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.