Status of handloom is given in the Fourth National Handloom Census 2019 (latest)

Disturbing trend is the decline in number of active handloom

• from 67.39 lakhs in the 1st National Handloom Census in 1987 to 35.22 lakhs in the 4th National Handloom Census in 2019
• And from 2.46 lakhs to 1.16 lakhs during this period in Odisha.

Main reason for this decline is the meagre earning, as 67% of the weavers earn less that Rs 5,000/-(US 65$) per month.

As such, increasing the earnings of the handloom weavers substantially to a dignified level is the most overriding need of the hour.

Proliferation of power looms notwithstanding, Handloom will continue to be important in India due to –

• It is a traditional craft and unique to India.
• There is a demand for handmade products all over the world, which will continue due to its craftmanship, handmade nature, unique features and low volume.
• As it requires traditional skill sets which are handed down generationally in the weavers’ family and support from the family members, it is unlikely for people from non-weaver family to take up weaving.
• In the absence of outsiders opting for this profession, number of handloom weavers will get stabilised in due course.
• While male members from traditional weaver family may opt for more remunerative professions, women folk will continue in view of its typical features like work inside the house, less strenuous, incremental income and dignity.

• Handloom provides dignified livelihood to the elderly and other members of the family in the preparatory work.
• It forms an integral part of the rich culture and tradition of India.
• Promotion of handloom will lead to empowerment of women in the true sense.
• Low electricity consumption, negligible carbon footprints and impeding migration from rural to urban area makes it environment friendly.
• Generating additional income in the hands of the women folk in the family will entail improved quality of life by minimizing poverty, hunger, malnutrition with favourable impact on health and education of the children.
• Promotion of handloom makes the development both sustainable and inclusive.
• It contribute significantly to achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals no 1,2,3,4,5 and 13.

• In the new millennium, Indian economy has scaled great heights in terms of growth rate, GDP, foreign exchange reserves as well as physical infrastructure.
• However distributive aspects of the growth continue to be a concern with incidences of hunger, malnutrition, unemployment and underemployment.
• With world’s largest population to support and limitation of resources, there will be a major challenge for ensuring better livelihood of a large section of socio-economically disadvantaged people.
• In such a complex situation, the craft sector will continue to play an important role in dealing with poverty and unemployment in the rural areas in general and the women and landless labor in particular.
• Supported by appropriate strategy, the craft sector can provide employment to the vast multitude of such skilled and semi-skilled artisans for production of handmade products conforming to the taste and demand of affluent and discerning customers within the country and abroad.

• As in the case of any other goods and services, future of handloom shall have to be carved out based on stronger and wider market linkages and customer requirements.
• In the free market economy, handloom shall have to exist and grow based on its own strengths and not by merely seeking doles and aids from the government.
• Handloom is a traditional product, but mindset of the consumers has been constantly changing due to market trends in terms of convenience and contemporary design of the wear.
• Western Odisha had a tradition of ladies wearing only handloom sarees, which is fast changing with the younger generation going outdoor for jobs and putting on dress for sake of convenience, which can not be ignored.
• Market for traditional handloom product like saree is getting restricted to social functions like marriage and religious festivals.

The producer weaver needs to appreciate thechanges in the taste of the consumers, needs of the market, and reorient production accordingly.

• Highly skilled weavers, producing traditional saree and other high-end fabrics need to publicize unique features of their products and focus on quality production and timely delivery.
• Semiskilled weavers on the other hand, need to upgrade skill in a gradual manner and focus on product diversification in terms of color, design and new products for exploiting the new market
• Weaving saree with finer count, lesser design with soft color along with dress material will open a new window of opportunity.

The weavers need counselling, encouragement, and handholding for creating islands of excellence in the changed market conditions.This will entail a multiplier effect.

• Handloom has several strengths
• unique skill, handmade nature, low capital intensive, short gestation, environment friendly, good market potential both within and outside the country.
• A victim of disruptive technology
• Machine-made goods of similar utility value flooding the market at a lesser price have changed the market dynamics. The traditional rural customer of craft has shifted his choice for machine-made goods due to lower cost and convenience.
• Notwithstanding Government interventions, the number of weavers and active looms are on the decline, mainly due to the low earnings of the weavers.
• Paradigm shift in the strategy needed for
• Promoting handloom as a niche product for consumers, who appreciate the handmade features and have disposable income to pay the extra price.
• Increasing the earning of the weavers adequately for a comfortable and dignified livelihood, thereby arresting large scale migration to other remunerative professions.

• As a niche product, handloom will be costlier meant for those who can pay. The common man normally go for it for special occasions like marriage and festivals.
• The mindset “Handloom fabrics is for all, to be made available at a lower and affordable price” is a myth and thus a major limitation in promotion of handloom.
• As the size of Indian middle class has increased manifold with substantial purchasing power, they should constitute the major target group of potential buyers of handloom.
• For exploiting this new market segment, the producer weavers need to understand and appreciate the change and reorient his strategy suitably for production of high value, defect free fabrics, with new color/ designs as well as new products (like dress materials in place of saree).
• Handloom need to be sold online without depending on the intermediaries to cut down additional transactional costs generating incremental profit.

• For exploiting this, the weaver must weave fabrics which the consumer needs keeping in view.
• Quality
• Time schedule and
• Cost to the consumer by reducing the cost of transaction and layers in traditional marketing.
• “Women Self-help group (SHG)” can become the engine of production, as women will be the major workforce of handloom in the coming days.
• SHGs, organically linked with “Start ups” raised by young entrepreneurs, can provide a dependable production network.

• Processing at the pre-weaving stage is required to be mechanized with introduction of appropriate technology for producing in bulk, in time, with quality and minimal defects.
• Common Facility Center(CFC) to be set up with structures, machineries, quality raw materials and skilled managerial staff for supporting production.
• CFCs may be managed by Start Up entrepreneurs, like the Common Service Centre in the IT sector.
• Weaver Service Centre to be geared up with technical staff for rendering required support for ensuring quality production in the field.

• The Covid Pandemic has democratized use of Information Technology enabled services in rural India.
• Marketing handloom products shall have to be based on this newly acquired digital literacy among weavers and made online for reducing the marketing cost of their products.
• This will be a Win Win situation for both the customer and the weaver as it will entail lower cost to the customer and increased earning for the weaver.
• This has to be driven by technology led start-ups working in collaboration with the SHGs at the grass root level, winning the trust of the customer.

• Social, economic and environmental aspects of Handloom will have its relevance in a democracy.
• This should be utilized for making adequate budgetary support for promotion of handloom
• Quality physical infrastructure should be set up by filling the gaps in the existing facility, augmented by new facility as per requirement.
• Technical support for design development, product diversification and skill development,
• Ensuring availability of quality raw materials at a reasonable price, and
• Provision of adequate credit in a hassle-free manner.

• Support of the Civil Society Organization(CSO)s can be availed for counselling and handholding the weavers.
• Academics dealing with fashion studies may undertake research and development of new designs and new products.
• Students of fashion studies may be encouraged to set up their own Startups for exploring and creating new products as per need of the consumers.

• Cricket and film star celebrities can help in promotion of brand.
• Actress Vidya Balan, had recently acted on essaying the role of real-life mathematical genius “Shakuntala Devi“.
• She wore a saree woven with mathematical equations deigns in Sambhalpuri bandh (tie and dye) silk for e-promotions of the movie.
• This saree woven by a highly skilled weavers was later put into E-auction and fetched a high price for the weaver.

• Handloom is a unique handmade product and part of our great culture and heritage.
• Muslin, for example. used to be so transparent and light that it looks as if one is in no dress at all but has only smeared the body with pure water“
• The 14th-century Sufi poet and scholar, Amir Khusrau described the almost invisible but highly valued cotton fabric, Dhaka muslin, in his text Nihayatul-Kamaal (The Height of Wonders) in the 1320s as abi-rawan (flowing water), baft-hawa (woven air) and shabnam (evening dew).
• This quintessential handcrafted product is required to be preserved and promoted for the new and succeeding generations of customers with appropriate design, colour and usage value.
• It has enormous potential for creating wealth and employment for making the development inclusive and sustainable.