The Gadaba community, which constitutes one of the major tribal communities in their different sites in Odisha and Andhra Pradesh, tends to develop a strong-bond but at the same time very tenant relationship with nature, which found expression in the kind of materials used and methods adopted to fashion household objects. Here is a hanging shelf encasing some of those sustainable living practices and artisanal knowledge that keep getting reinforced through generations.
This hanging shelf is made from the plaited bark, bark fibers boned into being a solid but flexible surface. Hung from ceiling or wall, it is a citation for those articles of daily use, be it utensils, little tools, dried herbs, or even perhaps foods, thus making them secure from pests but readily available. Since the shelf is installed at a height for better hygiene norms at a domestic level within tribal homes-as animals and dust-with dirt occupy the ground level-spaces. This kind of shelving form has been in use, but it is also a way of showcasing the Gadaba insight on local resources and their artistic sense. This hanging shelf made of bark fiber is a tribute to a natural and biodegradable shelf, representing the sustainable lifestyle of Gadaba people Now secured at the Indian Museum at Kolkata, this hanging shelf thus stands a very vibrant fractionality of the domestic culture, ingenuity, and tradition of hand-making in the Gadaba tribe today in the ethnographic collections of contemporary society.