‘Find space for artisans in malls, airports’

Weaver Ramanand Basak of West Bengal, who is selling saris at Dastkari Haat Samiti’s exhibition in Kalakshetra, Chennai, is a successful craftsman who now employs 1,000 people. Basar Bura, whose speciality is Kutchi embroidery, now owns a holiday resort in the Kutch region of Gujarat.

For more such success stories to emerge from India’s handloom and handicrafts sector, the Government should do more, including helping market crafts in the domestic market and providing start-up loans, says Jaya Jaitley, founder of the Samiti.

She told

Business Line that, with the right push, artisans can spur social and economic development, which would even benefit big business. More people would be educated and it would lead to greater consumption of products such as mobile phones and other consumer durables.

To help the craftsperson, the Government should focus on aiding the marketing of crafts in India, not on exporting them, which would only benefit the exporters. Support in the form of start-up loans, training in enterprise management and access to marketplaces should be extended.

For instance, the Government could encourage craftspeople by finding them space in malls and paying the rent for a couple of years. It could help set up shops in places such as airports and metro stations, she said.

The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, the flagship rural job scheme of the Central Government, is “killing a livelihood and a culture” as the artisans would rather register with the scheme and earn ₹100 a day than pursue their customary trade, she said.

Jaitley, who has been in politics as well, was instrumental in setting up Dilli Haat, a crafts bazaar which, according to her, now contributes ₹2 crore to Delhi Tourism. The Dastkari Haat Samiti is a federation of craftspeople and has 1,600 members.