The Handicrafts Academy, currently under construction at the Sargaalaya Crafts Village near Iringal in Vadakara, has got ₹10 crore aid from the State government.
With this allocation, the four-storey building will be ready for opening in 2018.
Promotion of innovative crafts designing concepts and its popularisation through native and foreign artisans will be the prime goal of the academy. Koyilandy MLA K. Dasan, who submitted the proposal to the government seeking special financial aid, says the academy building will have all modern amenities to accommodate and train around 2,000 artisans at a time in various subjects.
Women artisans will be the main beneficiaries, he adds.
An allied project of ₹42 crore has been approved by the Tourism Department, which will change Kottathuruthy, a 20-acre island in the estuary of the Moorad River near the Crafts Village, into a ‘cultural island’.
The project will take off with the support of over 50 families residing in the area. Mr. Dasan says the project envisages a lot of creative activities in addition to the basic development that can attract tourists.
Exclusive space for angling, live cooking facilities, markets for trading craft items and quality accommodation will be some of the highlights of the project, he says. Along with the cultural island project, the Moorad Street near the Crafts Village will have an exclusive space for tourists to get hands-on experience in the art of weaving with traditional looms.
