Submitted by Kevika Yadav, Young Professional (YP)
Village
Immersion is part of the orientation programme of Jeevika for Young
Professionals. I stayed in Bihta block of Patna district for one month to
understand socio economic profile of village and how men and women engage in
different activities to secure livelihood. The report of Village immersion in
Bihta covers the micro enterprises and traditional process that have been taken
by people of Bihta which not only makes them earn money but also has kept the
tradition alive with the help of Jeevika initiative of Government of Bihar.
The
document is divided in three sections
A Brasswork of Bhita
B- Jatta Sattu Making in Bihta
C- Jeevika Changing lives of Women- Stories of two
women of Bihta
This
document was submitted to Jeevika, Government of Bihar in 2018.
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A
Brass work in Bihta
Jeevika’s role in keeping tradition alive
Tradition of Brasswork-The brass work of Bihar and few skilled people owes its
legacy to pre-historic age which was at
peak in Mauryan and Gupta age. However very few blocks and villages of
Bihar have brass work and craftsmanship. Few Blocks away from Patna are engaged
in making utensils traditional brass utensils manufacturing units who make
brass utensils supply to neighbouring Jharkhand and eastern Uttar Pradesh.
Role of BRLP & Jeevika -Understanding that brass work has a
good demand from rural and urban area and has potential to be leveraged by
encouraging local manufacturing to bring
income to rural folks, Jeevika took the
step forward to empower groups of women
to take up this art for livelihood.
Targeting women from rural households in six of
Bihar’s poorest districts, Jeevika began in 2007 with the objective of social
empowerment of the poorest rural households, followed by economic empowerment
and poverty reduction. The programme now runs across Bihar’s 38 districts and
534 blocks.
Jeevika’s structure is a bottom up approach. 10-15 women organise as a
SHG to take loans on interest and obtain credit from banks. They also form
producer organisations centred around an economic activity, such as honey
production or making low-cost solar lamps for students. 20 to 25 of these SHGs
form a Village Organisation (VO), while 30 to 40 Village Organisations band
together to form Cluster Level Federation (CLF)
Formation of Self
help groups-
Bihta block is 35 kms away from Patna and is a growing
township. It is well connected with roads and railways. There are couple of SHG
formed and supported by Jeevika. The SHG group members are members of BRLPS
Jeevika and are also part time workers there.
As they belong to Palak SHG and Amit SHG, they took loan of Rs.
30,000 for the brass working 2018. Their annual earning from brass work is Rs.
360,000. The SHG members are engaged in doing work like flattening plates with
hammer, giving shape to pots or bowls with chisels, and polishing utensils. “We are in need of more capital so that we can
set up our own brass work store and enhance our income” says Asha Devi member
of SHG.
Sita Devi, Rinku
Devi and Asha Devi earn their livelihood from brass work. They work for an
agent who pays them according to their daily contribution to the work which
includes cleaning, washing and shining the brass utensils intensively and
passing them in for further work.
Market and Demand-
The
brass utensils are sold at Sonpur Mela, Saras Mela and also supplied to
Jharkhand. The SHG members supply the finished product to contractor who pays
them very little and sometime will not pay if the work is not done. Rinku Devi
informed that if the SHG is provided with direct market linkage with the
retailers then they will not face exploitation from contractors and agents.
“After hours of hard work in difficult conditions, there may be days where they
are under paid or not paid at all” Informed a SHG Member.
Despite fast-changing
lifestyle and habits, including changes in cooking utensils, brass utensils,
considered auspicious, are still in high demand, particularly in rural and
semi-urban areas. The utensils used for offering prayers and rituals, at home
and in temples, are helping brass utensils manufacturing units in Bihta thrive.
More demand is a positive sign for manufacturers as well as for workers, as
they get to earn more. Through the year there is demand for brass utensils, but
it peaks during the traditional marriage seasons, locally known as lagan,
which is usually held in March during spring, April-May during summer and
November-December during winter. There is a tradition of giving brass utensils
to daughters in marriage.
There are few units run from homes, shops and
workshops in the bylanes of Bihta. The prime requirement for the small scale
units like Bihta is to have uninterrupted power supply, capital to buy
implements and raw material, training and skills, marketing arrangements to
reach out to urban area.
Traditional Process-
The
lengthy process of making of brass utensils start with melting of raw material,
molding it into nuggets, flattening and shaping them. Most of the work is done
manually. Though there are some machines in few units. These use earthen stoves
buried in the ground to control temperature for heating the plates before
shaping them. Designs are still made by master craftsmen with details having
been passed orally through generations.
Way forward
Jeevika is focusing on imparting trainings on
financial Management and how to reinvest their profit and make business plan so
that their business can be a success.
There is also a need to provide loans to the SHG
members to enable them to buy raw material and meet the expenses that go in the
unit. Jeevika has provided interest free loans to SHG members.
There are lessons to be
learnt from Districts of Mirzapur, Moradabd of UP where traditional
craftmanship of brassware has been taken up in a big way. The brasswares from
these districts are exported and the designs are as per the trends.
There is a need to
modernize the units so that they can achieve efficiency and competitiveness in
terms labour, power supply, designs of utensils etc.
Jeevika may also consider
imparting specialized training in making brasswares, artefacts and designs
which are in demand in urban areas.
Collaboration with the Institutes like NIFT and NID can be worked out to have
training in designs so that people are encouraged to undertake brassmaking not
only for livelihood but also to build competencies to export these products.
Conclusion:
The traditional Brass industry of Bihta and adjoining blocks need to be
promoted. Jeevika has done exemplary work of empowering women of Bihta block by
giving loan which has enabled them to secure livelihood by making utensils.
However much needs to be done to scale
up this craftsmanship by providing skills, making business plans, aggregating
the produce and negotiating, understanding markets and accordingly taking right
kind of designs and making them for urban markets
