Alem Nokdir: Breaking Stereotype about Livelihood with Enthralling Crafts

Mokokchung Times Exclusive

Channeling the world of entrepreneurship through his handicrafts is Alem Nokdir of Molungkimong village whose work is often seen in his social media account under the name ‘Alem Nokdir NIFTY CRAFT’.
Growing up as a humble young man yet with a creative mind who was passionate about arts, Alem took an interest in the idea of ‘engraving glass’ when his cousin gifted him an ‘engraver’. And, what began as a hobby from there has now earned him a place among successful entrepreneurs although he modestly believes himself to be an evolving artist who is fortunate enough to be doing what he loves.
Today, his art is a fusion of modern Naga society based on traditional values and customs and has expanded from glasses to woods and frames.
While sharing his journey with Mokokchung Times, he encouraged youngsters to break away from the conventional idea of life which is, a ‘government job’. “There are tons of opportunity one can pursue if you have the heart and passion for it,” he said.

Talking about handicrafts as a career, he admitted how ‘rare’ it is to find someone making a living out of their ‘own work and talent’ in our society yet he believes that it has given him a unique opportunity to improve himself and fill in the missing spots. “Personally, I have had met people who wanted the handmade products rather than the machine-produced goods so, it makes me very happy to see people gravitating more towards authentic works these days and it’s really encouraging to see that,” he confided while talking about his business performance.

Speaking about Social Media’s role in helping him accelerate his business since 2017, he shared his whims of expanding his work ‘outside of our society’ and hopefully land his works in the ‘foreign markets’ someday via social media.
“As of now, I’m just a one man army but if at all things go well, I’d like to expand it into a bigger enterprise so that I can employ more people; learn and share whatever knowledge we have and in the process, improvise ourselves with better tools and equipments so that our works will be more equipped to compete in a larger market”, he said pertaining to his future goals.
In his advice to young people whose aspirations and dreams are yet to be fulfilled he insisted that ‘consistency’ and ‘dedication’ are two main keys that will help people achieve their dream.
While he remains grateful to his ‘incredible’ family who has always supported him on his journey, he hopes that our society will encourage and provide more opportunities to the young and aspiring generations.

You can follow him and his works more at the following:
Facebook Page: Alem Nokdir NIFTY CRAFT
Instagram: @ alem_nokdir_nifty_craft