Handloom Industry is one of the oldest industries, not just in India, but in the world. Handloom industry took a massive hit after mechanization came in. India still has a fairly large handloom industry. In India, the handloom and handicrafts industry directly and indirectly employ 43.31 lakh weavers, 77 per cent of whom are women. One of the biggest economic sectors after agriculture that generates both direct and indirect jobs is handloom weaving. India is the biggest producer of jute in the world, second in silk and cotton production.
India is also the only country that produces all four commercially used varieties of silk – mulberry, tusser, eri and muga. Around 80 per cent of silk produced is of the mulberry variety. Jharkhand is the largest producer of tussar silk in the country and produces 240 MT of tussar silk annually. In Jharkhand, weaving silk, khadi, cotton, linen and jute are very predominant. With the high demand locally and nationally, this skill can generate a fair source of livelihood for the rural women in Jharkhand.
Potential in handloom weaving
Weaving as a skill is traditionally inherited from community-based learning, indicating the minimal need for educational qualification as a criterion to pursue such activities. The sub-sector is recognized as the second-largest sector of rural employment after agriculture. The activities are predominantly conducted in the organised household sector, but the weavers lack the knowledge on demographics and spending behaviors due to their limitations.
To defy competition from technical processes and deliver big orders as required in markets, artisans may often have to take a modern path, leaving their traditional workplaces of households, to benefit from economies of scale. This process requires them to communicate and co-ordinate with each other to meet market requirements within the specified time frame. Further, it can also augment income and improve employment opportunities in districts with limited agriculture production, such as East Singhbhum, Ranchi and Gumla.
On the supply and training infrastructure bit, the job in this sector requires more of skill development and on-the job training. At Girl Power Project, we see a lot of potential in promoting the loom curriculum. The products produced from handlooms are sarees, stoles, shawls, shirts, waistcoats, dhotis, turbans, handbags, laptop sleeves, etc. The lowest price point indicated for the product is approximately 300 for a stole and can go as high as 15,000 for a saree. Handloom is a high unit economy product. On an average, the production timeline for a saree would be four to five days. So, a woman can easily earn up to `50,000 per annum. This estimation is for the high value product, although the small value product will take less production time, and the selling unit would be higher, but the overall income would approximately remain the same.
Due to the rising trend of sustainable living and slow fashion, the demand for handloom products is increasing. Consequently, the intervention of NGOs and the government is fetching these products a good price in the market these days. Also, the energy impact and envoirnmental harm from the handloom technology is almost zero. Schemes by the Ministry of Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) are aimed at enhancing the productivity of the rural cluster of women. The sector’s continued growth and development can lead to the creation of more employment opportunities alongside a self sustaining growth path and the preservation of India’s rich cultural heritage.
Marketing Support
European Union-funded Girl Power Project extends its marketing support to all women entrepreneurs in over 10 districts of Jharkhand by promoting their products in the market through online and offline mode. It provides them marketing platform by showcasing events at a higher level. It also focuses on market-led enterprise-building, which is identifying gaps in already functioning value chains so that one knows where the maximum margins can be made to benefit the informally employed poor, create quality entrepreneurs for growing the business, laying emphasis to serve a variety of market segments and women with varying levels of capacities and social constraints. Girl Power Project provided marketing support to women entrepreneurs from two Jharkhand districts – East Singhbhum and Hazaribagh – showcasing and creating a sales platform for their handicrafts, bamboo crafts, and terracotta products in five-day event during October 14-18, 2022 at Morabadi Ground, Ranchi. The event was organised by Jharkhand IAS Officer’s Wives Association (JIASOWA). Krishna Dutta and Bina Kumari, both from Jamshedpur, displayed their handmade textiles including handloom saris and jewelries. The event was a success, and our other interested beneficiaries who attended were inspired to engage in handloom business to create a sustainable livelihood and participate in such future platforms. The event was inaugurated by Chief Minister of Jharkhand Hemant Soren. He interacted with all of the beneficiaries who came from various districts of Jharkhand, instilling hope in our group. Another group was provided marketing platform for their handloom products on the occasion of Annual Network Meet organised by Girl Power project during December 21-22, 2022 at Blu Radisson, Ranchi.
After determining the potential of handloom business in the state for women beneficiaries, the Girl Power Project team will be initiating the non-residential training program in Gumla and Khunti district for empowering women beneficiaries to become entrepreneurs in handloom weaving. As per our pre-designed and tested curriculum, the beneficiaries would be able to identify raw silk/cotton, various types of weaving styles and twist levels, dismantling and assembling of loom, weaving calculations, able to create free hand textile design, know design calculation, drawing, denting, gain knowledge to set right the defects that occur during the twisting and weaving processes. Post training the beneficiaries would be supported with market linkages for them to earn a sustainable living from the craft. The Girl Power team would create awareness about the existing schemes among the beneficiaries and would also encourage the corporate houses to take up development of all-rural women weaver community alongside the preservation of age-old art form as a part of their CSR mandate. Khadi and Village Industries Commission and multinational companies, Cottage Industries Exposition Limited can be utilised as a significant platform for marketing handlooms. This would easily help us cater to the current market need.
Future Outcomes
The Girl Power Project aims at creating women entrepreneurs and promote social entrepreneurship. The team is in simultaneous conversation with commercial and government brands whose core expertise is handlooms. It is encouraging them for coalition with one of the beneficiaries’ groups upon the completion of the training on the product development and quality assessment. It also plans to replicate the model with other beneficiaries’ group.