Preserving Dhokra art with skill development, and a bit of tech

IIT-Hyderabad holds design intervention workshop for Ojha Gonds of Adilabad

With the aim of training the younger generations of Ojha community in the traditional Dhokra art form, one of the earliest known methods of non-ferrous metal casting, a team at the Indian Institute of Technology-Hyderabad (IIT-H), conducted a design intervention workshop.

Led by professor Deepak John Mathew of the institute’s department of Design, the workshop was held for Ojha Gonds of Adilabad as a part of an ongoing project, “Tangible and Intangible Cultural Heritage of Telangana” supported by Science and Heritage Research Initiative Programme, Design Innovation Centre, and Institutional Innovation Centre.

Traditionally, Dhokra artifacts were majorly created for ritualistic purposes of the Raj Gonds. The workshop aimed at retaining and sustaining the traditional craft practices of the Ojhas and to provide them opportunities to generate livelihood from their ancestral occupation of Dhokra craft-making. It also focussed on community building, peer learning, skill development, and training. Thus, the master craftsman was chosen from Ojha community itself.