The Dhokra Artisans of Bankura and Dariapur, West Bengal: A Case Study and Knowledge Archive of Technological Change in Progress David Smith, Newport, UK

The project report describes the process of village renewal in the Bengal region of India. It deals with the replacing of an ancient traditional but inefficient metal-foundry technique in the village with another which is almost as ancient but more efficient. The impact of this apparently simple change on this dhokra practice has been both profound and rapid, leading to significant improvements in the creativity and prosperity of the dhokra artisans and their families. The project is set in me context of a wider exploration of the potential capability of multimedia as a tool for ethnographic research. Multimedia systems make it possible to use a full range of modalities of description, including video, sound, still image, conventional text and technical diagrams to develop adequate representations of skilled performance mediated by the craftsman himor herself. It was therefore possible to produce a mediated record of change in progress. This provides the basis of an archival record which will help to correct acknowledged defects in the existing ethnographic literature of the artisan craft industries in India. It is also likely to prove a useful teaching resource, both in me field of cultural studies and as a means of throwing light on archaeological and other evidence of past metalworking practices.