TRIFED to launch e-marketplace for tribal sellers on August 15

Tribal artisans will soon be able to sell their products with a click of the mouse as the government prepares to launch a dedicated online market for them this Independence Day.

"We will launch the website - Tribes India e-Mart - on Independence Day on August 15. It will be similar to selling your products to e-commerce giants Amazon or Flipkart. The difference is that it will only be for tribes." Managing Director of TRIFED Praveer Krishna said.

A trial run of the e-marketplace will continue from July 30 to August 14.

The government established the Tribal Collaborative Marketing Development Federation in India in 1987 with the goal of providing a fair price for tribal products across the country.

The agency operates under the supervision of the Federal Ministry of Tribal Affairs.

Krishna said that tribal artisans will be trained and will be asked to register as sellers on the website.

"The staff at our fifteen regional offices across the country and state government officials working with TRIFED will train these tribes and help them register," he said.

He said the goal is to bring about 5 tribal artisans online, thereby connecting them to a larger national and international market.

On the website, there will be around 5 Lakh tribe items from 20,000 categories, including textiles, paintings, home decor items, jewelry, and metal crafts.

Tribal vendors' products will undergo strict quality control and the item committee will determine each item. There will be local collection centers where the products will be supplied throughout the country.

For every Rs 100, Rs 70 will go to the tribals sellers, Krishna said.

"We will start with some 5,000 tribal artisans on July 30. The goal is to connect 5 Lakh, tribal artisans, to the platform and give them access to a larger market," he said.

"This is in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of aatmanirbhar (self-reliant) India”," he said. " Our motto is 'go vocal for local, go tribal."

The worth of a shirt they (tribals) sell in local markets for Rs 200 is Rs 1,000 in Delhi, Krishna said, explaining the economics behind the idea.

He said that the best organic products will be delivered to buyers, who will have the option to return the item within 15 days if they are not satisfied with it.

On Saturday, the Federation's Minister of Tribal Affairs, Arjun Munda, launched tribal products on the government's electronic marketplace (GeM).

Krishna explained that this would help government departments and officials buy tribal products directly from the site without going through a lengthy bidding process and receiving offers.

With more and more people using the Internet to meet their different needs, be it for business, shopping, and communications, it has been a major strategic push to adopt a comprehensive digital campaign to map and connect tribal producers residing in the villages, he said. Munda.

Source: India Today

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