Aadi Mahotsav: Upliftment of tribals

Aadi Mahotsav, a fortnight-long national tribal festival promoting tribal culture, cuisines and commerce, is being held at Dilli Haat. Organised under the supervision of Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India Limited (TRIFED), the festival features exhibition-cum-sale of tribal handicrafts, art, paintings, fabric, jewellery and much more through 204 stalls.

The event, which was inaugurated on November 16 by M. Venkaiah Naidu, Vice President of India, in the presence of Jual Oram, Union Minister for Tribal Affairs, Jaswantsinh Sumanbhai Bhabhor, Minister of State for Tribal Affairs and Sudarshan Bhagat, Minister of State for Tribal Affairs, Government of India, will last till November 30.

With participation of over 750 tribal artisans and artists from over 25 States are, the mega event has a lot to look forward to. A special feature of the festival is Aadi Vyanjan i.e., tribal India cuisine. The delectable food items are recreated and presented by tribal chefs, to suit the urban tastes. Offering local flavours of Assam, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand etc., festival gives you an opportunity to treat your taste buds with specialties like Chilka, Jowar papad, Pokkada, Khari Boti, Maka ki roti, and Urad daal vada.

This is not all, as an attractive stage has been raised at the venue to showcase tribal music and dance performances every evening, from 6.30 pm to 8.30 pm. Artists from different parts of the country shall perform their traditional art forms to enthrall the audience. Moreover, four rock bands from North East would be giving enrapturing performances throughout the festival.

The 15-day Mahotsav is expected to have a footfall of over one lakh delhiites as it promises to be a feast of shopping, exotic dining, and fine music.

What's interesting is that, for the first time, this Mahotsav displays rich digital commerce and e-commerce being promoted by Tribes India. In line with the national aspiration, to go cashless, the tribal artisans are accepting payment through major credit/debit cards for which Point of Sale (POS) machines have been installed in each stall. A special training program has also been conducted by State Bank of India for smooth

operations of the digital transaction method.

The main mandate of TRIFIED is capability enhancement of the tribals, promotion of tribal products and creation of marketing opportunities with a view to ensure them fair prices for their products and augmenting their income on a sustainable basis. Not only it is engaged in the retail operations for marketing of unique and ethnic tribal products but equally focuses on training for skill up-gradation and capacity building of tribal artisans.

By signing of MOUs with online shopping portals like Amazon, Snapdeal, Flipkart, PayTM and GEM, TRIBES India has given a major push to the marketing of tribal products. Speaking of the same, Pravir Krishna, Managing Director - TRIFED said, "Being master craftsmen, tribals have the skills and talent to produce some of the finest handicrafts in the world, but what they lack are marketing skills. Therefore, TRIFED is taking an initiative to provide marketing support to the tribal people. This would help them to promote their craftsmanship thereby giving them a platform for commerce."

Since working with tribals was quite a difficult task for the government, TRIFED has trained about 60,000 tribals in the last one year. ''E-commerce platforms never work on charity. They seek profits. Therefore, we have a very strong quality control while we train a panel of 2,500 suppliers all over the country,'' Pravir Krishna further adds.

In order to appeal the customers so as to make a captive customer base, and to promote Tribes India as a brand, TRIFED is offering special discount schemes and offer packages on most of the products being sold through Tribes India outlets.