TEXTILE
HANDICRAFTS: SUSTAINABLE MEANS FOR LIVELIHOOD
Gauri
Goel
The
Handicrafts Sector plays a significant & important role in the country’s
economy. It provides employment to a vast segment of craft persons in rural
& semi urban areas. Handicraft industry generates substantial foreign
exchange for the country, while preserving its cultural heritage. Handicrafts
have great potential, as they hold the key for sustaining not only the existing
set of millions of artisans spread over length and breadth of the country, but
also for the increasingly large number of new entrants in the crafts activity.
India’s rich cultural diversity and heritage provides a unique and huge
resource for developing craft products. Craft is one of the strategies adopted
by individuals/ households to support themselves and build on their existing
assets.
Handicrafts
are the products which are produced either completely by hand or with the help
of tools. Such products can be utilitarian, aesthetic, artistic, creative,
culturally attached, decorative, functional, traditional, religiously and
socially symbolic and significant. According to the Task Force on Handicrafts
definition ‘Handicrafts are items made by hand, often with the use of simple
tools, and are generally artistic and / or traditional in nature. They include
objects of utility and objects of decoration’. (1989)
Importance of Textile Handicrafts:
The Cultural Importance:
textile handicrafts play very important role in representing the culture and
traditions of any country or region. Handicrafts are a substantial medium to
preserve of rich traditional art, heritage and culture, traditional skills and
talents which are associated with people’s lifestyle and history.
The Economic Importance:
India is one of the important suppliers of textile handicrafts to the world
market. The Indian textile handicrafts industry is highly labour
intensive and decentralized industry being spread all over the country in rural
and urban areas. Numerous artisans are engaged in crafts work on
part-time basis. The industry provides employment to a large number of
women and people belonging to the weaker sections of the society. Textile handicrafts
become a prominent medium for foreign earnings.
The handicrafts sector
is a home-based industry which requires less expenditure, infrastructure or
training to set up. It uses existing skills and locally available materials.
Inputs required can easily be provided and these are more in terms of product
adaptation than expensive investment in energy, machinery or technology. Also, income generation through craft does not
(and this is important in a rural society) disturb the cultural and social
balance of either the home or the community (Dastkar,1995). Many agricultural
and pastoral communities depend on their traditional craft skills as a
secondary source of income in times of drought, lean harvests, floods or
famine. Their skills in embroidery, weaving, basket-making are a natural means
to social and financial independence.
The government is also
very encouraging in this area and is protecting the small-scale industries by
specifying certain products only reserved for them to produce. Handicraft
industries create balance in the development in the regional industries. The
variety of products like embroidered items, pottery, handmade carpets and rugs
etc are very popular among the international community and this provides more
opportunities to these industries. So it is important that these industries are
more and more developed so that it is better for the people and also for the
balance in the economy of the country.
Classification
of Handicrafts
Handicrafts are unique expressions and represent a
culture, tradition and heritage of a country. Handicrafts industry comprises
diversified products portfolio and there is large variety available in market.
Handicrafts products can be distinguished into Metal ware, Wood ware, Hand
printed textiles, Embroidered and crocheted goods, Shawls, Carpets, Bamboo
products, Zari goods, Imitation jewellery, Paintings, Earthenware, Jute
products, Marble Sculpture, Bronze Sculpture, Leather Products and other
miscellaneous handicrafts.
Clay
work
Being one of the most
basic materials found in every corner of the country, clay has been used for
making earthen ware, figurines, bricks, tiles, beads etc. Terracotta objects
are one of the earliest artifacts found during excavations of archaeological
sites as early as the chalcolithic period and continue to exist in the present
times.
Stone
work
Another basic material
that does not need much processing and technology is stone. Different types of
stones from the most common ones to region specific ones to precious gems have
been used in different ways from architectural construction, to sculptures, to
making jewelry and so on. One would need to discuss different aspects of stone
works that have existed through thousands of years.
Metal
Crafts
Metal has a wide variety
where technology plays an important role. A number of crafts communities have
been sustaining on age old practices of making objects from metal which
involves the knowledge of technology/ indigenous technology among artisans, from
processing the metal, to casting, polishing and finishing the objects. Whether
it is Moradabad in Uttar Pradesh or Kondagaon in Bastar or Cuttak in Orissa and
so on, these are the pockets where the livelihood of families of hundreds of
craftsmen is sustained through metal crafts.
Jewelry
Jewelry, whether made from
precious stones, beads and metals or bell metal or terracotta, from most
intricate and delicate forms to the bold and traditional motifs, Indian
traditional jewelry is one most cherished items in the international market,
among tourists, foreigners and Indians are the biggest buyers of jewelry in the
world!
Painting
Painting is one of the
first expressions which makes manifest different emotions and deeds of the
earliest human settlements. Whether painted on walls, floor, roof, paper, palm
leaf, wood, cloth or any other surface, paintings have a pictorial communication/
a visual language narrating traditional practices, folklores, folktales etc.
Paper
and paper crafts
Handicraft traditions
where different products are made from paper and papier mache have been
prevalent from Jammu and Kashmir to Kerala for preparing various objects. The
process of making these objects, vary from place to place.
Woodwork
Wooden articles in
India range from the ornately carved to the absolutely simple. One can find
toys, furniture, decorative articles, etc. bearing the art and individuality of
the craftsman.
India is known particularly for its
lacquered wood articles.
TEXTILE
CRAFTS
Clothing and textile being
one of the three basic needs of human beings, apart from food and shelter,
finds place almost everywhere from the most common material of cotton to the
expensive silk and wool. Most of the textile crafts are self sufficient systems
where the process starts right from acquiring raw materials to making them
worthy to be woven, dyeing, printing, painting, embroidery, etc. Some of these
traditions are hundreds of years old. While textile exports are high, new
experiments with jute, banana fibres etc. are also underway.
Natural
Fibre weaving
Natural fibres such as
grass, bamboo, cane, jute, leaves etc. have varied usages from making/ weaving
baskets, mats, brooms, rooftops, clothing etc. which provided shelter and
income to many communities in India. Many communities have a practice where
women themselves weave household objects for their daily use whereas many
industries survive on production of materials from jute. All north-eastern
states have rich traditions of handicrafts manufactured from cane and bamboo.
Weaving is the oldest form
of textile craft; it is something which is designed on cloth using colored
threads. Spinning is an art of making thread and rope using raw fibers. Each
and every region of India contributes in creating a myriad of textile
tradition. The hilly region of the country produces a rich variety of woolen
textiles. The pashmina and shahtoosh shawls of Kashmir, shawls and woolen
garments of Himachal Pradesh and other north eastern states provides excellent
examples of world famous woolen Indian textiles. These woven textile crafts
serves as a great tool of income to the weaker communities of India. Carpet
weaving and rug making are also very eminent in this direction.
Hand
Printing and Dyeing
Hand printed textiles
including block and screen printing, batik and kalamkari (hand painting by pen).
Bandhani (tie and die) is method of pattern dyeing making beautiful articals
which are loved all over the world. Products ranging from bed-covers to sheets,
dress material to upholstery and tapestry. These techniques are simple
and people of villages can utilize their leftover time by making the
commercialized printing products.
Embroidery
The famous embroidered
articles of silk and cotton often embellished with threads, mirrors, shells,
beads, and metallic pieces are also found in India. Embroidery is also
done on leather, wool, felt and velvet etc. This segment of the industry
accounts for strong employment. The barren and semi barren regions like
Rajasthan and Gujarat usually prefers embroidered home furnishing. The
state of Punjab is famous for its phulkari work. Lucknow, a city in Uttar
Pradesh is famous for its chikankari work. Utilitarian textile products like
bedspreads and sheets, pillows and cushions, linens and mats, curtains and
napkins, carpets and rugs and many such other items are produced by all parts
of the country.
Some
other Textile Crafts
Lace making, Macramé and
Rug Hooking are some other important textile crafts. Indian rugs, carpets and
durries are very colourfull and beautiful in their designs. Needle craft is the oldest form of craft which
is turned on a piece of cloth or different forms of cloth, Needle craft includes Appliqué, Crewel
embroidery, Crochet, Cross-stitch, Knitting, Patchwork and Quilting. The ornate
style of applique most commonly done bright colored fabrics from the Kutchh
region of Gujarat is very popular in the country as well as in abroad. Apart
from those mentioned, each and every region and state of India has its own
distinct individual style in textile.
Constraints
and Problems of Textile Handicraft Industry
The Handicraft sector has, however,
suffered due to its being unorganized, with the additional constraints of lack
of education, low capital, and poor exposure to new technologies, absence of
market intelligence, and a poor institutional framework. Some problems of
Indian textile handicraft industry are:
·
Today, consumer tastes changed rapidly
on account of economic liberalization. They focus on quality and product
diversification with increasing awareness. In such conditions traditional
manufacturers face lack of guidance in product design and development.
·
Increasing challenge offered by
availability of mass-produced competing product lines using different raw
materials (often man-made) and mechanized production techniques.
·
Products are high priced in big and
metro cities, which are beyond, reach of people belonging middle and lower
middle class. Because there is lack of capital to invest in raw materials to a
scarcity of raw materials and their availability at reasonable rates.
·
There is poor promotion for craft
products in national market. There is lack of awareness about new traditions
and among craftsmen and there is need of technological support and training.
·
Traditional rural marketing
infrastructures are being edged out by multinational corporations, supported by
sophisticated marketing and advertising. Absence of direct marketing outlets
and difficulty of access to urban areas that are now the main markets for craft
product.
Requirement
for Sustainable Development by Handicraft Industries
Employment creation is
considered as the main goal of most poor countries, and creation of employment
through indigenous crafts tradition is believed to be a productive source of
income (Harper, 2000) and can compliment other livelihood strategies. But with
ever-increasing competition from mill-made products and decreasing buying power
of village communities due to prevailing economic conditions, artisans have
lost their traditional rural markets and their position within the community.
Craft producers need more support than ever if they are to become viable and
competitive (Dastkar, 1990).
Crafts have been an
integral part of village life in India. But production for home consumption is
radically different from production for a commercial market. Given changing and
competitive markets, getting the product right is often the key to the success
or failure of a craft project. The traditional craft skill, however beautiful,
needs sensitive adaptation, proper quality control, correct sizing and accurate
costing, if it is going to win and keep a place in the market. In other words
the right combination of human, financial, physical and social capital is
essential. Jaitly (2001) reinforces that neither training, nor design and
product development, nor easier access to credit and cheaper raw material can
on their own sustain the craftsperson unless marketing avenues with the least
number of intermediaries are available simultaneously sustainable livelihood.
Sustainable poverty
elimination will be achieved only if external support recognizes the
socio-economic, cultural and ethnic diversity of communities focuses on what
matters to people and works with them in a way that fits in with their current
livelihood strategies, social environment and ability to adapt. Poor people
must be closely involved in identifying and addressing livelihood priorities.
Involvement of government and non government agencies is must. Reviving crafts
can provide livelihood and they can become the key and catalyst to
development's many other aspects: independence, education, health, community
building, women's emancipation and the discarding of social prejudices.
