Ceylonese Handicrafts - E Commerce Platform

Introduction

Ceylonese is a place to connect the local handicraft products and the handmade lovers where they get the chance to communicate with each other and pay the prices and be the owners of their ideal crafts. This platform focuses on bridging geographic gaps and giving clients from around the world a virtual platform.

Problem and Motivation

Sri Lanka offers a huge variety of handicrafts that showcase its long history of expert creativity. But without their target users, these products don't obtain the best value. Because they can only sell their goods in the grama districts of their hometown, the majority of these companies are located in rural places where only passing tourists can view the sellers' products. The difficulty in introducing or connecting these two parties is one of the main problems we've observed.

Tourists are the primary target market for this handcrafted sector. Due to the current economic crisis in the county, foreign tourists are less likely to visit Sri Lanka. As a result, the rural handicraft industry in Sri Lanka has been steadily declining. Because the majority of this industry's consumers are foreigners who are in love with the taste of local handicrafts in Sri Lanka.

On the other hand, Craftsmen in rural areas are unable to sell their creations. As a result, they tend to keep an end to this valuable occupation and turn to other industries, such as hired labor. Along with this, their craft skills are beginning to wane. Their Income, social status, and passion will come to an end. So, to reestablish the lost incomes, we are introducing this e-commerce platform that will allow these professionals to continue doing what they love while also attracting foreign currency to Sri Lanka.

Goal and Objectives

The main expectation of this project is to deliver a fully operational and foolproof web application that can aid customers to find unique and fair-priced handicrafts without consuming much time and effort, and for sellers to be recognized by customers and to deliver their products to more customers. Here we hope to help the small handicraft industries spread across Sri Lanka to make their life easier. It also aims to give our nation of Sri Lanka the ability to continue these businesses in the face of any issues that might develop at any time, like the Covid tragedy we all remember or the current state of the economy in Sri Lanka. Currently, in Sri Lanka, many industries have lost their positions, and the handicrafts industry is one among them. This is the place where Ceylonese comes into play where we feel the need for a platform for handicrafts men of Sri Lanka to meet their potential customers without barriers.

Main objectives of the system:

• Contribute to the Sri Lankan economy by drawing foreign attention and dollars to the creative ideas of Sri Lankans.

• Establishing a way for the handicraftsman to carry on their traditional jobs by giving them a chance to meet their real customer audience without being affected by the situation of the country.

• Encouraging local Handicrafts men to engage in what they are good at.

Scope of the Project

Ceylonese is a place to connect the local handicraft products and the handmade lovers where they get the chance to communicate with each other and pay the prices and be the owners of their ideal crafts.

Users (possible actors) of the system:

• Vendors - Handicraft vendors can set up their own stores and list their goods to show off their own creations to a global audience.
• Buyers - Buyers can create their own accounts and purchase items. In addition, there is an auction, chat option, payment, and reviews.
• Admin - Admins can do the basic administrative functionalities.
• Moderator - Performs supportive admin tasks such as support ticket handling.

Main Functionalities

• Products buying and selling

Sellers who sign up with the system can find the ideal clients and the best costs for their unique products. The purchasers can acquire the goods by making an online payment and chatting with the specific seller to clarify any questions.

• Online payment

We are using a payment gateway sandbox and building this platform to do online transactions via the online site.

• Adding Reviews

After purchasing the items, customers can add reviews about the item quality and the seller's service. They can rate and add feedback from the given options.

• Chat functionality

A general chat option is available to contact the sellers for the buyers to clarify any doubts or to communicate any other ideas with the vendors.

• Partnerships

This is an additional advantage for the vendors who are on our site to sell their handicrafts. Vendors can announce partnerships with the other vendors so that when a buyer is purchasing some item from any of the partners, other partnering vendors get the opportunity to attract customers for their crafts.

• Auctions

The vendor can set a fixed price or a minimum value for the auction when adding an item to the sale. Prior to the auction, purchasers can place a bid on the products and take home the handicrafts they choose.

• Generating reports

Sellers can generate the reports to get insights about their sales.

Tech Stack

Client - React JS, tailwind CSS

Server - Node JS, Express JS

Database - MYSQL

Team

• K.T.U. Nimalsiri (Team Leader)

• S.S.N. Peellapitiya

• M.A.V.V.Wickramasinghe

• D. G. J. Chamalka

• W.S C. Priyangika