Manipal: The School of Communication (SOC), Manipal University, had a grand kick start to ‘Namma Angadi’, a three-day exhibition and sale of handicraft, handloom and eco-friendly products, here from March 11 to 13. The event was inaugurated by Dr. Lena Ashok, co-ordinator of the MSW Program, Department of Public Health, Manipal University along with Mr. Damodar Acharya, Executive Director, CWC.

“Namma Angadi means belief in our individual strength and collective marketing network! It sustains child rights by providing vocational training empowering artisans, brings gender empowerment and prepares individuals to be self-reliant” said Dr. Leena Ashok during her inaugural speech.

As being an initiative to shop for a cause, Namma Angadi aims to fund the cause of empowering working children and raising awareness among the people on environmental concerns. This year, the second post graduate students of SOC, who put together this event as part of their Event Management and Planning course’s curriculum, focussed on spreading awareness about the usage of organic and cruelty free products of Namma Angadi with the help of promotional acts such as flashmobs and casting impressions on the canvas.

While addressing the gathering about his view on working children, Mr. Damodar Acharya said “The west made the idea of buying something made by a child, a stigma. What’s wrong with somebody who wants to pick up the resources available to him and make something of himself? Education is equally important as skills. Skills give the necessary push to take the formal education forward.”

The 13th edition of Namma Angadi has an entirely new range of handmade products including trendy designs and prints in ethnic garments for men, women and children, handmade hammocks, backpacks, organic soaps, laptop holders, along with traditional garments, terracotta jewellery, homemade products and furniture. All products are eco-friendly, handcrafted and priced reasonably with easier mode of payment where credit and debit cards will be accepted.

The sale is happening from 11th March till 13th March, 10 am to 7pm at School of Communication, Manipal. All the proceeds from the sale will go directly to the artisans supported by Namma Bhoomi.
About SOC

The School of Communication, Manipal University has been ranked 5th best college in India by Outlook survey 2015. The college teaches wide variety of courses ranging from journalism to new media, advertising to film making, public relations to event management, web designing to creative communication. SOC is ISO 9001:2008 and ISO 14001:2004 certified. It has achieved 100% placement of graduates passing out every year.