How a skill development project is giving Dhokra art a new lease of life

A skill development project is helping the community in Kankheri village of Odisha enhance their knowledge of Dhokra art and bring it to the mainstream, writes Sneha Bhattacharjee

Thirty-eight-year-old Butra Kansari long aspired to purchase a motorcycle while working in Kerala as a wage labourer. Nobody in his native village ever owned a motorcycle. Kansari belongs to Kankheri village, a nondescript habitat situated in the remote parts of Kalahandi district in Odisha. Today, Kansari owns a motorcycle that he bought with the money he “earned” on his own. 

The Census 2011 shows the population of Kankheri to be at approximately 3,800. Cut off from any form of civilisation and steeped in abject poverty, the villagers had originally depended on agriculture to meet their livelihood. However, with time and advancement