Last Updated on November 27, 2021 at 7:16 pm
Union Minister of State for Skill Development, Entrepreneurship, Electronics and Information Technology, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, today launched two ambitious projects; ‘Revival of Namda craft of Kashmir as a special pilot project under Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) 3.0’ and ‘Upskilling of artisans and weavers of Kashmir under Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL), component of PMKVY’.
The objective of these projects is to boost and preserve the traditional Namda craft of Kashmir and upskill the local weavers and artisans of the UT to enhance their productivity through RPL assessment and certification. The Namda project will benefit 2,250 people of 30 Namda Clusters from 6 districts of Kashmir including Srinagar, Baramulla, Ganderbal, Bandipora, Budgam and Anantnag while RPL initiative targets to upskill 10,900 artisans and weavers of J&K.
Pertinently, Namda craft is a rug made of sheep wool through felting technique instead of normal weaving process. Due to low availability of raw material, lack of skilled manpower and marketing techniques, the export of this craft has declined almost 100 percent between 1998 and 2008. Therefore, through this special project under PMKVY, the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) has designed short-term training curriculum to preserve this endangered craft.
The Namda project will be an industry-based training program with beneficiaries involved in Namda Crafts Production who will contribute towards preserving and reviving the rich heritage associated with the unique craft in Kashmir. This will also improve the access of existing artisans of Namda crafts cluster in Kashmir besides enhancing their prospects of employability.
