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Video Producer: Varsha Rani
Video editor: Subroto Adhikari
We saw how the pandemic affected the daily lives of individuals as well as small businesses. Odisha's heritage textile work is also one of them.
The pandemic resulted in subdued demands and decreased exports. As the moneylenders, or the exporters couldn’t come to the village or the artisans couldn’t go out. This has left very little hope for the people involved in the textile work.
I visited Sarakhpatna village in Odisha where these artisans reside and spoke to them about the challenges that came with the pandemic.
He further told me that the artisans there get paid depending on how many sarees they make. Their entire family gets involved in this and then they are able to finish one saree. It takes them around 8 days to work on the machine.
"Then we get paid on the basis of the designs we work on. This period of 8-15 days is difficult for us and our family to survive," Nayak added.
These artisans have been doing this work for decades and this is their only way of income. Many artisans expressed their concern regarding the third wave. They think they wouldn't be able to make it as many of them are still dealing with the financial loss they went through in the first-two waves.
Even after a huge loss in the pandemic, the artists are still dedicated towards their work and are trying their best to make ends meet.
They urge the government to offer help to them because their culture or craft won't survive otherwise.
(The citizen journalist is an environmentalist. All 'My Report' branded stories are submitted by citizen journalists to The Quint. Though The Quint inquires into the claims/allegations from all parties before publishing, the report and the views expressed above are the citizen journalist's own. The Quint neither endorses, nor is responsible for the same.)
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