products besides interacting with the urban consumers to facilitate better trade ties. Sources said last year, over 22 exhibitions were held generating a business of over ` 10 crore.“Melas like these are instrumental in providing a direct selling interface to the producers, which otherwise is very tough for them, and even if they do the prices are never remunerative,” Das added.
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