Manav Mander
Ludhiana, October 1
The Punjab Agricultural University’s Family Resource Management (FRM) has devised a beautiful way to tackle the problem of managing paddy stubble. The department has turned paddy straw into beautiful art and craft pieces, setting an example of taking small steps in finding solutions to big problems.
During the recently held Kisan Mela, the department has put up a stall stall showcasing eco-friendly art and decorative pieces and surprisingly these were made out of straw. Different art themes like mother, Gautam Buddha, Durga etc, were carefully sculpted out of straw. These were then pasted on a sheet or velvet paper and varnished to protect them and then sealed with attractive frames to make it a perfect piece to adorn the walls of a room.
Dr Sharanbir Kaur Bal, associate professor, Department of FRM, College of Community Science, said it is small initiative of the department to address the burning issue of straw management.
“It is a good idea which can help in answering the environment issue and also aid the person in earning few bucks if they adopt it on large scale. Making such art pieces require lot of patience and once the person becomes expertise in it then there is no looking back,” she said.
Adding further Dr Bal said the project was taken up in 2019 but was halted due to Covid and now again they are taking up in a big way.
“We are also planning to make rangoli colours from straw, the same way colours are made from saw dust by mixing it with beetroot, turmeric, indigo and henna. People need to adopt small steps which can help in solving big problems,” she said.
Apart from this, they have also made seat for straw for the traditional wooden siting stool, flower vases, coaters and pen stands, napkin rings, plant keepers and key chains.
A young girl at the mela who had come from a village near Fathegarh Sahib that she was amused to see that such beautiful things can be made out of straw. “The concept of making such beautiful things out of waste is really interesting and it should be popularised,” she said.
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