If you visit Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve in Maharashtra when it reopens after the monsoon break, you might be in for a pleasant surprise. A store filled with Tadoba treasures will welcome you with world class products that you can take back home as mementoes or gifts for friends and family. However, if you are curious to know what these ‘word class products’ are, you can visit their eStore, Tadobastore.com.
By buying from the eStore, you could actually be contributing indirectly towards carbon footprint reduction too, as all proceeds of the sales would be used in conservation work in the tiger reserve.
Indian Masterminds spoke to Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve’s Field Director, Dr. Jitendra Ramgaonkar, a 2006-batch IFS officer of Maharashtra cadre, to get more details.
TADOBA eSTORE
The idea to launch an online store of Tadoba-stamped products was Dr. Gaonkar’s. Besides photos, wildlife tourists also like to take back some mementos for friends and family, or just for themself as a reminder of the good times spent in the Reserve. “An eStore offering quality souvenirs was a long standing demand from the tourists visiting the tiger reserve. We have made efforts to offer products that visitors need during their visit, as well as carry with them as memory of quality time that they spent in the lap of nature,” Dr. Gaonkar said.
However, he noticed the lack of quality products that would appeal to the urban buyer, who mostly frequents the tiger reserve. The idea was to target the urban youth and offer items that would attract them. And, two criteria stood out – trendy and world class.
So, the officer researched the market and tied up with a company called Hot Stuffs in Mumbai which speacialises in making such items. He and the Hot Stuffs people brainstormed and came up with many ideas and finalised few designs offered by the company. Once the products were ready, the eStore, Tadobastore.com, was launched last month on World Environment Day. In keeping with the trendy products, the site is designed in a chic way to attract eyeballs.
TARGETING URBAN BUYERS
The target market is the urban tourist and the foreigner as they are the frequent visitors. The CEO of Hot Stuffs, Mr. Rajat Jain said, “At the very beginning, Mr. Gaonkar had given us a one-line instruction. That Tadoba offers a world-class experience to the visitors, so the products that will go under brand name ‘Tadoba’ must be world class, too.”
So, keeping the urban tourist in mind, especially the youth, they designed products like trendy casual apparel with catchy slogans on them, chic headbands, eye-catching tote bags, beautifully framed paintings, mugware, kitchenware, key chains, badges, stationery and desktop, and even sports water bottles for the fitness enthusiast. All these items are available in the eStore from the day it went live.
INVOLVING LOCAL PEOPLE
The local people, especially the tribals, are also being engaged in the making of the products. They were already involved in making their traditional craft, but now, their craft items are being given a finer touch with improvisation and addition, to fit into the target market. At the same time, they are being trained and upskilled to be able to start making the new designs and wares.
Dr. Ramgaonkar said, “We want to involve community in the store operation and also in making artworks based on traditional art forms in order to rejuvenate the local art and provide livelihoods to the artisans.”
As and when a store opens inside the tiger reserve, there will be employment generation in addition to revenue generation. The local people will be employed to run it in various positions starting from manager to cleaner.
According to CEO Hot Stuffs, Mr. Jain, it is not just sale of products, it is marketing of Tadoba as well. The more the products sell, the more Tadoba’s name will spread. “The products will be at par with the kind of stuff you will find, for instance, in Shopper’s Stop,” he said.
STORE INSIDE PARK TO OPEN SOON
Going by its recent launch, the e-Store is already receiving good response. Hence, the work on the Tadoba store inside the tiger reserve has been speeden up with an eye on an early launch, probably in September, if everything goes as planned.
Several names for the upcoming store are being discussed, with ‘Tadoba Treasures’ being one, which came from none other than Field Director Gaonkar himself. So, next time you visit Tadoba Tiger Reserve, be prepared to do some treasure hunting as well!
