Homanath Baraili of Belbari Municipality-11 Lakshmimarg has been carving various pieces of wood for the past three decades. Recently, he is not very satisfied with this profession. Baraili says that he is getting frustrated when handicrafts stop fetching a fair price.
Bareilly says that the demand for domestic handicrafts has decreased due to the import of handicraft materials from outside and the increasing trade in the market of plastic materials. His father Dilliman Baraili used to carve various idols and butta in metal. Homanath said that he also got into this profession from a young age due to his influence.
'Earlier there was a lot of demand for handicrafts and along with father, brother Jhamak was also involved in the same profession, this was the livelihood of the family,' he said.
House and temple doors, idols, tundals, skylights, railings, Bhaktapure doors and other wooden materials are made from local wood. A devotee tells Barailly that it takes at least two months to prepare a door, but customers are not willing to pay the price for skill and time.
According to him, the price of a door frame is around 150,000. "Our art would not die if we use materials made from local wood in government agency buildings, public buildings, monasteries, etc.," he said.
Baraili says that there is increasing concern that this profession will not be able to continue in the future. Dilprasad Rai, head of Belbari municipality, says that if the import of plastic materials is reduced, indigenous handicrafts will gain value.
