Stalled Saviour

A geographical indication (GI) is a name or sign used on certain products which corresponds to a specific geographical location or origin. The use of a GI acts as a certification that the product possesses certain qualities, or enjoys a certain reputation, due to its geographical origin.

Geographical indications have proved to be very valuable as it identifies the source of the product and is an indicator of quality. Most commonly, a geographical indication consists of the name of the place, which is the origin of the goods, such as “Darjeeling” (India) for tea, “Swiss” (Switzerland) for chocolate, “Roquefort” (France) for cheese etc.

GI highlights the peculiar qualities of a product, which are due to human factors, such as specific manufacturing skills and traditions. Geographical indications in India have been Basmati Rice, Darjeeling Tea, Kangra Tea, Alphonso Mango, Alleppey Green Cardamom, Coorg Cardamom, Kanchipuram Silk Saree, Kohlapuri Chappal etc to name a few.

In the case of Kullu Shawls, the GI should have been a saviour to the slow dying art. Yet, the imitations (from power loom shawls manufactured in Ludhiana) not only flood the market with cheap and inferior varieties of shawls but also offer huge discounts to tourists. The authentic shawls have acquired valuable reputations, which, due to inadequate protection, have been misappropriated by fraudulent commercial operators. Indiscriminate use of the Kullu name by unauthorized parties is detrimental both to the consumers and the weavers. The former are deceived into buying products which are, in fact, worthless imitations. While for the latter, valuable business is taken away from them and the established reputation for their products is damaged.

The GI, if implemented, prevents sale of non Kullu shawls. It also prevents proprietors from using the name “Kullu shawls” if they are produced outside of the defined geographical territory of Kullu Valley Region of Himachal State. It is interesting to note that unauthorized shopkeepers or producers cannot even use sign boards/hoardings of selling Kullu shawls. In the event of anyone found selling fake shawls, a huge penalty will be imposed on them or imprisonment of 6 months to 3 years or both under the GI Act of 1999.

The KSWA, Kullu Shawls Weavers Association, comprising of the key players of all the major stakeholders in the region took the initiative and registered Kullu Shawl as a geographical indicator in 2006. Ever since, there has been slow progress on the implementation. And the registration has an expiry period of 10 years before it has to be renewed again, of which 3 years are already lost trying to get things implemented.

The KSWA, which plays a key part in the implementation of the GI, is busy identifying the number of local household and commercial weavers whose shawls could be given a GI mark to protect them from imitations. This has been an ongoing process for the last two years.

The process has been painstakingly slow because the weaving industry in the Kullu valley is disorganised to the highest degree possible. Weavers are scattered in remote parts of the valley and also, weaving, over the course of the years has primarily become a part time occupation. Hence the weavers, to whom the GI is most beneficial to, aren’t too concerned with the status and aren’t applying pressure on the authorities to speed up the process.

The logo, which is a representative of Kullu shawls as a GI, is yet to be finalised and this has largely due to the miscommunication between the Department of Science and Technology and KSWA. Also, the KSWA hasn’t got adequate resources even to set up a working office in the valley and has applied for funds which have to go through the layers of bureaucracy and red tape at the government level.

The major retailers of the state have a lot to lose if the GI is implemented because they cannot sell just any shawl as a Kullu shawl to the guileless tourist. And because of this there is an underlying, subtle resistance to the implementation.

Over the last 3 years, the government, despite its best efforts hasn’t been able to do much in this regard. But the problem here does not lie in a lack of effort, but it lies in a lack of “channelized” effort. The government must appoint an independent person to look into this matter immediately. This person must be responsible for bringing the various bodies / administrations (KSWA, Science and Technology Dept, Wool Board, etc) to task, thereby bringing some structure to this mess and must command an authority greater than everybody else. It is only when all the responsible organizations are made accountable for and are answerable to one single person, will there be a strong information flow which then would lead to substantial progress.

To support the government, other stakeholders who are directly affected by this industry, such as NGO’s working in this area, co-operative societies, weavers and the consumers themselves must regularly follow up and get concerned people to make themselves accountable. NGO’s must give locals who are interested in this cause a platform to contribute and air their opinion. NGO’s must also try and bring in the media to highlight the state of this implementation. Co-operatives and weavers directly affected by this stalemate must seek answers from concerned authorities. And finally, consumers need to be more discerning and try and find solutions to questions that are quite easily buried deep down. Only this kind of pressure, when applied from all possible directions, would get the sleeping authorities to wake up and handle the situation at hand.

From the above paragraphs, one can easily understand that there are enough of more reasons why many people in the valley would not want the Gl to be implemented. But for the benefit of those few who are indulging in ethical business practices, the GI comes as a saviour. It is for these few that the GI should be pushed till its implementation because only then can the true sheen of this industry be protected. However, if this lackadaisical attitude continues, then it won’t be too long before another chapter in India’s rich culture and possibly Himachal’s richest culture erases itself and dies a very sad death.

The above article has been written by Pooja Adiga and Ajay Simha. Both of them are students of S.P. Jain Institute of Management and Research, Mumbai. They are currently on a 6 week internship with My Himachal as part of their DOCC (Development of Corporate Citizenship) program. They are working with MyHimachal to put into place a strong revival mechanism for the traditional Kullu Shawl weaving industry and one of their immediate plans includes pushing for the implementation of the Kullu Shawl Geographical Indicator (GI).

Kullu: As outlined in our previous article, “The Kullu handloom industry of Himachal – The need for privatization”, one of the immediate tasks at hand is the setting up of a sustainable supply chain which will eventually lead to the long term revival of this industry. By expanding the hand-woven textile market we can preserve this slowly extinguishing art and provide employment opportunity to the people here who have the potential to be skilled workers.

But setting up a supply chain is easier said than done. Some of the issues that have come up are inherent to this industry and its people. We have tried to highlight some of these issues and their reasons from the perspective of both the co-operative society and the weaver.

One of the foremost problems is the fact that the supply of authentic shawls is majorly only in the valley (mostly for tourists) and this market is still uneducated about the differences between a hand woven authentic Kullu shawl and a power loom shawl. But yet the demand exists amongst connoisseurs and discerning customers outside of the valley, not just in India but in various parts of the globe as well. Tapping this demand requires a steady supply of shawls going from the valley to various parts of the country and around the world. This however, is proving to be a challenge on multiple grounds. Primary among them is the fact that the big players in the valley produce only enough to feed their retail chains and small export markets (via government organised handloom exhibitions). But, the problem doesn’t entirely lie with the management of these organizations. They aren’t willing to expand because of the decreasing number of weavers in the valley who are willing to work full time. Also the incentive to recruit more weavers is low for these societies because of the unavailability of raw material and in house finishing facilities.

At the worker level, more and more weavers are leaving this profession and seeking employment in horticulture, tourism and recently, even hydropower stations. And as the standard of living increases people are reluctant to enter this profession. Major portion of the existing weavers are only part time. They divide their time between agriculture and weaving and weaving takes the back seat for most part of the year. This is extremely saddening, considering weaving in the valley was once a revered task. Now weaving, which has become a poor man’s occupation, pays on an average Rs 120 per day. And since the wages are paid piece wise, a weaver will have to put in a good 8 hrs of work before he gets as much.

This has led to a vicious circle today, leaving us unable to identify and address the root cause of the problem. Complicating matters further is the fact that the problems don’t end here.

The government, on its part has tried to revive the industry by introducing various subsidies and schemes for the co-operatives which should have helped reduce the deterioration in the number of weavers. But a lot of these societies are only on paper. They claim the subsidies, show losses on fictitious assets and purloin the money. This underlying corruption combined with the massive bureaucratic structures of functioning co-operatives has ensured that the money rarely filters down to the grass root level. Also, small scale industries / co-operatives that claim aid from The Department of Industries have to show a minimum of 3 years profits before they can do so. While this is expected to streamline the funds to the truly deserving co-operatives, it doesn’t do much to the struggling & relatively new societies that need help in their formative years.

Another major road block is the inherent lassitude amongst people in the area. It prevails in all levels; government officials to weavers. The weavers are complacent, are tuned to the seasonal nature of demand (May-July, November-January) and are hardly aware of the schemes that should actually benefit them.

Topping it all is the sheer lack of awareness amongst the consumer that has already been spoken about extensively. A local tourist with average purchasing power is only looking for a souvenir from the place and this need of his is satiated as long as the shawl is bought in Kullu, irrespective of where or how it’s made.

But despite these complexities, there is hope. There is a chance of revival of this industry because of the rapidly growing demand for socially conscious products; products that are known to make a difference to a community or a tradition, but it can be hard to reach these consumers directly. In order to do so, we have to address the above mentioned issues and ensure that the industry moves out of its existing downward spiral.

This is going to be our concerted effort and any help garnered in this regard would be greatly appreciated.

The above article has been written by Pooja Adiga and Ajay Simha. Both of them are students of S.P. Jain Institute of Management and Research, Mumbai. They are currently on a 6 week internship with My Himachal as part of their DOCC (Development of Corporate Citizenship) program. They are working with My Himachal to put into place a strong revival mechanism for the traditional Kullu Shawl weaving industry and one of their immediate plans includes the privatization of this industry.