Keya Dutta Sharma - A Woman with a Cause

  •   Wed, Jan 15 2025
  •   By Miya Kennedy

January 15, 2025

A woman travelled all the way from Kolkata to Moodbidri to showcase handicrafts and jute products made by a team of Independent women. Her name is Keya Dutta Sharma, the founder of ‘Sankalpo Art and Cultural Social Welfare Trust’. 

It's an NGO that focuses on training students from impoverished backgrounds, women belonging in minority communities, people who have disabilities in handicrafts and other artworks like dress materials, blouse pieces in Bhatik Kantha style, jute products like hand bags, wallets, home decorative items (coasters, vases, vessels, plates, mugs), jewellery and so on. The goal of the NGO is to make them independent and earn a living for themselves and their family.

 

When asked her reason to begin this initiative she spoke of her village Purulia, which is 350 Km away from Kolkata City. Being a very impoverished land, with no scope for agriculture it had a high poverty level. She recalls how if they get food for a day, there is a possibility of not getting food for the next day. The people hardly earn around Rs 50 per day in manual labour, which can also be very challenging. Seeing the plight of her villagers, she decided to do something and along with her villagers, started this initiative. 

The first step was mobilising people through culture. 

There is a dance form from her village called Chau, a semi classical Indian dance with martial and folk traditions. They organize into dance troupes and go to various cultural events to perform, through which they can earn their living. They perform scenes on stories of Goddess Durga, her children and so on. 

These were the initial steps. And helping those who need wheelchair and other mobility services through small donations, these were done initially.

She also talks about her previous experience with Alva's Arts and Handicrafts Exhibition, “I live in Kolkata, and it's quite far from Moodbidri, around a 6 days (two way) journey by train. Yet I will make time to attend such exhibitions because I thrive in this environment, especially the people and students who are very much interested in these handicrafts.  I have been attending this festival for 4 years and I hope to come for years to follow. The festival being around 6 days this year, is also a bonus.”

She also talks about how people should cultivate the habit of buying handmade and handicraft goods, since they last longer and are durable and it can also stabilize our country's economy. “By helping Indian artisans we can also develop our country, so we need to think about our country and its craft.”

To know more about her cause, please contact, 80170 56877.

 

 

 
By Miya Kennedy
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