West Bengal is known for its cultural heritage that covers a wide range of traditional crafts and performing arts practised by the rural communities in the villages. Due to globalization, change in market trends and other contributing factors many of these crafts and performing arts do not find enough space in today's craft market or attract the audience as a medium of entertainment. As a result, it has been increasingly difficult for the community artists to depend on their age-old craft or art practices for their living.

The Rural Craft and Cultural Hub (RCCH) Project aims to develop a vibrant creative sector by safeguarding and professionalizing the traditional skills of West Bengal into viable enterprises and ensuring socio-economic inclusion of the poor. The project is supported by Department of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises and Textiles (MSME&T), Government of West Bengal, in collaboration with UNESCO. Contact Base, a social enterprise specializing in culture and development, is a national partner of UNESCO for rolling out its flagship model Art for Life for developing the rural creative enterprise based on art and craft skills.

Objectives

• Developing and Cultural Hubs in West Bengal.
• Building capacities of over 12000 folk performers and crafts persons to:
• Work collectively to address the challenges of continuing the transmission of their ICH skills by facilitating passing on the knowledge from veteran folk artists and junior artists.
• Safeguard the traditional crafts and performing art forms and the embedded knowledge on those forms as well Promote the folk forms in the contemporary context.
• Make the folk artists and craftspersons aware of the entitlements and benefits of government schemes.
• Facilitate exchange and collaborations with national and international artists and music band.
• Sensitizing the people in West Bengal and India in general on Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) form(s) to create new demand/ audiences by organizing village festivals, events, cultural tours, workshops, heritage education etc.
• Linking the beneficiary communities of practitioners to relevant government schemes in support of their practices and socio-economic conditions.

West Bengal Khadi & Village Industries Board has taken up the following RCCH Projects for implementation the status of which are stated below:

STATUS REPORT ON KALIMPONG ART & CRAFT CENTRE IN THE DISTRICT OF DARJEELING & KALIMPONG (AS ON AUGUST 2019)

                 Brief Highlights of the Project Kalimpong Art & Craft Centre 

Achievement: 1200 Nos. of Training completed, 240 Artisans distributed Taant, 15 Nos. Production Centre running successfully, 06 Nos. of Sale Counter i.e. Hill Craft Centres inaugurated by Hon’ble Chief Minister during Hill Business Summit.

STATUS REPORT ON RURAL CRAFT & CULTURAL HUB IN THE DISTRICT OF MURSHIDABAD, BIRBHUM, BANKURA, NADIA, COOCH BEHAR, ALIPURDUAR, SOUTH-24 PGS, NORTH-24 PGS AND PURULIA (AS ON AUGUST 2019)

 Brief Highlights of the Project Rural Craft & Cultural Hub:-

Achievement: Training Ongoing, Hard Intervention under progress.