Marketing problems and prospects of sola-pith in handicrafts of West Bengal

West Bengal is the river of land and wetlands. Sola-pith handicraft is the agro-based handicraft. Sola plant is a Hydrophyte plant which generally grows wild in lakes, ponds, channels of paddy fields, flooded low land areas and marshy waterlogged areas. Shola plant grows particularly in the marshy areas of eastern part of India i.e., West Bengal, Assam, Orissa and Deccan. Shola pith plant belongs to the family- Fabaceae or Leguminosae and Genus- Aeschynomene. Shola seeds commonly get germinating at the time of pre-monsoon when fields get moisture. Hidden seeds which remain deposited in the soil to get developing and take three months to become full grown plant. It has full blooming during the time, months of September-October. However, wonderful thing this plant is that art object makes from sola-pith which can be comparable as fine art object by it pretty gorgeous look and amazing skill of artisans. The importance of the handicrafts are the both cultural, heritage and economic impact in our country, now at present more than 50,000 artisans are engaged in this activities in the West Bengal. But day to day, it is facing a lot of crucial Problems to the artisans such as shortest of inputs of the solapith products due to decreasing wetlands and ponds and other factors. This study paper is mainly focus on marketing problems of the sola-pith products. Their skills and hard labour which extract the sola plant to make the sola pith products. It has a vital role in the production of sola-pith product differ from cultivation to the finished product. This is an unorganized sector and they have on power to control prices but they exploited by the middlemen and other entrepreneurs or exporters. This traditional product which is being practiced by the artisans of a particular community (Malakars) in the West Bengal. The present study paper is based on the secondary data and also this research paper highlights that the implication is looking forwarded to contribute knowledge for better marketing policies and action for the sola-pith handicraft in the West Bengal.