THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The tourism department has decided to revive Vellar Arts and Crafts Village project, which had been bogged down by cost overruns, and re-design the village as a state-of-the-art crafts hub. The proposed village, a rudimentary form of which exists in 3.47 hectares land along the NH bypass between Kovalam and Thiruvallom, will have two components: a crafts design and technology development centre, and a marketing centre for eco-friendly and ethnic crafts.
Frequent design and structural changes have caused unnecessary cost overruns in the construction of Arts and Crafts Village, which was originally planned modestly, but later on was re-modified as Kerala’s answer to New Delhi’s Dilli Haat. The primary objective of the village would be open a direct marketing channel for traditional craftsmen. “The major problem faced by artisans is the abysmally low price they receive for the products they create. They do not have good direct marketing channels, and have to depend on middlemen for the sale,” a top tourism department official said.
“The consumer pays a reasonable price, but unfortunately it does not reach the artisans,” he added. The department already has a model in the first such village in Iringal, Kozhikode. The craft sector in the state engages around 80,000 artisans, producing products worth Rs 400 crore annually. Almost all craftsmen in the sector are dependent on their craft for their livelihood. While the technology wing of the village will develop globally competitive craft designs within the traditional mould and standardises technology, the marketing wing will showcase the products all around the year and will function as a hub for bulk buyers.
The Union ministry of tourism had accorded administrative sanction for the project in December 2004. While the Centre’s share was Rs 5 crore, the state was asked to pitch in with Rs 2.20 crore. The project was proposed in the nearly 4 hectares of land owned by the Harbour Engineering Department. Later, in February 2013, sanction was accorded to upscale and revitalise the Craft Village into an Entertainment Zone and Market Zone on the line of Dilli Haat for an additional Rs 7 crore. This necessitated changes in earlier structure, causing serious cost overruns and delays.
