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January 4th, 2019

Once again it was a little sunny in Antia, we continued our workshop on tassel covers to improve the finishing and acquire a proper size and shape as well as making balls in a perfect round shape.

The ball joining problem was a challenge so we asked one of the best artisans to take on the challenge. As she started making the ball and joining it, she found the trick and solved it. With some of our other artisans we have tried to come up with some new designs and the results have been good. It was a bit confusing at first for the artisans to make new designs as they were used to weave only copying the traditional techniques. Using their own creativity was also a challenge for them but they’ve accomplished it.

The second day of the workshop came to end and we gave them some tasks to show us during the next workshop.

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A very beautifully designed single handed bag made by our artisans with the help of designers from Tokyo. . . . . . #goldengrass #mudrafoundation #indianembtokyo #incredibleindia #japan #productphotography #shopsmall #shoplocal #odishatourism #odisha #bhubaneswarbuzz #mybhubaneswar (at Mudra Foundation) https://www.instagram.com/p/CIvP9CVrhLx/?igshid=ze2vdyen6nek

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Our golden grass artisans posing around with the product made by themselves. . . . . . #mudrafoundation #goldengrass #googleindia #googleartsandculture #instagood #indianembtokyo #tokyo #japan #artworld #artistsoninstagram #handicrafts #odishatourism #jindal #germany #thailand #newpost #newyork #london (at Mudra Foundation) https://www.instagram.com/p/CIqOuDuLwMf/?igshid=1uvb2l3sk2u4a

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The time it takes to craft a piece brings up inner peace and satisfaction in my life. I hope it makes you happy as well. . . . . . #odisha #handicrafts #socialwork #japan #mudrafoundation #instagood #incredibleindia #art #instagram #bhubaneswar #bhubaneswarbuzz #artworld #goldengrass #indianembtokyo #tokyo #follow4followback #followforfollowback #likeforlikes #like4like #like4likes #likeforlikeback #ngo #trust #npo #funding #crowdfunding (at Mudra Foundation) https://www.instagram.com/p/CH-SvZyrM0J/?igshid=7q3oxnn5ljo5

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May 11th and 19th, 2019

The month of May was a very sad and difficult time for all the people living in Odisha because of the cyclone Fani. So many trees and plants were uprooted and destroyed, there were big losses of animals as well, there was no current and mobile network for 15 days in the main part of Odisha. After the cyclone, on May 11th, we visited Antia Village and luckily all of the artisans, their families and homes were fine. We begun to work on the Golden Grass Project again and decided to give them one task as a group: one beach bag for all of them to make by May 19th. Through this activity we were hoping to teach them about teamwork, improve the communication and interaction between them and show them how easier it is and how -through teamwork- they are able to complete the work quicker. After a natural disaster it’s very important to reflect as a society and make conscience about the importance of teamwork, consideration and helpfulness amongst all of us.

On May 19th there was sunny weather in Antia, some of the artisans were on time. When they arrived we discussed with them about the project of the beach bag and whether it was difficult to complete or not. Surprisingly the answer was positive, they had completed the bag on time and they shared how they divided the work, improved the communication among themselves and helped each other rectify the mistakes in the product. When they showed us the bag we were pleased to see the beautiful work that they had done, then we made some notes on the possible improvements of the product and then asked them to make 10 more bags. It was very valuable for us to have helped them improve not only in their skills as craftswomen, but also in their relation towards each other and their teamwork abilities.

Report by Mehul Nanda

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 April 13th and 20th, 2019

On April 13th there was extremely hot weather in the village of Antia, we had not come back or given any workshops because the women had told us that the village area where Antia is celebrated a big festival for 15 days so we had given them holidays. When we arrived the artisans were already waiting for us at the workplace which was so surprising for us, when we asked them why they had all come so early that day they answered that they wanted to share their joy and fulfillment after the festival with us. They explained to us that the festival name was Raja and that it is a three-day-long festival in which the second day signifies the beginning of the solar month of Mithuna from which the season of rain starts.

On this occasion we told them that we would do a workshop on coasters in which we would try to make coasters in different shapes as well as maybe a stand or rack for them. We agreed that would return to Antia on the 20th of April. Afterwards the artisans showed us the tassel cover of one of our products in 2 different shapes, improving the design since the last time and responding to our feedback.

On April the 20th we visited Antia Village again, the weather was quite humid and some of the artisans were not on time. As we waited for them, we discussed with the craftmaster about the different shaped coasters; communicating with the craftmaster and the rest of the women is very helpful -both for us and for them- to execute the ideas. During this visit we were able to show the artisans through the craftmaster how to make the coasters according to the designs and we reached 4 prototype samples on coasters as well as design ideas for the coaster stand. This time we faced the difficulty of the artisans being very late for the workshop which affects the results we achieve, that’s why communication is so important.

Report by Mehul Nanda

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March 10th and 11th, 2019

On March 10th we had sunny weather in the village of Antia (Jajpur District), all of the artisans were on time and ready to start creating. On our last workshop we had given them the training on golden grass raw material classification so this time we told them to classify it on their own and so they did with around 15-20 kg of raw material. The raw material of golden grass has 3 different types of sizes and the classification process is very important. Afterwards we taught the artisans about time management and we told them to do the preparation process of the raw material (cutting the flower and tearing the stem in half) before and store it so that when they start creating the products it’s ready and easy.

On March 11th it was sunny in Antia again but this time all of the artisans were 10 to 15 minutes late. We decided to do the sample pieces of weaving style to keep a record and make design choices. We have divided among the artisans 10 different weaving styles plus 2 new ones that the artisans proposed themselves. These 2 new weaving styles were not created by them but were ancient weaving techniques that they used. We asked them why they were not using those weaving styles anymore and they told us that it takes more time to make and they were not getting proper money from the local buyers so they stopped. After some time the artisans completed the samples of weaving techniques and we had a discussion group to learn more about golden grass, they answered our questions regarding the time that they take in making each product, the weaving style that they think is better for different kinds of products, whether they could all work on the same product or each one was specialized in one particular product, etc. This was very useful for us and we learned a lot.

Report by Mehul Nanda

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January 27th, February 1st, 18th and 24th, 2019

From January 27th to February 1st and from February 18th to the 24th, we conducted the Golden Grass Workshop at MUDRA Foundation in Bhubaneswar. Our aim in these workshops was, first of all, to learn about the work that the artisans do and give them our time and respect. Afterwards we communicated our goals to them and taught them how to classify golden grass into 3 different categories depending on its characteristics. For this workshop we came up with some prototype designs to familiarize the artisans with our ideas. There were 14 artisans so we decided to divide them into 2 different groups.

Group 1 - In this group there were 6 artisans along with one craftmaster, they worked on the prototype designs that include a lamp and a bag. In this exchange we were trying to see all the possible things and uses that golden grass has.

Group 2 - This group was formed by 7 artisans and one craftmaster. We taught them how to work on our keychain, bag and gift box designs. The goal with this group was to communicate to them the importance of size when it comes to golden grass’ raw material. We showed them how to classify the raw material in a different category depending on the its characteristics (size and shape). This was a very important fact for the artisans to learn that changed how they work and how the final product comes out because when they work with all kinds of golden grass -regardless of its size- on one same product the quality of the final outcome is compromised in spite of the difficulty and beauty of the technique.

After the workshop we conducted a yoga and dance class with the artisans so that they could rest from the hard work. Later we all prepared the food together, had dinner and shared some hopes, ideas and good times.

Report by Mehul Nanda