By Kynsai L Sangriang
Wissi Jyrwa was sitting in a corner of a regular Dukan Sha, unnoticed and oblivious to the strangers visiting the shop. It was October and the sun over Tynnai village in South Weat Khasi Hills had lost its blaze. Instead, an autumn breeze made the morning pleasant and Jyrwa was relishing her rice and a leafy vegetable. She did not spare a glance when a visitor curiously looked at her.
After finishing the last morsel, as Jyrwa was about to step out, the oldest lady, who was till then busy chasing out the cocks out of the dukan sha cum grocery shop, asked her to wait and introduced her to the visitor as an award-winning artisan.
Jyrwa’s countenance remained unchanged as her companion continued to shower praises on her for the work she was doing for the women of the village.
The 46-year-old woman teaches local women how to make traditional handicrafts at a self-help group (SHG).
“She had been to many cities,” said the elderly woman with a broad smile. But Jyrwa maintained a poker face and continued to be silent. She was not among those who enjoyed basking in self-glory.
Tynnai, a small village in the district, is known for its handicrafts and several women here are engaged in making indigenous baskets and vases. Jyrwa is among the trainers at one of the SHGs.
Jyrwa’s inertness vanished when she was asked to show her workshop and some of the handicrafts made by her. She enthusiastically walked out of the shop and went towards a tin-roofed building with a medium-sized rectangular signboard that read ‘Working shed Cum Store room and sales outlet of State Awardee, Smt. Wissi Jyrwa’. The concrete structure, which has come up recently, has been financed under the handicrafts production scheme 2016-17 by the Department of Commerce and Industries.
“I just sold most of the handicrafts. So there are less articles at the workshop now,” was her first sentences in the last 20 minutes.
The clean workshop had only a small table and a few chairs. Two opposite walls had wooden racks on which Jyrwa’s handicrafts were displayed.
The trainer started making cane articles as a source of sustenance when she was 25. She learnt the art from her parents. Initially, there were only a few women would come for training but now Jyrwa has around 40 trainees. “The articles are sold to shop owners from Shillong as well as the local Mawkyrwat market,” says Jyrwa, who received the state award in 2015-16.
The SHG earns around Rs 15,000 a month.
Jyrwa says she uses cane instead of bamboo because of durability. The raw materials are gathered from the nearby forest by the men in the village. “It is a concerted effort by all of us,” says the trainer.
Jyrwa had participated in exhibitions in several cities like Kolkata and Delhi. She has also taken her works to the states in South India.
Another woman, Sinly Shylla, of Photjaud War village, learned the art of weaving baskets and other traditional handicrafts when she was a child and now is a member of the Kyrmenlang SHG. Unlike Jyrwa, Shylla has a jovial face and loves to entertain her guests with stories from the past and present.
“My parents were very good at making these articles and they would weave different kinds of baskets. This interested me and I started learning from them,” said the 56 year-old artiste, who was busy weaving a basket in front of her house. In between work, she bantered with her toddler grandson who was playing nearby.
Unlike Jyrwa, Shylla, who specialises in making cane baskets, was not lucky with government help. “However, I get invitations to attend exhibitions in different parts of the state as well as the country,” she said without giving up on her sunshine smile or stopping her well-trained hands.
“I had requested the government to provide a space for doing handicrafts as my house is too small for all members to work. During monsoon, we have to stop our work and that hampers income,” she added. However, that help too remains elusive.
There are 573 self-help groups in Mawkyrwat C&RD block which are under the National Rural Livelihood Mission. An official in the district administration said the groups are supported by the national scheme through revolving fund, CIF (Community Investment Fund) and training of SHG members in documentation.
Shylla said demand at big exhibitions is usually high and she often struggles to meet it. She also sells her articles in the local market. The raw materials have to be bought (from people that collect from the forest) and at times people help her.
When asked about the SHG’s income, Shylla said it would be difficult to say as “the members do not work in a group but separately”.
The elderly artiste said she only completed primary school and most of the women in the SHG are illiterate. “This makes it difficult to run the group, especially when we need to maintain proper documentation,” she added.
Besides teaching the women in the village, Shylla has a mammoth task ahead. She wants to teach her daughter with intellectual impairment the art of weaving baskets so that she can support herself.