VISUALIZING AND PROMOTING APPLICATIONS OF LIKHAI KAAM OF THE HIMALAYAN STATE OF UTTARAKHAND

Abstract

Uttarakhand is the 20th most populous state in India, it has about 0.8 percent of the total population of the nation. In the state, there are 13 districts that are divided into the Kumaon and Garhwal divisions. As per the Human Development Report (HDR) 2017 of the state, youth frequently move to urban areas within the state as well as outside the state. Although the state is rapidly expanding and has a favourable demography but suffers from high rate of youth unemployment. The Government of Uttarakhand has therefore made the development of the skills and training sector in terms of accessibility, quality, and relevance one of its top objectives. The state has many crafts some of which are flourishing and some are languishing due to multiple reasons. The focus in this report is on one of the languishing craft of Uttarakhand i.e. Likhai kaam, a wood carving craft from the Kumaon region, understanding the reasons for this dying craft and how we can revive it using modern applications of craft-design interventions. Our everyday lives now include new technologies, which are emerging as a means of preserving and restoring information. There are several ways that cultural heritage applications can be used as a source of interest, information, and education, ranging from the virtual reconstruction of 3D cultural or craft assets to augmented reality, showing, and expanding content through interactive media. This study presents an innovative technological solution applied to promotion and preservation of cultural heritage through a Mobile App. The prototype of the mobile application “Uttarkala” is a proposed solution that functions as a craft-design marketplace by linking craftsperson’s and designers with homeowners and businesses. The platform also helps visualize the interior space where the users can customize a space by visualizing products on the space that can help in decision making and ultimately leads to buying the product. The information on the crafts of Uttarakhand, promoting them through visualization and experiencing them through personalization and customization. The idea is to promote and revive crafts; create an ecosystem involving different stakeholders; achieve designs that demonstrate the economic potential of these crafts by linking them to space-making; and develop a digital platform that showcases the crafts and cultural heritage as popular and not elite, eventually leading to outreach and sales. This application shall expand later and act as an ever-growing digital encyclopaedia on crafts of India and an e-commerce platform to visualize crafts in interior spaces and make purchases. This research documents the different stakeholders and their points of interest combined to form a holistic ecosystem by studying the existing models of the various organizations dealing with handicrafts and handloom businesses. Further, creating the community model for the people of Uttarakhand by understanding the supply/demand chain and value chain to create a sustainable and symbiotic ecosystem for the people to grow and increase their livelihood in the state.