Work for the establishment of standardization system in Sri Lankan Batik sector
Batik is an ancient art which was learnt from Indonesia and introduced to Sri Lanka in 1960. Purpose of the preparation of such guideline is to develop the batik manufacturing process and to uplift the industry while minimizing the environmental impact.
This guideline prescribes the requirements of Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) of resist dyeing of batik manufacturing process, starting from raw material receiving stage to dispatch to the buyer in order to establish the necessary conditions to manufacture the end products which meets the user expectations.
The draft document was prepared with the team of experts which lead by Sri Lanka Standard Institution and it has been forwarded for the approval of sectoral committee and SLSI council to publish as GMP standard for batik in Sri Lanka.
This certification scheme will be an asset with increasing the value of Sri Lankan Batik especially when enter for export market.
Research on handling water treatment plant sludge for clay crafts with environmentally friendly manner
This project was proposed by National Water Supply & Drainage Board for finding the applications of water treatment plant sludge for clay crafts.
There are mainly four water treatment plants are operated in western province in Sri Lanka and almost 29 m3/day sludge is generated as a waste as per the information of NWS & DB. The R & D section & workshop in NDC were prepared the samples using casting technique with changing the mixing ratios of clay to water treatment sludge and the following results were observed.
The samples of water treatment sludge were delivered by NDC to several craftsmen who engage in clay craft production and the positive result was observed. The research works are carrying out to find any other potential applications of water treatment sludge for clay crafts as an environmentally friendly manner with the combination of NWS & DB.
Water treatment sludge samples delivered to craftsmen in Ranala. The discussion between the NWS & DB and NDC is going on to find out how sludge can be introduced to the clay craftsmen who engage in this field.
Research on finding alternative good quality dyes for batik sector
A literature survey was done to collect some information about dyes use in batik sector and it is seen to be banned some dye compounds in European countries due to the health issues. It is important to select good quality dyes when enter into export market.
A field study was done to test the application of cold reactive dye for batik works with the participation of R&D section, workshop, design unit in NDC, industrial dye supplier & batik practitioners. Several colors were observed with good fastness properties. This program will be continued to introduce the dyeing techniques for batik workers.
Survey in craft sectors & Awareness on safe chemical handling
A group of batik workers in Western province was selected for the survey and questionnaire was prepared to collect the information from batik practitioners and visited their places to collect data. The data was analyzed to asses the current situation. It helps to identify some areas which needs to be developed. It revealed that introducing new fabrics, dyes, new technologies, marketable designs and marketing opportunities are some areas to be developed for upgrading the batik industry.
People are increasingly exposed to hundreds of potentially hazardous chemicals in their everyday life through improper behaviors in working places. These substances can come into contact with their bodies through three different pathways: inhalation, ingestion and dermal absorption. An awareness program was done for batik workers on safe handling practices of chemicals. This program will be continued to improve the safety in workstation.
Batik Dye Wastewater Treatment plant in National Design Centre, Kandy
The one of the main drawbacks of the development of batik sector is the absence of environmentally safe production process. Typically, the batik wastewater is discharged into the environment without proper treatment. Considering the above matter, we received the approval from the ministry to establish a wastewater treatment plant in National Design Centre office, Kandy to treat the batik wastewater with providing the common facility for batik craftsmen under environmentally safe condition. In order to achieve this target, the above wastewater treatment plant was established in Kandy. This is the fully automated system which can cater the wastewater capacity of 3m3/day.
