The National Crafts Council (NCC) organized a 5-Day Workshop on Reed and Rush Crafts Creations in Hambantota, Weeraketiya. The Workshop was held for 5 days and 19 handicraft artistes participated in the workshop.

National Crafts Council Development Assistant Ms. Geethani Weeratunge told The Island Financial Review that a large number of handicraft artistes who were confined to rural areas would be encouraged to produce creative handicrafts by reed and rush. The NCC’s principal aim would be to support the rural handicrafts artistes.

She pointed out that one of the main objectives of the NCC would be to train the handicrafts artistes with modern technology so that their creative abilities could be harnessed to develop the handicrafts industry. The NCC was expecting a lucrative export market for creative handicrafts in the near future.

Ms. Weeratunge said that the NCC Chairman was positive that high quality creative handicrafts were capable of attracting both local and foreign buyers and the NCC was certain that handicrafts industry in Sri Lanka would take up the challenge for a large-scale export market.