Eco-friendly Ahimsa Silk attracting buyers Kalyan Barooah GREATER NOIDA, Oct 20 – Entrepreneurs from the North Eastern Region (NER) are hardly selling traditional products using eco friendliness as their unique selling point (USP). However, an entrepreneur from Kokrajhar has made its presence felt with its eco-friendly product aptly named, ‘Ahimsa Silk’.
Meet Dahal Kungur Narzary, the man from Kokrajhar, an endi silk manufacturer, who introduced the non-violent silk. The Ahimsa Silk unlike other silk such as Muga, Tussar and Mulberry, the worm of endi silk necessarily does not get killed in the process of producing yarn from the cocoon. Endi silk is produced by the endi silk worm, which is mainly fed on endi (castor) and Karong leaves. As endi cocoon are open ended, the yarn is spun. The silk is known for its thermal property, as also for its softness and durability. Narzary, along with 30 other entrepreneurs drawn from various States of the North-east are participating in the 30th Indian Handicraft and Gift Fair organised by Export Promotion Council for Handicraft (EPCH) here at India Expo Centre and Mart. The venue sort of a buyer-seller platform, has become a source of rare exposure for the entrepreneurs from the North-east, far removed from the markets and foreign buyers. The entrepreneurs use the 283 square meter space the North Eastern DevelopmentFinance Corporation (NEDFi) has bought at the mart to showcase their products. The space was bought by NEDFI at a cost of Rs 2.34 crore and financed by North Eastern Council (NEC). Besides providing the space, entrepreneurs are given passagemoney and daily allowances. “NEDFi also helps them out with training and product design and some hand holding besides assisting them with export, documentations and works similar,” said deputy general manager Manoj Das. Using their USP to the hilt, the entrepreneurs have gone to length to introduce innovative but eco-friendly products like bags, mats and baskets made from water hyacinth, textile made out of banana leaves, multi-coloured binds made out of bamboo. Jesmina Zeliang, who is an entrepreneur and the regional convenor of North-east chapter of EPCH and a member of the administration committee said that there is a plan to organise a reverse buyer-seller meet at Guwahati, where buyers would travel to meet the sellers. A significant achievement, Zeliang said, is that the North-east is now considered as a separate zone. Earlier, it was clubbed with the Eastern Zone. The committee on administration has a representative from each of the regional zone barring the northern zone, which has 12 representatives. The North-east has to focus on advantage of eco-friendly products to buyer who have become more environment conscious.With the focus shifting to eco-friendliness, the North-east has a distinct advantage, she added. “Our eco-friendly products like traditional silk, muga, eri, non-violent silk from Assam, fine bamboo and cane work of Tripura, products made from grass grown in Loktak Lake are fast becoming very appealing to foreign buyers,” she added. Zeliang said her products have drawn buyers from places like Jamaica, Egypt, besides the European countries. The North-east corner has done business worth Rs 2 crore last year, though export orders kept coming. The EPCH organises two fairs annually in winter and spring, added Das. Asked about the hurdles, Zeliang said lack of entrepreneurship in the region and need for awareness were some of the main disadvantage _______________________________________________ assam mailing list assam@assamnet.org http://assamnet.org/mailman/listinfo/assam_assamnet.org
