An Introduction

History of Inlay Work

In the Punjab region, wood inlay work took off approximately 350 years ago. Initially the artists started doing inlay work on Indian musical instruments such as Piano keys, Veena, Swarmandal, Taanpoora and Sitar but with the passage of time, the artists started manufacturing furniture items such as inlaid tables, chairs, wooden almirahas, jewellery boxes, chest boxes, trays and other items of daily use and decorated them with ivory. In 1975, Govt banned the use of Ivory and as such use of ivory was replaced with acrylic plastic.

About Society

To create awareness among the general masses about the rich culture heritage of Punjab, likeminded people from nearby villages formed ‘Wood Handicrafts Artisans Welfare Society’ under the dynamic leadership of S. Satjog Singh. At present the society is indulged in creating awareness about the rich and traditional craft of wood inlay of district Hoshiarpur (Punjab). The society has trained numerous artisans in the field of wood inlay craft from Hoshiarpur and nearby areas. More than 160 artisans have accolades in their products and craftsmanship.

About Cluster

By the end of 2018, the society demanded for the formation of a cluster from the District Industry Centre (DIC). The members of the DIC and the society then met the officials of Ministry of Micro and Medium Enterprises. The efforts bore fruit and the wooden inlay cluster was formed in 2019. Wooden Inlay Cluster, Hoshiarpur is an initiative of MSME (Ministry of Micro & Medium Enterprises, Govt. of India) to showcase different products made by Wooden Inlay Cluster Artisans across Hoshiarpur (Punjab). Artisans are provided with technical/ marketing know-how for making these products by implementing agencies for the upliftment of these Artisans.

To give rise to the crafts of Hoshiarpur, the government has set up a Multicraft complex, a cluster with the help from both central and state governments. The government supported set-up provides living and working spaces for about 2000 crafts person and their families. The procurement centre set up by the government provides the artisans complete training and purchase craft objects from the artisans and market them through their own outlets. The organization conducts training programs sponsored by Development Commissioner of Handicrafts with the help of in-house design centre and ‘Wood Handicrafts Artisans Welfare Society’, Hoshiarpur.

Since its formation, the society has provided training to more than 250 persons with more than 50% of ladies.