The Etikoppaka toy industry located near Visakhapatnam an hour and half drive is a
very sought after craft cluster. The packaging that is used for these toys is made
from palm leaves. Since they are already familiar with making containers, CCAP saw
a potential to enhance their skill level.
A 20 day design intensive workshop to train artisans from Etikoppaka in palm leaf
and screw pine basketry was conducted from 15th May to 5th June at Etikoppaka
village. They were taught skills in making sustainable and eco-friendly products and
painting them with local lacquer. The program was conducted by ccap and
implemented by kadamhaat.
In the first stage artisans learnt to use a knife-like tool to slit the palm leaves into
strips and weave them into various shaped small baskets and boxes. Some are
square shaped, some big and rectangular like a saree box, some cylindrical as a
bottle holder etc.
In the second stage they were taught how to slit the leaves finer, dye and preserve
them. The idea was to build on the traditional weave. About 500 grams of cut leaves
were boiled in 100 grams of alum for 30 minutes. After treatment and dyeing, the
leaves were used to weave the baskets in two colors – blue and natural. They look
aesthetic and functional. The next session was with screw pine. Members plan to
get an Ole machine from TN for slitting the leaves finer.
