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| Sunday, 21 September 2003 |
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| News Business Features Editorial
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Homecrafts for pleasure and profit by LAKMAL WELABADA Manel Gunewardene, Charmanie Hemachandra and Kanthi Weragama are a threesome in the homecrafts field who will put their hands together with their students to hold their third exhibition in homecrafts 'Creations 2003' next week.
The gala exhibition which will be held at the Jayewardenepura Cultural Centre, Colombo on September 25, 26 and 27 from 9.00am to 7.30pm will display 80 odd intriguing crafts done by them. Manel, Charmanie and Kanthi are the three teachers who pioneered some novel homecrafts in Sri Lanka. Japanese embroidery, bead weaving, paper weaving, floral punch, raised embroidery with three dimensional effect will be some of the highlights at the 'Creations 2003'. With Manel's success in getting the qualification of the certified professional teacher from the Hobby Industry Association (HIA), USA last June, the 'Golden Hands' became the first teaching school of homecrafts in Sri Lanka with the franchise to conduct the test to issue the certificate of HIA which has international recognition. The threesome have taught over 200 students so far whom they say are very grateful to their teachers. "We are really proud of that," they say.
The history of the 'Golden Hands' goes back 15 to 20 years. "Charmanie and I became friends at a bonsai class which we were following with so much enthusiasm at that time," reminisced Manel. Soon the pair realised the common interests and each other's inborn talents. After developing their skills with foreign exposure the duo formed the School of Golden Hands. After sometime, Manel's sister Kanthi also joined them. Today, their school teaches about eighty homecrafts. And every year a new craft is taught. "We are concerned very much about developing our homecrafts as a cottage industry and finding an export market for them. Sri Lankan women are very talented and our products are of high quality when compared with those of other countries. But the competition we have to face with the low priced products of the same kind that are flooding in from China, Philippines, Thailand and India to the European market is huge. Unlike them we have to use imported raw materials since we can't find the stuff here. So to get a profit we have to mark high prices for our products. And then the competition also becomes high," explained Charmanie. The three further said that to start such a project the state assistance and recognition should be given as in other countries with cottage industries. They conduct many free courses for the war widows and ex-personnel of the three forces and the Police. They also give 50 scholarships every year for talented youth selected mainly from underprivileged backgrounds. "We strongly believe and follow the principles taught in Buddhism. And also we never condemn any other faith or community. We have students from all walks of life. Treating everybody equally is a part of our vision. That is the secret of our success and the unity among us," said Manel. |
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