The first workshop aimed to educate and help these entrepreneurs to understand the nuances of online selling and be a part of and benefit from India’s booming digital economy.
“Our biggest challenge was to find a platform that could help us market these unique tribal products and make it available for a wide customer base. We were looking for a partner that could provide on-ground support and guidance to give visibility to these products and really make a difference to these gifted artisans & craftsmen and take advantage of the growing digital economy. And Amazon came forward with all their support to make this happen. We have been very happy with the assistance that Amazon has provided since our partnership and we look forward to providing all our support in helping uplift the lives of these tribal entrepreneurs and take their offerings to customers not only in India but also across the globe.” Ravishankar, Commissioner of Tribal Development, Gujarat said in a statement.
Gujarat has over 5000 artisans across 14 districts which accounts for 15 per cent of the state’s population. The workshop was about training these artisans on how to sell their products online and fetch a reasonable price on their products. The efforts are part of a collaboration between the two entities to uplift the standard of living of these artisans.
The first workshop was attended by about 40 tribal artisans from Narmada and the session provided information about marketing their products online and engaged with them to leverage the benefits of online selling.
Through further interactions, Amazon plans on providing various services such as cataloguing, imaging, technical guidance and support with aspects related to identifying saleable products and other promotional activities.
“Its overwhelming to see such a great participation by these tribal artisans for our workshop. Our aim is to train, market, sell and deliver these unique tribal products and drive disruptive change and transform the lives of these entrepreneurs across the state. This association with the Tribal Development Department of Gujarat will definitely provide impetus to the overall ecosystem of the state and boost the tribal community of Gujarat. Since our inception in India in 2013, we have enabled over 175,000 sellers to grow & scale profitably online and we look forward to positively impacting thousands more in this entrepreneurial state,” Gopal Pillai, Director and General Manager, Seller Services, Amazon India said in a statement.
The collaboration between the two entities were signed in January this year with the intention of empowering and generating livelihood opportunities and income for the tribal artisans and boost the tribal community economy.
Amazon India intends to help artisans sell products such as bamboo crafts, Warli painting, Pithora painting, Bhada painting, Clay craft, herbal medicines, embroidery items, tribal food items , minor forest produces like honey, muesli, tamarind, etc. These products have huge demand in urban areas.
Amazon India had previously partnered with various government entities like DC Handloom, Ministry of textiles to supplement the efforts of the government to uplift artisans working in small and medium scale enterprises across the country. The company has created specialized training modules, conducted workshops with on-ground staff and shared learning resources to help them start & grow their businesses online.
Source: gizmodo