Etikopakka products are lacquer finished wooden artifacts developed by innovator C V Raju from Vishakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh. Etikopakka is a village in the district famous for wooden toys of exquisite design and natural colours.
Dr Vipin Kumar, director and chief innovation officer, NIF-India, signed the agreement with Manisha Kulkarni and Shenha Satalkar, partners of Gogalgai Toys.
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Gogalgai Toys would procure the different kinds of wooden artefacts from Raju at mutually decided rates and market them across the country, a statement issued by NIF stated.
Gogalgai Toys is a wooden toys promoting company specialising in creating and implementing various distribution models to promote and distribute wooden toys across India. The company is engaged in preserving handmade crafts and toys of India, also supports innovation to make these toys more organic and eco-friendly by keeping the traditional flavour alive.
Based in Ahmedabad, NIF-India is an autonomous organisation of the Union government’s Department of Science and Technology, providing institutional support to innovators from the informal sector.
According to the statement, Raju began promoting local artisan traditions after synthetic dyes were introduced and artisans had switched over to them for their colouring requirements. With family support, Raju started using natural colours for dyeing and focused on tools and skill development for improving the quality of products. The colours now used by local artisans are natural, non-toxic and completely safe.