The ancestral profession of the local Kaini and Parki communities is on the verge of extinction due to a shortage of raw materials, declining market demand, and not receiving wages commensurate with their hard work.
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The use of traditional woven materials made from bamboo, reed, and cane has declined in the district due to the increased use of modern goods made from plastic and other materials.
In Amargadhi-7 Pokhara, Tiladigao and Kaini Tole of the district, locals used to make household items like doko, suppo, nanglo, bhakari, and chhapro from choya. As the demand for such items decreases, the skills are disappearing and the livelihood of the locals has also been affected.
Due to the shortage of raw materials, decreasing demand in the market and not getting wages according to the hard work, the ancestral profession of the local Kaini and Parki communities has reached the verge of extinction. Until a decade ago, such items, which were essential for farming, grain storage, transportation and daily work in the village, were seen in every household and courtyard. Here, manure was carried in doko, grains were stored in bhakari, and grains were weighed in suppo and nanglo. Now, the use of such items has decreased.
The Dalit community in the district used to make household items from choya for a living. With no demand, the price of labor has decreased. Also, the skills have not been passed on to the new generation. Now, many youth from those villages have been attracted to foreign employment and other professions.
Kamal Kaini of Amargadhi-7 Pokhara is an expert in the art of choya. He has been continuously imparting the skills he learned from his father and grandfather for about four decades. He said that earlier, bamboo and reeds were easily available around the village. Now, he said, the raw materials have to be brought from outside the district. He said that they use reeds from Baitadi, Bajhang and Doti to make doko, suppo, chhapro and bhakari.
According to him, it costs 5 to 10 rupees to buy one reed. About 20 reeds are used to make one doko. The doko prepared in this way is sold for 3 to 500 rupees. He said that since the income is limited even after a day's hard work, it is becoming difficult to meet the family's expenses through this profession.
He is forced to travel from village to village during the farming season to sell materials. He has to sell doko-suppo not only in the villages around Tiladi, but also in Kailali and Kanchanpur. He was once a trainer in a skill transfer training conducted by Amargadhi Municipality. He said that the participation of the new generation in the training was low.
Ganesh Parki, 66, from Tiladi, has also been making doko, chhapro and mudha from reeds and bamboo for years. He remembers that earlier the materials were sold in the market near his house. ‘Nowadays, even after going from village to village all day, there is no business like before,’ he said. ‘The profession is in crisis because the return on hard work is not getting.’
He said that he weaves a maximum of two dokos a day. He said that the market has also shrunk due to the decrease in the number of farmers. Another reason for the crisis in traditional art is the lack of raw materials.
‘It is not that the local government and the concerned bodies have not taken initiatives to preserve and promote traditional skills,’ said Khadak Bahadur Bohara, Ward Chairman of Amargadhi-7. ‘Training has been provided to preserve the traditional skills of the Kaini community and assistance has been provided with necessary materials.’
He said that the inability to connect the products produced with the market after the training has become a problem. According to Kishore Kaini, Enterprise Development Facilitator and Information Officer of the Cottage and Small Industries Office, Dadeldhura, training has been conducted based on the demand from the local level for the transmission of traditional skills.
