The NSF initiated the “Partnership Programme” in 2021 in collaboration with public and private sector organizations to address nationally important issues in line with the National Research and Development Framework.
As part of this programme, NSF supported development of Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) to enhance the quality of Sri Lankan Batik sector in collaboration with the National design Centre (NDC), Sri Lanka Standard Institute (SLSI) and National Crafts Council (NCC). The purpose was to uplift the Sri Lankan batik sector through improvement of the production process, sustainability, value addition and quality improvement of batik products, thereby contributing to the national economy. The GMP guideline has been published as SLS 1770:2023. This will help enhance the export market of Sri Lankan batik while minimizing the environmental issues and improving occupational health of the people who engage in the batik manufacturing industry
The following tasks were conducted under this project;
- Brain storming session with NDC (At this session SLSI, NCC and consumer products analysis laboratories and batik manufacturers were identified as stakeholders)
- Questionnaire survey for selected batik manufacturers of different scales of production in Western Province
- Analysis of the data gathered
- Two awareness seminars on “Chemical safety in Batik Industry” for batik manufactures
- Four stake holders’ meetings with state and non-state sector organizations (NDC, NCC, SLSI and companies (two pioneer private industries)) regarding developing certification system for batik products
- Collection of information on imported types of dyes and wax commonly used in batik sector
- Three field visits to the batik industry to identify different processing stages at household, medium and large scale
- Formation of “Working Group on new Sri Lanka Standard; Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) for Batik industry” by SLSI for the purpose of developing the guideline for GMP for Batik sector both in English and Sinhala versions simultaneously. The NSF played an active role in this activity for its successful completion.
Different processing stages of batik manufacturing process observed during the field visits