Discover the maintainable gold that is taking the world by a storm. Golden grass, the long gilded golden stem which is mostly found in the wet land of Gop village in Puri district. Its main distinguishing is its natural brightness and golden color, hence its common name “sikki”. It can only be harvested in few months of the year. At harvest, the flower bud is removed and scattered in the wet grassland where they are harvested. This provisions the sustainability of handicraft work and funds to those who producing it. The art of working with golden grass was beforehand taught to local women by homegrown people throughout the region around, probably from the antique ethnic group, by using backbones like needles to weave and sew the grass. This method is very popular even today and has been passing on from group to generation. Products are sourced unswervingly from artisans' communities and producer-owned connotations that come from remote regions. These communities have found a very commanding way to support their families by making desirable eco-friendly jewelry and home tickertapes which they would then sell to local people and travelers visiting the region.
To make the sikki (Golden Grass) grass usable, it is first cut from its base and then dried for some days. The blossom part, the stem of golden grass is not used for crafts making, it is thrown away and the remaining portion of the golden grass is sliced and shaved with the help of a knife or by teeth. The golden grass is considered by its wonderful beautiful golden color, so it is also called Golden Grass. It is also colored into dissimilar shades of colors like red, yellow, green, deep blue, purple, and pink, etc. with the natural golden color to make the final product more attractive. Golden grass is soaked in water to make it more flexible as it is coiled everywhere the munj. The coloring is achieved by boiling golden grass in different colors. Now the main form is shaped with munj or khar (other type of grass) to deliver the basic shape and additional asset to the sikki product. Due to its abundance, usually munj is used for coiling purpose in Gop. Then the munj is totally coiled over and covered with golden grass so that it is not noticeable through the encasing. Then the main tool, takua is used prudently because it can also cut golden grass if the artisan doesn’t use it carefully. The product being made is held firmly with the left hand while the right hand is totally free to wield the takua. These artisan make different designs and patterns with golden grass, they also syndicate dyed golden grass with natural color to give it more artistic and gorgeous look. It requires not only skill but lots of creativity, attentiveness and patience.
