Name of the Organisation : Crafts Council of India (craftscouncilofindia.org)
Name of the Scholarship : Scholarship For Education and Training
Location : Chennai
Website : http://www.craftscouncilofindia.org/
Scholarship :
Craft as a sought after livelihood for GeneratioNext
For an artisan, sustainability means being able to continue in a tradition, being able to feed one’s family, live a decent life, educate one’s children, and maintain a balance with raw materials, market access and pride in one’s work. In the world of the artisan, a generation is a measure of survival – family survival and survival of craft skills. When for a generation, skills not handed down and they are not practiced, they are lost.
The children of artisans, vital to the perpetuation of the craft, are often forced into the pressures of modern life. Economic constraints compel them to become bread winners at a tender age and they seek alternate livelihoods to the family tradition of the craft.
Crafts Council of India wishes to step in and change this detrimental trend. CCI has initiated a unique scheme to benefit the next generation of artisans.
Objectives :
The scholarship scheme aims at,
** providing opportunities in both formal education and training in craft skills
** providing a value added link between formal education and future enterprise / employment
The Plan :
Children of traditional artisans above 10 years are chosen .Support covering school expenses every year for three years provided the craft is being learnt simultaneously from the father/mother.
Choosing the candidates :
Nominations are sought from different sources :
** Successful artisans from a given craft cluster
** Leading NGOs in the area
** CCI has a network of affiliated Councils in different States
Criteria for selection :
** Academic records showing average performance, regular school attendance and parent’s understanding of the importance of passing down their skills.
** One person/artisan in the cluster who can monitor the children’s progress
Disbursement of funds :
The money is sent by Demand draft to the mother’s account
Evaluation :
This is done constantly. The checking of the Annual School Report is seen as essential for the continuation of the scholarship
Contact Programme :
There are three types of contact programs planned
** CCI members visit each cluster once a year. The parents and children are introduced. The children show / demonstrate their skills in the craft. A short note on the scholarship plan in the local language is distributed to the parents. A short questionnaire is given out for the children to respond to.
** The three day contact program is conducted at a suitable venue near more than one group of about 15-20 children eg Shantiniketan for West Bengal and Orissa. This will involve their meeting suitable role models, exposure trips, which will include visits to retail outlets. This will be once a year.
** Every group of 10-15 children who have been supported upto the tenth standard will be invited to a week long camp at a suitable venue. This will be a very structured course. There will be classes in spoken English, Montessori maths and history. Each child will have a mentor during their craft demonstration time every day. At the end of the week, an exhibition of their work will be held, with a small ceremony.
The crafts council of India has launched a programme for “Education of Crafts persons’ Children” in 2007. We started with 14 children and with response from some of you to our appeal last year; we have reached out to 46 children in 2009.
It is time now to once again appeal to all of you to participate in this unique programme of ours. The write up enclosed will tell you clearly the objectives of the scholarship program. We realize that to impact the future generation of crafts people, who will be better equipped to face contemporary competitive markets, we need to increase the number of children we target. We are now looking at covering 100 children this year (2010) and 500 children by 2012.
We appeal to you to support this endeavour.
The support options open are :
** 1 child Rs. 5,000 for 1 year
** 1 child Rs. 15,000 for 3 years
** Support for more than one child.
You can make all the difference to the child by joining hands in this unique project and at the same time, saving a craft and a tradition from dying out.
We will provide the names of the children being supported and give you an annual update on their progress. We are targeting children from all regions of India. If you are travelling to the specific are, you are welcome to meet up with them and see their work.
Payments are to be made to :
The Crafts Council of India (kindly endorse ‘Fund for Education of Crafts persons’ Children’ on the reverse of the cheque). All donations are tax exempt under Income Tax Act, Section 80G and we will issue a certificate to this effect.
Contact Us :
Crafts Council of India
GF, Temple Trees Apts,
37, Venkatanaryana Road,
T.Nagar,
Chennai 600 017
Tel. : +91-44-24341456 / 24327931
Email : craft@satyam.net.in,
Email : info@craftscouncilofindia.org
For Further Information & Updates, Kindly Visit the Official Website.