In Focus: Andhra's Etikoppaka Toys Craft

• 31 Aug 2020

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his monthly 'Mann Ki Baat' broadcast on 30th August 2020, mentioned Etikoppaka toys, bringing into focus Andhra Pradesh's famous craft.
• The wooden lacquer craft toys or 'Etikoppaka Bommalu' has a long history said to be dating back to Bahamani times. The craft was originally started in Nakkapalli village but was later moved to Etikoppaka after the area's landlords resettled the artisans there.

About this Craft

• The artisans mainly use the wood from trees locally known as 'ankudu' (Wrightia Tinctoria) and lacquer, a colourless resinous secretion of a certain species of insects, collected by tribals from surrounding forests. Clarified lac is blended and oxidised with natural dyes and is applied to lathe turned wooden articles.

What is Unique about these Toys

• Etikoppaka toys are known for their softness, rounded contours, polished colours and the overall craftsmanship.
• These toys have no sharp edges. They are rounded on all sides and hence present little chances of an injury to children.
• In 2017, the traditional Etikoppaka toys acquired a Geographical Indications (GI) tag.

Articles Made

• The artisans make wooden bowls, toy trains, idols of gods and goddesses, wooden cannons, bullock carts, spinning tops and many other toys.

About the Artisans

• About 300 families from the village Etikoppaka, located near the banks of the Varaha Riverin Visakhapatnam district of Andhra Pradesh, have been dependent on the profession for over four centuries.

Challenge

• Competition from plastic toys and flooding of Chinese products.
• The dumping of identical cheap Chinese wooden toys.
• Scarcity of raw materials such as wood due to shrinking forests.