Financial Development of Tribal and Rural Communities in Chhattisgarh through Traditional Art and Craft: A Case Study

An Indian state, Chhattisgarh, with a significant proportion of its people belonging to tribes amounting to more than a third of the total population, boasts a wide array of indigenous art traditions such as Dhokra, Loha Shilp, Tumba craft, and Kosa silk, Bamboo art etc. Besides being a medium of preserving the culture of the tribes, these crafts have evolved into important mediums of earning income. The research methodology adopted in the current study is descriptive-analytical in nature and will depend heavily on secondary data including government publications, articles from peer-reviewed journals, and institutional literature to analyze the economic contribution of the handicraft industry of Chhattisgarh. The institutional mechanisms include SHG (Self Help Group), cooperative federation and Shabari marketing schemes supported by the government. The paper evaluates the role played by Geographical Indications (GI) registration, online marketing and tourism in enhancing the incomes of rural households, reducing seasonal migration and empowering tribal women economically. The paper highlights persistent structural challenges that include lack of access to institutional credit, exploitation by intermediaries, weak market linkages and raw material shortage and puts forward policy recommendations for financial development of the sector.