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he well laid out C. E. Kamath Institute for Artisans will certainly capture your attention as you pass by the picturesque hamlet Miyar near Karkala on the National Highway 169. It is one of the three similar institutes launched by Canara Bank’s Centenary Rural Development Trust under its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative. The other two training facilities are at Bidadi near Bangalore and Karaikudi near Madurai.
The institute in
Karkala, as in other two centres, has not only shaped the stones and metals but
also many lives for better since its inception in 1997. Besides readying the underprivileged/uneducated
youth to lead a dignified life, the unique initiative also helps preserving the
traditional craft by rekindling interest among the youth.
As you enter the sprawling campus, you just can’t help but savouring the aesthetically arrayed sculptures done by the trainees. Creativity is writ large on every nook and corner of the four-acre plot.
The institute offers an 18-month training programme in wood and stone carving as well as metal carving. Though pottery too was a course here, it was abandoned due to lack of admission. Starting with theory and drawings, the training ends up with transforming the apprehensive trainee into a confident artisan. A minimum seventh standard pass and aptitude judged by test and interview are the criteria for admission.
Under metal carving, sheet embossing and casting is taught here. “Since the idols are made through lost-wax casting process, these are intact and preferred for religious purposes”, says the instructor.
The
classrooms and workshops are spacious. Free accommodation and food are
provided. Materials and tool kits too
come free. In order to groom them as well-rounded personality, the trainees are
exposed to computers, English speaking, soft skills, sports, recreational
activities and entrepreneurial competency.
The creative pieces done by the students during training period that have been displayed in an enclosed gallery speak volumes about the quality of training and proficiency of the trainees. Some pieces are for sale at a nominal price.
Some, for
whom these crafts are totally alien, have been drawn into it and have become
successful too. Some have come to hone their family’s traditional craft works vis-a-vis
entrepreneurial acumen. Irrespective of the reason, the fact remains that
almost all have excelled in their chosen fields and there are many success
stories.
The Bank offers them loan to set up their units in order to enable them gainfully engaged once they finish their training. In its 26 years of existence, it has trained around a thousand youth from different parts of the country.
Thanks to the
effort of Canara Bank, many school dropouts who would have ended up doing menial jobs,
have found a dignified life. The
training has instilled confidence which only a formal higher education would
have given them.
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