A cluster is defined as a geographic concentration(a city/town/few adjacent villages and their adjoining areas)of units producing near similar products and facing common opportunities and threats.An artisan cluster is defined as geographically concentrated(mostly in villages/townships)household units producing handicraft/handloom products.In a typical cluster,such producers often belong to a traditional community,producing the long-established products for generations.Indeed,many artisan clusters are centuries old Artisan.

About Mornoi Cluster:-

Mornoi Cluster falls under Assam in Gopalpara district.

The Mornoi Cluster is able to form above 250 Artisans and 18 SHGs supporting the strong work force.The mobilisation gains momentum day by day.

Terracotta:-

Assam has two different communities’ hira and the kumar in the clay and terracotta craft. Both have two different methods of working. The hiras follow the compression method and prepare the household articles and this craft is carried out by the women of hiras. . The kumars follow the wheel method and produce beautiful pottery articles which are first made on the wheel, dried and cooked in the bhattis or the ovens. The most commonly used pottery products include plates, earthern lamps, clay dolls, chains, diyas, pitchers, cups, incense – sticks holders and many more items.   The clay used is generally a blend of two to three clays found in river beds, pits and ditches. More often than not the fuel used is one of the local resources available in the form of twigs, dry leaves or firewood. The kilns where the clay pots are baked are operated at temperatures between 700 – 800 degrees celcius. The womenfolk in the

khumbkar families are the potters who work on the wheels making the round necks and the upper halves of the pots. They also make solid clay toys and dolls which are cast in burnt clay moulds. Large figurines of gods and goddesses are also made in clay and generate a lot of income for these families.

Terracotta, which is found mainly in rural parts of Assam, has found inroads into mainstream lifestyle with many household using the suraii, a clay pitcher used to keep water cool. Most rural households use terracotta feeding bins for cattle, tea mugs, clay pots for cooking rice, plates, tumblers, yoghurt pots. Most of the items though are of the use and throw variety.

India is rich in her terracotta and pottery traditions many of which have their roots in prehistory. Pottery has a wide universality and its tradition goes back to span of five millennium.Terracotta pottery has been called the lyric of handicrafts because of its irresistible appeal.A variety of earthen objects are created such as lamps, pitchers, flower vases, pots, musical instruments, candle stands etc. 
 
 
Raw materials:- 

Basic Material : Mitti / clay, mustard oil, potter wheel, gum, starch, wax,Clay, potters wheel, twigs, dry branches, leaves, firewood, rice straw, Red clay, black clay, pilli mitti, yellow clay,Various types of Mitti (clay/mud), edible gum, starch, clay, wax. Decorative Material:ash, sand, cow-dung, rice husk,Clay, sand, phunanphadi(wet cloth), phuzei(wooden beater), kangkhil, sealed vessel slab, lepshum(cylindrical platform),Plastic clay mitti, mustard oil, potters wheel, edible gum, starch, feldspar, clay, wax .

Process:- 

The shapes which are required for a variety of uses are turned on the wheel.The certain portions such as the spout or the handle are left out.They are casted separately and than attached to the body. After it, the decoration is done by incising patterns on the surface for making geometrical patterns. 
 
The clay mixed with ash and sand is kneaded by feet, collected and cut with lahasur.It is then kneaded with hand, on peeda and a lump is made.All the solid particles are removed. The ready clay is kept on wheel for making various forms.A potters wheel has short sports, turns on a pivot of hard wood or metal and is provided with a large hub which acts as a revolving table.A vertical stick is inserted in the hole in the rim.The potter throws the kneaded clay into the centre of the wheel, and spins the wheel around with the stick. Due to the centrifugal force the lump of clay is pulled outwards and upwards and shaped into a vessel.This is pulled out with a string, dried and fired in a potters kiln.Clay article after firing turns to terracotta.
 
The pots are fired in simple open-pit kilns that are very efficient and inexpensive for firing pots at a temperature of 700 - 800 degree Celsius.The pots are arranged in layers of pots, a layer of leaves, twigs and cow dung cake is some times added.The mound is then covered with a blanket of rice straw which, in turn is covered with a thin layer of loamy soil.The firing takes four to five hours.
 
Black, red and yellow clay are used for making terracotta items, which are collected in the form of small pieces from West bengal and Delhi.The material is mixed properly and dried under the hot sun so that any sort of moisture, if present, may evaporate.Then the mixture of wet clay is filtered through a fine sieve to remove pebble. After giving shape with hands the items are then baked in the improvisede kilns covered with cow dung cakes, fuel and saw dust etc.
 
The clay, mixed with ash and sand is kneaded by feet.Then it is kneaded with hand on peeda & a lump is made.All the solid particles like gravel, small pebbles, twigs etc. are removed.The ready clay is kept on wheel to make various forms.A potters wheel has soft spokes, turns on a pivot of hard wood or metal and is provided with a large hub, which acts as revolving table.A vertical stick is inserted in the hole in the rim.The potter throws the kneaded clay into the centre of the wheel and spins the wheel around with a stick. Due to the centrifugal force the lump of clay is pulled outwards & upwards and shaped into a vessel.This is pulled out with a string, dried and fired in a potters kiln.Clay article after firing turns to terracotta.

Techniques:- 

The potter begins with a slab or band of clay mixed with sand that is folded into a cylinder to which the base is added. It is then placed on the lepshun cylindrical platform, usually the trunk of a tree, as high as the potters knee. A piece of thick wet cloth or phunanphadi is wrapped around the open rim while the crafts women, holding it with both hands, circumambulates in the manner of the wheel till the collar is smoothly formed. After it she beats the pot with a wooden beater or phuzei using a stone anvil till it expands into shape with the requisite thickness of the walls. The oar shaped beater is carved on one side with shallow criss - cross or linear patterns which give the pots their characteristic embossed or basketry look. When semi dry, the surface of pots are tediously burnished with kanghil, the seed of a wild creeper, giving them their varnished appearance. Firing turns the shining black clay, believed to obtain traces of iron, into a splendid lustrous orange for a completely black finish the object is smoked in a sealed vessel.

The clay mixed with ash and sand is kneaded by feet, collected and cut with lahasur. It is then kneaded with hand on peeda and a lump is made. All the solid particles are removed. The ready clay is kept on wheel to make various forms. A potters wheel has short spokes, turns on a pivot of hard wood or metal and is provided with a large hub which acts as a revolving table. A vertical stick is inserted in the hole in the rim. The potter throws the kneaded clay into the centre of the wheel and spins the wheel around with a stick. Due to the centrifugal force, the lump of clay is pulled outwards and upwards and shaped into a vessel. This is pulled out with a string, dried in the potters kiln. Clay article after firing turns to terracotta.

How to reach:-

The nearest Air Port is Lokopriya Gopinath Bordoloi air port situated at Borjhar near Guwahati. It is a 4-hour Bus journey from Guwahati to reach Goalpara.The nearest rail head is New Bongaigaon station, which is connected by train services from all places in the country. From New Bongaigaon it takes nearly one hour to reach Goalpara by Bus.Goalpara town is located on the south bank of river Brahmaputra. The district is well connected by Road & NH-37, NH-51, NH-31B are passing through the districts. After construction of the Naranarayan Setu (Bridge) over the mighty Brahmaputra, road communication from the north bank has become easy and convenient. Buses ply regularly from Guwahati (150 km), Dhubri, Bongaigaon, Coch Behar and Siliguri.