Technological Interventions for Brassware Clusters

Abstract

In recent years, the decrease in sale of Indian made brass & bronze handicrafts in international and domestic markets has threatened the livelihood of brass artisans of India and the survival of age old profession of brass artifacts making. Reduction in production cost and enhancement of product quality in terms of aesthetic appeal is the need of the hour to regain the fading market demand of Indian brass handicrafts. One way to achieve this is to modify the traditional practices of brass handicrafts making with more scientific and innovative technologies. CSIR-National Metallurgical Laboratory (CSIR-NML), Jamshedpur in collaboration with National Innovation Council (NInC) has initiated steps to provide such technological interventions to the brassware artisans of India. As a part of pilot project, two technologies were developed at CSIR-NML for the brassware artisans of Moradabad, UP. The first technology is design and development of energy efficient, less polluting, coke based pit furnace and the second technology is development of an efficient anti-tarnishing lacquer to prevent tarnishing of brass handicrafts for long durations.