Why in news? Rajya Sabha member, from Karnataka, raised concerns about the Channapatna toy industry and its artisans, and urged the Centre to develop a ‘Crafts Village’ on the lines of ‘Delhi Haat’ on the upcoming Bengaluru – Mysuru ten-lane expressway

Highlights:

• Several bypasses and flyovers along the expressway, travellers will skip towns like Channapatna, the ‘land of toys’ famous for its hand-crafted wooden toys and handicrafts, and Bidadi, Ramanagaram and Maddur are popular for their local cuisines.

About Craft Village

• It is an enterprise of the Union Textiles Ministry with the aim of ‘Linking Textile with Tourism’.
• The concept of a crafts village emerged to serve the purpose of gathering most of the craft specimens and craftsmen under one roof.
• At a craft village, one can get up close and personal with the artisans as they create their wares right in front of  eyes.
• The infrastructure and atmosphere of a crafts village are also designed in the style of a village to give visitors a sense of rural life in India.
• Crafts village also functions as a market, as you can purchase artefacts at lower prices than in the general market.
• These craft huts serve multiple functions from a single platform.

Eight craft townlets are established under the project

• Tirupati (Andhra Pradesh)
• Mahabalipuram (Tamil Nadu)
• Taj Ganj (Uttar Pradesh)
• Amer (Rajasthan)
• Vadaj (Gujarat)
• Naini (Uttar Pradesh)
• Raghurajpur (Odisha)
• Anegundi (Karnataka).

Aim:

• Concentrated on re-building the artistically innovative steps put forward the enthusiastic mind interconnected with the cultural industriousness.

Benefits :

• Encourage the concept of social inclusion.
• Cultural diversity and multiplicity can be promoted on a large scale and the focus should be given to mortal evolution.
• Human development is the most important goal of the craft village scheme.
• The Crafts Village scheme seeks to design handicrafts as an endurable livelihood opportunity for crafters in the tussocks.
• It strives to encourage craftwork and tourism by delivering infrastructure auspices to handicraft collections
• Helps in the promotion of village development

Channapatna Toys

• Particular form of wooden toys and dolls
• Location : Town of Channapatna in the Ramanagara district
• Protected GI under the World Trade Organization, administered by the Government of Karnataka.
• Channapatna is known as the Gombegala Ooru (toy-town) of Karnataka.
• Material used: Traditional ivory-wood, other woods—including rubber, sycamore, cedar, pine and teak—are now used as well.
• History : Traced to patronage from Tipu Sultan
• In 2022, Krantivira Sangolli Rayanna – Bangalore City railway station set up a dedicated stall for the toys as a pilot study.