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Etikoppaka toys get GI tag, artisans cheer
Etikoppaka toys, popularly known as Lakkapidathalu in the local parlance, finally received Geographical Indication by the Registration of Geographical Indication, categorised in class 20 of the toys category. The certificate was signed on October 24 and issued on November 1. The artisans are yet to get heavy metal analysis certificate for exporting to the US and European countries.
Visakhapatnam: Etikoppaka toys, popularly known as Lakkapidathalu in the local parlance, finally received Geographical Indication by the Registration of Geographical Indication, categorised in class 20 of the toys category. The certificate was signed on October 24 and issued on November 1. The artisans are yet to get heavy metal analysis certificate for exporting to the US and European countries.
The Etikoppaka toys are not only popular in Andhra Pradesh but also gained their popularity all over the country and abroad over the years. But this art form suffered a setback in the last decade. The exports to the US and Europe, which were to the tune of Rs 50 to 80 lakh per annum, were stopped in 2007 when the importers insisted on GI certification and heavy metal analysis, both not in the hands of the villagers.
“Mere GI tag will not be sufficient for us to boost the sales, particularly exports. We need heavy metal analysis to show that the dyes and wood the artisans are using do not contain metals like barium, cadmium and lead. The analysis report costs a meagre Rs 5.5 lakh in India but no government agency is coming forward to help the artisans,’’ said a local patron C V Raju, an artisan himself who introduced natural colours.
Raju told The Hans India recently that they could get toxicology certificate as the importers suspected that the dyes used in the lacquer were found to contain toxic substances.
He said the toys were exhibited at Rashtrapati Bhavan and at several international fairs held at New Delhi, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Mumbai. A representation was given to the Union Ministry of Science and Technology but no help came, he added.
“It was C V Raju who was responsible for bringing new designs which now number more than 300 and are marketed in big cities. But for him, the toys would not have crossed the district,’’ said a veteran artisan Dimili Sannibabu.
Sannibabu said their mini-industry is also facing a new threat from dumping of identical Chinese wooden toys into the markets. Middlemen, who are the primary buyers of the artistic toys, are also preferring identical Chinese toys as the profit margins are impressive.
Getting little help from the government, the artisans are now looking for online trading agencies to sell their products. A young HR manager of a corporate company, K Ramesh and a native of Etikoppaka village, has decided to help the artisans, most of them his relatives, by directly selling toys in the virtual world. The artisans said they would soon have their website.
