An artisan from tribal-dominated Dantewada district of Bastar region, Moolchand Sinborai Shilpi, has bought laurels to his region by receiving a national award for outstanding work in the area of cottage industry in the ‘Wood Craft Trade’ category .
The award was received by Moolchand from Union Minister for Micro Small and Medium Enterprises KH Muniyappa on behalf of President Pranab Mukherjee for the first time on April 3 this year at function held at Vigyan Bhavan in New Delhi.
The recognition had bought Bastar once again in the national spotlight as a region known for outstanding crafts work done by its artisans.The award comprised `25,000 in cash, a citation and a medal.
It may be mentioned that the artisan Moolchand had received a loan of `7 lakh under Prime Minister Employment Generation Programme implemented by the Chhattisgarh Government and assisted by Khadi and Gramadhyog Commission, Mumbai.
Moolchand thereafter received an 11-day 'Entrepreneuship Development Training' held by organisation TRIBE between March 8 to March 29, 2009.
In between, the artisan also kept receiving guidelines on his craft trade and as a result, not only strengthened his own financial position, he also later provided full- time employment to 10 other artisans.
After receiving the award for 2011-12 , Moolchand had stated at the function that he is proud to be from Bastar and had helped him strenghten his financial position through his association and help from TRIBE besides providing employment to others.
On April 10 this year, Moolchand had a formal
meeting with the Dantewada District Collector Ambalgan P. and apprised him about his work. During the meeting the TRIBE Chairperson Madhu Pervez and Shikha Nandanwar were esspecially present on
the occasion.
Moolchand (39) has a family comprising wife and two children aged 9 and 4. The enterprise owned by Moolchand runs under the name of M S Furniture.
He said that during 2008-09 it was hard time for him financially and the inspiration from the Khadi Industries Board came in 2009 which
provided him the necessary financial support for taking the business forward.
Moochand said that the training provided by TRIBE helped him further his business which also enabled him to acquire a loan.He said that after receiving the loan, the work by him was taken up with dedication while following the guidelines given by TRIBE which helped him achieve progress in his business since 2011-12. He said he had no idea that he would, one day, be selected for a national award.