1. Description of Our Community
For millennia, crafters have continuously found ways to turn everyday objects into works of art. While this interest has culminated in a myriad of decorative art forms, none has resonated quite as strongly as embroidery. The story of embroidery is the story of the world. Embroidery has existed, in some form, in every population across the globe. Whether it’s displayed on clothing, home goods, or as an artwork, it’s a timeless craft that is an integral part of our material culture. Traditional embroidery styles are known for their simplicity. Practised by rural people, Indian Embroidery was done on soft dhotis and sarees, with a simple running stitch along the edges. Interestingly, the thread used to do that was drawn from the border threads of the used cloth. Characterized by motifs of birds, animals, flowers and everyday activities in a running stitch format with short gaps, the Indian embroidery today adorns sarees, dress materials, bed covers, wall hangings, upholstery and a lot more. With the advent of machine produced goods, many of the Indian traditional artisans have had to face intense competition from growing in the industrial sector. However, the inventiveness of the Indian craftsman and the various efforts at development that has been invested over the years in human resource development and in product innovation and promotion, has strengthened their ability to face this competition with great success. Today the Indian Craftsmen face many difficulties from the traditional role of providing all the artifacts of village life, many crafts have over the years transformed themselves to becoming high citadels of skill through the active patronage of the state, local culture and religion etc.
2. Summary of Our Project
Embroidery in India weaves a wide variety of styles that come from different regions and areas. Embroidery is an art on the closely knitted cloth canvas. From its origin of traditional threads to the knitting in modern times, Embroidery holds an important place in culture and fashion alike. witnesses some of the finest thread work with varied material that has survived ages and today defines an individual. The north Indian Embroidery has adapted to the changing times yet has managed to remain elegant and sophisticated. Each embroidery technique possesses its specialty and it makes a bold underlined style statement. Indian culture is the heritage of social norms, ethical values, traditional customs, belief systems, political systems, artifacts and technologies that originated in or are associated with the ethno-linguistically diverse Indian subcontinent. In a diverse country like India, embroidery has always been the expertise of women, both working and homemakers. For every important moment in a woman’s life like wedding, birth, and religious functions, stitching continues to be a promising skill. Indian embroidery includes a wide variety of regional embroidery styles varying by different regions and materials used. Embroidery is India’s persistent eloquent tradition. Every state and region in India enjoy its own style. Needlework is not the only means of decorating the fabric but the fabrics are also embellished by stories of the community, with motifs emerging from natural surroundings, religious inscriptions, economic state, etc. Embroidery is recaptured as new personification and the manifestation of luxury. Many ancient embroidery styles are being
3. Our Computer and Internet Access
A. Percentage of students using the Internet at home:more than 50%
B. Number of workstations with Internet access in the classroom:more than 6
C. Connection speed used in the classroom:dedicated connection
D. Number of years our classroom has been connected to the Internet:4-6
4. Problems We Had To Overcome
Embroidery is the traditions of the region which have trickled down through centuries as an effort to preserve them. These craft products were ritualistic as well as utilitarian-daily household products. The embroidery artisans essentially produced for their own consumption or for those in their own village. Traditionally this craft was taken up as a part-time vocation in the off-season months to supplement the income. But with increasing demand of these unique high-quality products, hand embroidery craft has become a commercial activity. Women folk design household products, utilitarian articles and other decorative pieces. With the influx of tourism in the state, the souvenir market has increased manifold. This is the main market source for these artisans. This has rendered most of these activities’ seasonal vocations. The tourist season, during which most of these artisans have their maximum sales. During the lean season most of these artisans shift to other daily wage jobs working as crop cutters, milk maid, and other house hold or construction workers. The souvenir and antique ware traders have monopolized the market and the rates are fixed by them are not negotiable. The emporiums, showrooms and local tourist market are another alternate marketing channel for these artisans. Thread breaks are frustrating for embroidery workers and the digitizing industry. However, you can’t run away from thread breaks. You will encounter them often than any other major issue in the embroidery process. A smart way is to know how to trouble thread breaks rather than running away from it. The only thing you need to do is to the type of thread break you are having. It will enable you to avoid future hassles when you encounter the thread breaks problem again.
5. Our Project Sound Bite
“Every experience , good or bad , is a priceless learning for life”. We would like to express our gratitude to the Global School Net who offered us the opportunity to explore and research different embroidery which are practised in India . We were extremely passionate for working on this project as it seemed to be interesting and full of knowledge. Our mentors helped us in all way possible and tried to pave a easy way so that we can complete our research work efficiently. We have an optimistic approach to most things in life thus without hesitating we enrolled ourselves in this project but later on after doing some research work and going through various materials we were impressed and also amazed as we were going through the rich culture of our country.
6. How did your activities and research for this CyberFair Project support standards, required coursework and curriculum standards?
The Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship is an apex organization for the development and coordination of the vocational training including vocational training for women in our country. The Ministry conducts the training programmes through the Craftsmen Training Scheme (CTS), Apprenticeship Training Scheme (ATS), Modular Employable Scheme (MES) under the Skill Development Initiative (SDI) Scheme, and Craftsmen Instructor Training Scheme (CITS) to cater to the needs of different segments of the Labour market. The National Council for Vocational Training (NCVT) acts as a central agency to advise Government of India in framing the training policy and coordinating vocational training throughout India. A majority of Indian workforce does not possess marketable skills which is an obstacle in getting decent employment and improving their economic condition. A large number of school drop outs do not have access to skill development for improving their employability. The higher entry requirements and long duration of courses under the formal training system are some of the obstacles for a person of low educational attainment to acquire employable skills. The Ministry is implementing the Modular Employable Skills (MES) under the Skill Development Initiative (SDI) Scheme to provide vocational training to earlier school leavers and existing workers to develop skilled manpower for the industry. Under the Modular Employable Skills, training to earlier school leavers and existing workers,especially in the unorganised sectors, are to be trained for employable skills. Training is provided by registered Vocational Training Providers (VTPs) under the Government, Private Sector, and Industrial establishments located all over the country. Testing of skills acquired informally by an individual under the scheme is tested by Assessing Bodies.
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