By IANS
Kolkata : The India Fashion Week in Durban in South Africa, to be held in September, will have a touch of West Bengal with several folk artisans from the state chosen to participate in the event.
"We will take some folk artisans to Durban this September where they will be given a chance to showcase their traditional art forms," Nadia Meer, a designer from South Africa, told IANS on the sidelines of a function here.
It will be a great opportunity for West Bengal's artisans to get international exposure for their products like clay pottery, wall mat, jute and leather products, traditional jewellery, terracotta and Dokra art forms, she said.
"Personally I am a very big fan of Indian handicrafts. Through this workshop, I'll try to promote a cross-cultural art form between India and South Africa which will provide sustainable economic development to folk artisans in both countries," she said.
Meer was here to attend a three-week long handicrafts workshop – jointly organised by the Eastern Zonal Cultural Centre (EZCC) here and the Consul General of India in Durban.
A total of 26 artisans – 20 from India and the rest from South Africa -participated in the workshop, held under the guidance of Meer. A two-day exhibition of the products produced in the workshop followed.
The workshop was part of a venture taken up by the central ministry of rural development in which 6,000 artisans from West Bengal and Orissa are involved. The programme is targeted to create a source of sustainable economic development for rural artisans.