Assam Crafts and
Eco Design
MAY 2021
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Eco-Design is a product design approach to assess sustainability through environment and economy. There are many aspects of Indian craftsmanship which absolutely communicate to existing Eco-Design principles pertaining to material, production, execution, wastage, environment and sustenance. In this article, the craftsmanship sectors of bamboo, wood, Eri silk and brass metal in Assam of North East India are understood and its attributes are compared to the successful principles of Eco- Design.
Bamboo Craftsmanship
Bhaluki village of Barpeta district in Assam has witnessed the production of many Bamboo products in its household courtyards. A venture to reduce unemployment and negative activities in the locality gave way to a bamboo craft enterprise, due to high raw material availability.
From a small number of 20 craftsmen, the craft grew to around 300 craftsman families, who eventually made it their source of income. It is a decentralised system working form a central workshop, which develops it first samples of product as per requirement. The work is divided amongst craftsman based on skills, to be executed in their homes, and the finalised products are delivered back to the central workshop. They create daily utilitarian products such as lamps, magazine holders, boxes, vases, coasters, beer mugs, ash trays, clocks, furniture pieces etc. The entire family of the craftsman helps out in the process, thus making a better number for sale. The craftsmen also identify themselves as individual retailers of the products in the local markets through which they stabilise their household income.
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Transportation to nearby locations is done by using local transport, distant locations are taken care of by volumetric freight systems. The products are forwarded to exhibitions, handicraft markets and emporiums. The prices are determined by material costs and transportation along with an added percentage of craftsmanship. Barpeta bamboo craftsmanship is well known in Assam for quality products and has the potential to gather better prices if the product research dimension is looked into.
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Wood Craftsmanship
Bharalitola area of Hajo in Assam holds wooden craftsmanship where furniture making is executed and delivered to various parts of Assam. The stability of durable furniture expected by the population of semi urban and urban societies is delivered by the material wood.
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This craftsmanship builds on apprenticeship in small workshops. The apprentice learns from his master till he is able to recreate his master’s creations and deliver some fresh creativity. The workshops create a variety of chairs, dining sets, beds, dressing tables etc from a variety of wood types depending on client’s speculated budgets. The raw material is bought in volumes of cubic feet from local dealers at the existing rates. The wood comes treated and after the execution by both hand and electric tools, it is delivered by local transport to the clients. Smaller and sample pieces are also taken to exhibitions for display. The pricing considers raw material, electricity, apprentice stipends, transportation and a percentage for craftsmanship. Varying hues, patterns and motifs add to the beauty of the handmade wooden products. The joinery of the wooden pieces and their strength determines the sturdiness and length of the product life.
Bell Metal Craftsmanship
The Moriapatti settlement near Bharalitola area of Hajo is a very old Mohammedan community, originally from Assam, vested in bell metal craftsmanship. Bell Metal is an alloy of bronze and tin and is malleable in character. The craftsmen beat the bell metal discs into sheets, and those sheets into various shapes of big plates, water vessels, bowls, xorai’s (vessel of Assamese identity), japi’s (Assamese traditional headgear) etc.
The settlement has a Mahajan who deals with the raw materials from Guwahati in the form of crude discs. He distributes the discs to the craftsmen who work with him. The roughly 300 craftsmen of the settlement and nearby villages work in their household courtyards and use various tools to bring the discs to shape with a golden skin and embellish them with patterns and motifs. The made crafts are submitted to the Mahajan and a price for craftsmanship is sought for every kilogram of bell metal. The Mahajan then further sells and distributes the products pan India, to retailers, emporiums and distributers. The price of the product includes the raw material cost, price of craftsmanship, transportation and Mahajan’s benefit.
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The bell metal products are famous all over Assam for their intricate detailing and aesthetic. The products though, are used as symbolic references to the Assamese culture and do not have a utilitarian aspect to it. The products are wielded on special occasions of respect and tradition and act as souvenirs. Even though the produce is so symbolic, the craftsmanship needs further ideation to bring variation in the products and put it towards a more contemporary and daily use. The craft form will slowly diminish if it is not introduced to the next generation, though means of design.
Eri Silk Craftsmanship
The indigenous forest communities of Assam’s Loharghat Village Range produces hand spun and hand woven Eri Silk fabric from silkworms. The communities practice sericulture as a source of food and yarn in their household courtyards. The yarn is extracted from the abandoned cocoon of the silkworm and spun with the help of drop spindles after degumification. A wide range of natural dye materials are extracted from the local woodlands, such as turmeric, lac, Indigo, Indian madder, teak which allow a wide range of colours. The dyed yarn is woven into fabric using looms.
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This tradition is mostly a skill preserved by the mothers which offer an alternative income for women of all ages. The entire process of the execution does not need any input from outside community. It is self sustained from worm to weave. Woven fabrics are collected and delivered to the nearest markets, retailers and other distributors with the help of lighter freights. The price of the produce includes sericulture related costs, transportation and the artisan’s income. The weavers take considerable pride in creating these fabrics. Ensuring a strong, sustainable economic system is paramount in ensuring a future for the people, by protecting their knowledge, land and culture.
Craftsmanship and Eco-Design
The table of comparison through colour variations indicate the existing, non-existing and probables for implementation of Eco-Design principles in each craftsmanship. The ‘Yes’ segments indicate those principles which are being followed by the craftsmanship in their nascent form. The ‘No’ segments refer to those principles which have not received any thought for interventions, though they are highly possible through means of design thinking. The ‘Intermediate’ segments refer to the possibility areas for amendments in the ongoing process through technological interventions which could direct the process towards a principle, currently not being practiced as one.
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The four craftsmanship display a high reliability and durability of products. Bamboo products and Eri clothes remain in a household for decades altogether. Wood and Bell Metal products get passed along generations in the communities. Recycling of materials is done for bell metal because of the expense of raw material. Bamboo and Eri being rapidly renewable backyard raw materials do not feel the urge for recycling. Also, like wood, many a times, they are recycled within households, for different activities, till they are exhausted. Backyard raw materials also have a cleaner extraction and technique of production.
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Optimisation of raw materials is always considered to reduce labour and production waste. The energy usage for Bamboo and Eri Muga consume lesser resources than Wood and Bell Metal in terms of time of growth, treatment, and converting raw materials to workshop ready parameters. Wood and Bell Metal craftsmanship could benefit from amendments in the existing processing methods by switching to more environmental friendly technological interventions. The recycling and remanufacturing of the products of any of the four craftsmanship has not been taken into consideration yet but can be built by integrating a process of design thinking and execution to incorporate multiple lives of the evolving product. The ideation for packaging also has not come into effect since the products are mostly sold in local markets and long distance freights consider temporary packaging solutions before they are delivered to the clients or displayed open.
To understand the sync of Craftsmanship to Eco-Design, the 10 most frequently suggested and successful Eco-Design principles (Hemel & Cramer, 2002) are put forward for an analysis of all the considered craftsmanship to see if the attributes adhere to the Eco-Design demands.
Conclusion
The results suggest that there is a high possibility of implementing Eco- Design applications and design processes in craft sectors because there is a considerable compatibility between the nascent attributes of craftsmanship and the principles of Eco-Design, like high reliability and durability, lower energy consumption, cleaner materials and production, possibilities for recycling, etc. The segments of craftsmanship which have not been addressed yet, such as remanufacture and packaging, can undergo implementation through design thinking and execution. Technological interventions are required to bring amendments to the existing processing methods of craftsmanship to drive towards principles of Eco-Design, and therefore, sustainability. Design via craftsmanship can be effectively positioned as an Indian Design identity in the evolving modernity. The intersection can deliver an ecologically viable range of products to the urban market, through which, the design community can have its efforts calibrated towards the repercussions of waste management and climate change, along with the friction against the rapidly changing environment.
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MONIKUNTALA DAS
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