JashCraft Gets National Recognition: Women’s Handcrafted Bamboo, Chind, Clay, and Wood Products to Be Sold at Airports Across India

Raipur, January 2026: In a historic initiative to empower women and promote forest-based livelihoods in Jashpur district, the Forest Department, in the presence of Chief Minister Shri Vishnu Dev Sai, witnessed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Rare Planet Organization and local self-help groups—Jagran, Smile Aarti, Rakhi, and Muskan—for the marketing of JashCraft products.

Under this significant agreement, handcrafted products, jewelry, and decorative items made by tribal women from bamboo, chind leaves, clay, and wood will now be available at Rare Planet sales outlets at major airports across India. The initiative provides these local self-help groups with a permanent market, fair prices, and regular income opportunities.

Addressing the occasion, Chief Minister Shri Vishnu Dev Sai called the MoU a decisive achievement for the women of Jashpur, noting that through the JashCraft brand, the artistry of tribal women will reach people across the country. He emphasized that the initiative goes beyond mere product sales; it lays the foundation for women’s self-respect, economic independence, and self-reliance. The government’s ongoing effort is to link forest- and tradition-based livelihoods to broader markets, allowing women to earn a dignified living while staying in their villages.

Shri Sai highlighted that this MoU embodies the concepts of ‘Vocal for Local’ and ‘Local to Global’, representing a concrete and far-reaching step toward integrating Jashpur’s tribal women into the national economy.

Present at the event were the Chief Minister’s wife Smt. Kaushalya Sai, Pathalgaon MLA Smt. Gomti Sai, District Panchayat President Shri Salik Sai, Collector Shri Rohit Vyas, Divisional Forest Officer Shri Shashi Kumar, self-help group members, and representatives from Rare Planet.

Book Launch and Product Appreciation

During the event, Chief Minister Sai launched a special book on JashCraft. He also reviewed the handcrafted jewelry and products, appreciating their quality, artistry, and innovation. Women from the self-help groups welcomed the Chief Minister’s wife and MLA by adorning them with JashCraft’s traditional jewelry, symbolizing women’s empowerment and respect for local culture.

A promotional video for JashCraft was also released to enhance the brand’s national recognition.

JashCraft: A Brand Born from Jashpur’s Cultural Heritage

JashCraft represents the rich tribal cultural heritage of Jashpur district, where nearly 65% of the population belongs to tribal communities skilled in crafting bamboo, chind leaves, wood, clay, and Kansa grass products. Previously, lack of organized marketing limited their reach.

The district administration has now developed JashCraft into a robust platform uniting artisans across all eight development blocks, providing recognition, preservation, and market access.

At the heart of this initiative are tribal women artisans, whose handmade, machine-free products convey a message of tradition, nature, and self-reliance. JashCraft is emerging as a sustainable and dignified livelihood model, giving Jashpur a distinct national identity in handicrafts.

This Forest Department-led initiative marks a milestone in women’s self-reliance, forest-based livelihoods, and national market integration of local products, promising to put Jashpur on the national handicraft map.