Handicrafts - Some social organizations are saving the handicraft industry in the Corona era.

Five months ago, Hemlata Jain, committed to reviving weaving in Gajendragarh village in the hinterland of North Karnataka, was preparing weavers for the next tough time at her 'Punarjivan Trust'. In fact, these handicraftsmen had no idea that their trial period was about to begin. But what happened soon was beyond their imagination. Within a few days, the rhythmic sound of his handkerchief subsided, his finished goods were falling, and cash stopped flowing.

The handicraftsmen became very worried. But Hemlata Jain calmed him down. Hemlata said he was in dire need of cash. So he immediately made a large number of masalas from them. So that a small amount can be raised by selling it.

Then when the handlooms were reopened in May, production was much lower than it had been before the Kovid period. Before the Kovid-17 spread its huge claws and closed the whole world in its grasp, the artisans here used to weave 1,15 sari a day in the heat of the day, but now only 30 sari are being woven.

India's huge handloom industry has been reeling under an unknown fear for a long time. The important thing is that the handloom industry is the second largest employer in our country after agriculture. According to a census of handloom weavers conducted across the country in 2012-13, 21.5 lakh households are involved in weaving and related activities.

5% of these weavers live in the hinterland. Women also have a 50 per cent share in weaving and allied work. The president of the Delhi-based Dastakari Hat Samiti (DHS) says no one knows exactly how many people work in the sector.

This shows how neglected this second largest employer industry in the country is. The Textile Ministry recently disbanded the All India Handicraft Board and the All India Handloom Board. He further said that though it did not make any difference to the industry.

It is better that we dismantle such passive boards. It is possible that an independent committee of clear, informed and experienced members will now work for the government. However, the biggest question is whether this will happen or not, and when it will happen. But at the present stage, it is imperative that a large number of private communities, large and small, contribute to the textile and handicraft sector.

Surprisingly, on the one hand government boards have been disbanded and on the other hand some paramilitary organizations are playing a key role in weaving. Right now the weavers have hardly any work. These organizations are helping them when they are in financial crisis.

As such, DHS has been helping its members with rations, cash, etc. since the lockdown began. "We also make sure they help each other," said the DHS president. In fact, many other groups-organizations should come forward to help this whole field in the Kovid period.

Group of various creative professionals' Creative Dignity. A member of Org says that many people in the handloom sector are on the WhatsApp group. They exchange ideas on how to help one another on this group. At the beginning of the lockdown, in addition to some organizations working for handloom artisans, some fashion designers and the 'Fashion Design Council of India' came together to raise funds for weavers.

On July 21, Creative Dignity, along with some online marketplaces, launched the 'Artisan Direct Campaign'. While a fashion journalist started a project called 'Bardari' by assembling 100 designers to help the weavers who were in financial crisis due to Hurricane Kovid-12 and Emphan.

The co-founder of the Hyderabad-based social organization 'Abhihar' said, "We are giving priority to selling the unsold finished product worth Rs 3 lakh to the weavers as soon as possible." Importantly, the organization has been following the changing times since the lockdown.

"We are focusing on the production of home appliances such as towels, masks, cushions, bedding and table linen, following the introduction of the work-from-home currency by Corona," he said. We train these artisans to create quickly learnable products so that their income continues.

However, many other organizations are also thinking in this direction. "We are now planning to experiment with natural dyes, natural fibers and other materials, as well as a wide range of local arts such as chalk weaving and bamboo basket making," said Colors Keswan, a Himachal Pradesh social organization known for making crochet toys and nursery items.

They further say that we were also selling our items on Instagram and Facebook page. But in the early stages of the lockdown, we have started our Instagram store and will soon launch our independent online store.

Members of Creative Dignity say that in addition to their professional expertise, knowledge of the digital field has become equally necessary for these artisans. So we are accompanying design schools etc. They will teach them how to create photos and videos of their products as well as create digital catalogs and sell them online.

The head of the Gujarat-based Okhai says that the lockdown period has brought them from the manufacturing company to Market Plus. Apart from 9 groups other than 'Okhai', many other artisans are also associated with them. However, April's revenue was down 5 per cent year-on-year. But July's revenue jumped 14 per cent. We have also noticed an 18 per cent increase in spending (purchases) for people in the age group of 15 to 20 years.

He further says that the currency of 'Vocal on Local' is increasing. Handicraftsmen are benefiting from the boycott of Chinese goods by consumers and the welcome of Indian products. In this way we can also encourage our country's handicraft items to be sold in other countries of the world.

During the lockdown, an online campaign called 'Kindness in Kind' was launched by an organization called 'Gokup' based in Hyderabad. In the campaign, he urged customers to post photos of their favorite craft products. The founder of the institute says that our aim was to sell the products of the artisans directly and you would be surprised to know that our institute sold a Baluchari sari for Rs 1.5 lakh and most of the money went to the sari weaver.

We are fully focused on this area and now there is a great opportunity to promote it. In fact, the awareness of handloom is all time high now.

The head of Metaphore Racha, a Bangalore-based social organization working for several khadi cooperative societies in North Karnataka, says the success of art-based small businesses lies in keeping them small. We list our products well. We are also focusing on ensuring that these products are sold properly, that they earn enough and that the artisans survive.

All we want is for the government to understand the work we have been doing for the last decade and stop sending us legal notices for using the word 'khadi'. Following such notices should stop making us feel like we are cheating.

Just as weavers are the custodians of our mythical handicraft crafts, small professionals like us are the leading marketers for them. They further say that we do not need to rewrite this mythical art. But there is a definite need to change policies to keep handicrafts safe.

A Kochi-based designer says that any product has to be sold and that the product has to change over time. He gives an example that everyone has to have a plain Kerala cassava sari.

Now who will buy another sari like this unless something new is added to it? Although it is true that our artisans are preserving this mythical art of ours, we should help them, but this is not true. In fact, we should teach them that their craft is their business, not their service.

These social organizations believe that not only to help weavers and handicraftsmen, but also to increase the value of their craft, every citizen (who can afford it should have at least 10% of their wardrobe handloom handloom and handloom wear not only occasionally but regularly Should be worn.

Hashtags can contribute to this awareness to a lesser extent. But the government, entrepreneurs, consumers, etc., have to come together to truly uplift these weavers, handicraftsmen.

- Vaishali