The potters are living very miserably in rural areas of Nuapada district having virtually lost their livelihood. But of late, an initiative has been taken to revive the age-old profession through terracotta training to some women members of the potters’ community.
There was a time when the earthen pots and drinking vessels made by them were much in demand, but they have for long been sidelined due to increasing use of plastics. Most potters, especially the new generation ones, have been forced to leave their caste profession and turned into daily wage labourers or seasonal migrants.
In such a juncture, a few young women of Tukula village of Khariar block have shown interest to revive their traditions, although in a different form. They have been learning terracotta for the last six months from two master trainers sponsored by the handicraft department of Government of Odisha.
"We have learnt that there is a demand for terracotta products, so we are learning about it," said Punyaprabha Rana, a recently married woman, who is also an undergraduate. Debaki, another college dropout, said that the training would help her support her family.
There are 30 such trainees in two women self-help groups of the village who hope to complete the training in a year and become self-reliant.
"We are providing the training under the Shilpi village scheme for skill development training. There is a good demand for terracotta products which can be a good source of earning for these women," said master trainer Hemanta Rana.