Women Empowerment Through Golden Grass Craft in Rural Odisha

Odisha Review ISSN 0970-8669
Women Empowerment through

Golden Grass Craft in Rural Odisha
Dr. Rajballav Mohanty

Dr. Taranisen Panda
The scientific name of golden grass is Vetiveria mats called ‘Khas-khas’, used as door and
zizanioides (L.) Nash., commonly known as window curtain. It is also used in traditional
“Vetiver” or “Bena”, a perennial grass of the medicine. But, in Odisha, the plant has an unique
Poaceae family, native to India. It is common and use of making craft materials and particularly its
gregarious in open swampy ground, low lands, inflorescent stock, appearing after the monsoon
rice fields, canals, margins of pond, and in other is the basic raw material for craft making (Tripathy
unattended water bodies of Pakistan, India, et al., 2014).
Nepal, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and other south Asian
countries (Anonymous, 1999). In western and Craft Making
northern India, it is known as “Khus”. In Odisha, The primary step of this craft making
it grows spontaneously in many river side villages process is the collection of raw materials. It
of Puri, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara, Bhadrak, remains the repository of women, who actually
Balasore and Jajpur districts which is locally set in groups, often
known as “Kaincha” or having to wade
“Kainsa”. through the water to
The plant collect sufficient
grows up to 1.5m high material by cutting
and form wide clumps. with a sickle. Once
The stems are tall and collected, the grass
leaves are long, thin and split in to two even
rather rigid, the flowers standards. Normally,
are brownish purple. women use their teeth
Vetiver or Bena has to split each stem
multipurpose uses in along its length. Once
India from the dawn of civilization (Jha, 2004). split, the grass is made
The roots of the plant are used as flavoring agent to dry under the Sun at least for five days. As the
and the source of an essential oil used in perfume grass dries, it changes its colour from pale green
making. But commonly the roots are woven in to to mild yellow and finally to golden yellow. This is
FEBRUARY-MARCH - 2021 31
ISSN 0970-8669 Odisha Review
where; it derives its name as “Golden Grass”. It

is the basic raw material for craft making which is
stored in a dry room as protection against moisture
and decay.
The women folk of the village are the

artisans those who gather in their spare time
particularly in the afternoon and are engaged in
making craft material. The senior artisans are the
team leaders who teach and guide others the
intricate design of making different articles. The
origin of this craft is centuries old and the technique rituals. Modern life style accessories now
of making craft materials has been handed down prepared from golden grass are wall hangings,
from generation to generation. This age old craft dining table and bed-room articles, ladies hand
requires very little capital but a labour intensive bag, ornamental box, hat, tray, pot and glass
and time consuming process. covers, mobile and land phone stand, pen stand,
flower vase etc. which instantly attracts the
Type of Craft Items attention and appreciation of viewers due to their
Around 200 types of artifact items are intricate design and glazing golden yellow colour.
prepared by the lady artisans that can be broadly Often they use different vegetable colours to make
put in to two broad categories i.e, traditional and these items more attractive. This craft has become
modern. Items like “Kuanra pasara” (a container so popular that, it is being exported to foreign
used in Kumari Purnima festival), “Brata Pedi” (a countries like America, Japan, and Germany.
small box for storing holy thread), “Puja Gua Pedi” Modern Training and Sponsorship
(box for storing holy Areca nut) or “Bhalukuni
Bhoga Pasara” (a medium size container used in Previously the women folk of some
goddess Bhalukuni worship) etc. are prepared selective villages were making this golden grass
as traditional items for use in some socio-religious craft materials for use in some specific rituals and
functions with little or no economic benefit. But in
course of time they organized groups in the name
of “Mahila Samiti” or Ladies self help group
(SHG), expanded their activities and participated
in craft exhibitions (Pallishree Mela) as well as in
festivals in and outside the states. At present, some
Government organizations like District Industries
Centre (DIC) and Odisha Rural Development and
Marketing Society (ORMAS) as well as some
NGOs are providing them training to make them
in its marketing. After the skill enhancement
training programme, the artisans are able to
32 FEBRUARY-MARCH - 2021
Odisha Review ISSN 0970-8669
produce better quality products as per the modern Recommendations

taste and choice of the urban residents. They also
provide suitable platforms to sell their products Protection of some selective water bodies
in different exhibitions and festivals in and outside suitable for the growth of Vetiver grass is
the state. These materials are also merchandised warranted where this species can grow
as handicraft emporiums and different show- undisturbed, and can be easily available.
rooms across the country. Moreover, some advanced training with modern
technology to the artisans, financial assistance to
Another interesting and encouraging news develop their infrastructure as well as proper
(as published on19th November 2020) regarding marketing of their products can save this unique
this unique craft is that, The Handlooms, Textiles plant based craft from oblivion. It can also add to
and Handicraft Department in association with its the women empowerment by making them
Skill Development and Entrepreneurship financially sound, as it is basically a ladies hand
counterpart at the centre will spend Rs. 12.31 work in rural Odisha.
crore to provide training and marketing facilities
to around 3000 women golden grass craft References:
practitioners from 12 villages in Kendrapara Anonymous. (1999). Vetiver handicrafts in Thailand,
district of Odisha. The initiative would be carried Practical guidelines, Technical. Bulletin No 1999/(1),
out under the Union Government’s World Bank Department of Industrial Promotion of Royal Thai Govt,
sponsored Skill Acquisition and Knowledge Bangkok, Thailand.
Awareness for Livelihood Promotion Jha, V. (2004) Vetiver and Sikki art in the folk life of rural
(SANKALP) scheme. Accordingly, a India in the Mithila region, Bihar, Vetiverim. 30(2): 1-14.
Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been
signed recently between Skill Development and Tripathy, B.K., Panda, T & Mohanty R. B. (2014).
Traditional artifacts from ‘Bena’ grass (Vetiveria
Entrepreneurship and the State Institute for zizanioides (L.) Nash., Poaceae) in Jajpur district of
Development of Art and Craft and District Skill Odisha, India. Indian J. Trad. Knowl. 12(4): 771-777.
Committee for skill and entrepreneurship
development of women engaged in golden grass
craft in Kendrapara. But, another important aspect
which threatens the existence of the craft is the
non-availability of raw materials. Because the Dr. Rajballav Mohanty, Ex-Reader in Botany, Plot No.
wetlands are shrinking due to extension of 1311/7628, Satya Bihar, Rasulgarh, Bhubaneswar-
751010.
agriculture and fishing activities. As a result, the
“Bena” or “Kaincha” plants are becoming scarce Dr. Taranisen Panda, Department of Botany, Chandbali
and costly affecting this craft and craftsmen College, Chandbali, Bhadrak- 756133, Odisha,E-mail:
equally. [email protected].
FEBRUARY-MARCH - 2021 33

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Odisha Review ISSN 0970-8669

Women Empowerment through

Dr. Rajballav Mohanty

where; it derives its name as “Golden Grass”. It

The women folk of the village are the

produce better quality products as per the modern Recommendations

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