LAHORE, Jan 21: A three-day handicrafts exhibition concluded at the City Heritage Museum here on Monday.

The exhibition was organized by an NGO ‘Sungi Development Foundation” with the support of Lok Virsa, Daachi Foundation and GIZ. More than 150 master artisans/craftsmen put on display their products.

The exhibition, which was inaugurated by the secretary culture on the first day, touched its peak on Monday as a large number of people, including students from the Punjab University, NCA and GCU, visited the exhibition.

The objective of the exhibition was to preserve and promote traditional handicrafts for sustainable livelihoods of the poor and marginalized people.

Artisans from far-flung areas of Pakistan exhibited for sale their hand-made products, including embroidery, Balochi crafts, Hunza crafts, block printing, ajrak, jisti/phulkari, gota kinari, chunri/tie and dye, Swati woolen shawls, khes, khaddar, sussi, lungi, gabba work, carpet, lacquer art, wooden artifact, blue pottery, ceramics, bead work, basketry, camel bone work, metal work, truck art and stone carving.

At least 768 beneficiaries have been trained under the project funded by GIZ. Out of these, 128 master artisans have been trained directly while 640 artisans by each master artisan at the local level.

These beneficiaries are home-based workers living in far-flung areas and they are being exploited by the middlemen because they have no or limited linkages with big markets to sell their products.

Exhibitors wish to put on display their works again during the upcoming spring festival which will be held in March.