Common Facility Centre
During the year 2004-05, the Office of the Development Commissioner, Handicrafts sponsored studies on raw material and technology assessment in different crafts including terracotta to Shristi. It was then suggested in the report as a recommendation, that suitable common facility centre can greatly assist craft clusters to take advantage of modern facilities and move at par with the changing industrial and market scenario, which will help them, achieve greater profitability along with necessary skill enhancement. Shristi believed that development, production and marketing of the traditional craft with improving the inherent skill of the craftsperson is the immediate need of the hour to revitalize the traditional crafts industry.
Shristi with the support of the Office of the Development Commissioner, Handicrafts, aimed to create self-sustaining, viable producer groups and encourage them to market directly thus using their own inherent skills as a means of employment, income generation and economic self sufficiency.
Looking forward, Shristi with the generous grant-in-aid of the DC(H) implemented the multi-craft Common Facility Centre at village Moina, Barasat, West Bengal, under AHVY scheme, where a number of clusters engaged in different crafts are present.The Multi Craft Common Facility Centre (CFC) was thus implemented under AHVY Scheme for rural handicraft artisans at Moina village, Barasat, West Bengal in 2006.
The CFC is fully equipped with modern machineries like ball mill, pug mill, filter press, electric and gas furnace, tile press in terracotta section; bamboo machineries, glass furnace and other very useful equipments at the disposal of artisans of the different SHGs.The services of the CFC can also be utilized by other NGOs and artisans groups for carrying out any type of trainings and marketing orders.
The CFC is also a platform for testing and establishing newer designs and prototypes as well. This is imperative so as to make the product more cost effective, marketable and self sustainable.
Artisans from the CFC have worked on terracotta murals at Jorasanko Thakurbadi, Kolkata, Kalighat VIP Crematorium (projects of KMC) and at Kali Mandir, Chittaranjan Park, New Delhi. Terracotta, Shitalpati, Wood and Cane and Bamboo products are being developed and marketed successfully. The artisans availing the services of CFC also participate in different national as well as international exhibitions and marketing.