NCoRe

NCoRe is a collaborative effort between the Social Informatics Research Group of the Indian Institute of Management Calcutta and the Heritage Institut Read moree of Technology Kolkata. It is funded by the SEED division of the Department of Science & Technology, Government of India. It functions as an experimental e-connecting and e-supporting platform, aiming to establish a direct connection between rural artisans in Birbhum and urban consumers and micro-entrepreneurs. Through this platform, they can collaborate and co-create handcrafted products. The platform goes beyond typical e-commerce by sharing videos depicting the artists' working conditions and personal stories, narrating their artistic journey. It offers a threefold division of benefits facilitating direct sales of handmade goods, allowing buyers to customize their products by collaborating with rural artisans, and promoting collaborative production, fostering a relationship between buyers and sellers. Additionally, it incorporates upskilling opportunities, providing training modules with a repository of videos and the option to request trainers, who can be experts from urban or rural backgrounds. This two-way exchange between rural and urban India challenges the notion that only the urban world contributes to overall development. NCoRe transcends the limitations of traditional e-commerce platforms by embracing a broad and empowering paradigm.