Category Archives: Business

Mar31

Kullu Handloom Industry of Himachal – The need for privatization.

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Kullu Handloom Industry of Himachal – The need for privatization.

weaverOver the years, the Kullu – Manali twin towns have become a favourite spot amongst honeymooners. Apart from the scenic beauty that the valleys offer, Kullu is also famous for its hand woven shawls. Tourists having come here realize the true worth of this incumbent industry and then decide to purchase a few of these products mostly as souvenirs for their friends and relatives back home. However, over the years this industry is going through a severe decline for many reasons, most important of them being the entry of machine made products from Ludhiana.

A number of steps have been taken to combat the entry of these power loom players, thereby ensuring that Kullu continues to remain famous for its authentic handmade woollen products. These include the creation and approval of the Geographical Indicator (GI) and the presence of the handloom mark and Woolmark. This however, has not deterred the power loom players from continuing to grab the market, an outcome largely due to the existing nexus between the power loom retailers and other key stakeholders in the area.

A campaign to create awareness of this problem was launched last year, titled “Save the Weaver”. The campaign had tremendous reach and impact thereby educating the local consumer about the industry and its problems. It also helped to bring to light; existing threats that plague the industry and the desperate need for co-operation and innovation to revive and keep alive the long standing culture of this region.

As a follow up measure to the campaign, the most important step now is to cash in on the awareness generated and implement certain concrete plans to ensure the long term survival of this industry. Primary among them is the need for privatization. Privatization of this industry would benefit both the weavers and the private players in a number of ways:

Benefits to the weavers:

  • Opening up of new untapped markets and multiple marketing channels, especially the internet
  • Exposure to foreign markets thereby creating sustained demand
  • A platform for the long term revival of this industry
  • Ability to combat the threat of power looms
  • Continuous access to latest consumer trends
  • Creation of a strong quality check process that enhances the value of these products
  • Establishment of a certain work ethic that regulates the industry and creates stable job opportunities

Benefits to private players:

  • A strong competitive edge by capturing the first mover advantage
  • Leveraging on their existing distribution channels to showcase newer products, basically – increased revenues at minimal costs
  • Revival of the Kullu handloom industry thereby ensuring a continuous stream of revenues and profits
  • Creation of a brand that showcases Indian handloom products to the world
  • Creation of Kullu as an export hub

However, just like any other plan, this one is ridden with a number of obstacles as well. Some of the immediate obstacles are as follows:

  • Cannibalization by power loom products
  • The lack of awareness amongst the weavers about the sheer market potential of their products
  • Lack of government policies and the ineffectiveness of the Apex Body and other numerous associations
  • Lack of proper implementation of the GI and Handloom Mark
  • Lack of a progressive attitude amongst the co-operatives and the weavers themselves
  • More number of weavers opting out of this profession with every passing day
  • The lack of proper training facilities

One of the immediate ways of tackling the above obstacles is by showcasing to private players, the plethora of opportunities present in this industry. This calls for a proper sales pitch to these players, a pitch that outlines the current status of the industry, the opportunities present and the benefits of entering the industry at such a time. Effective presentation of the above points should then lead to the setting up of buyer-seller meets. These buyer-seller meets would bring both parties abreast of the current situation in the industry, thereby helping them carve out a future plan that would benefit both parties involved.

Players such as Fab India, Bombay Store and the likes are known for promoting Indian products laden with culture and heritage and Kullu handloom definitely does fall into this category. There has also been an increasing trend in social entrepreneurship where private players scout for a dying art and does all that is possible to preserve the same. The time has now come to cash in on this trend and open the doors to the private players. This step, if implemented well, will go a long way in revival of this dying tradition and ensuring that “Kullu Shawls” carve out a brand for themselves in the years to come.

The above article has been written by Ajay Simha and Pooja Adiga. 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.

Apr30

Government-NGO collaboration can spell success for the Kullu weaving industry

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Government-NGO collaboration can spell success for the Kullu weaving industry

Weaving has been the mainstay of every Kullu-ite’s livelihood for generations now. A month long study by Anoop H, Shilpa Kendre, Jyothsna Sekar, Shilpi Baral from SP Jain Institute of Management of Research (Mumbai) in association with My Himachal reveals startling facts on the health of the traditional Kullu weaving industry. The advent of technology and the opening up of numerous employment avenues has left this industry reeling.

The number of weavers has reduced by around 50% over the last decade. More and more weavers are leaving the profession to jump over to occupations that promise them greener pastures. Those still sticking to weaving are migrating to Ludhiana, where they have the opportunity to work in a more organised environment. The power looms in Ludhiana, are swamping the industry with their mass production and low cost capabilities. A short survey amongst locals, tourists, weavers revealed the following startling facts. Read the rest of this entry →

Apr20

Save the Weaver : Is weaving dying in Kullu?

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Save the Weaver : Is weaving dying in Kullu?

You never know what you have been missing until it arrives. This adage can’t be more apt than for the weavers here. The folks in this valley are just plain contented. Either they have very little aspirations or very high levels of self satisfaction.

According to the 1995 census, Kullu district had 28,500 weavers. 12 years hence, officials can only approximate the number to around 11,000. Is the industry dying? Read the rest of this entry →

Apr18

Save the Weaver : A Litmus Test for Authentic Kullu Shawls

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Save the Weaver : A Litmus Test for Authentic Kullu Shawls

The scenic landscapes of Kullu beckon avid travellers to visit the hinterlands of this small town. Shopping does take a top priority on the itinerary of these tourists who come from all across the globe. It is observed that most foreign tourists acquaint themselves to the location by investing a great deal of time in reading about it through travel guides like the Lonely Planet and Thomas Cook. The internet has also recently been one of the popular media through which tourist information is disseminated. Indian tourists on the other hand, normally come via package tours and are spoon fed by their travel guides. Read the rest of this entry →

Apr18

Save the Weaver: An eye opener for tourists

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Save the Weaver: An eye opener for tourists

For tourists from across the globe, the hilly terrain of Manali-Shimla is a shoppers’ paradise for woollens. The heart of the weaving industry is in the small town of Kullu, 40Kms away from Manali. As one enters this scenic valley, colourful traditional Kullu shawls dot the sideways of every market street and one can see huge signboards atop tiny shops flashing ‘Traditional Kullu Shawls’. This is bait to the blind crocodile. Many of these shawls are not handcrafted, sometimes not even made in Kullu. They are mostly machine made shawls sourced from other towns in the country.

Is it that one doesn’t care enough to make an informed decision while buying or is it that one fails to see the value in a handcrafted product?

I am afraid it’s both. On one hand, tourists have little or no time on their itinerary to go searching for an authentic store and are more often than not directed by their local travel guides or the rickshaw drivers and cabbies to one of the numerous bogus shops that sell machine made shawls at hefty discounts (sometimes as high as 50%). A setup of a few handlooms in the periphery of the store serve as a perfect backdrop to disguise the machine made shawls as handmade shawls. While the tourist walks out of the store with discounted shawls, the local guide walks away with his share of commission, thus making this whole money making act a farce in the name of tourism.

On the other hand, as consumers, we fail to recognize the value of a handcrafted product. The value of art does not reside in the price we pay for it, but in the efforts that have gone into making that masterpiece; that masterpiece which is born out of the dexterity of the weaver, his eye for weaving an intricate design from his own palette of colours, the long hours of adeptly crossing the warp and woof to create kaleidoscopic patterns on the fabric, creating designs which by no means can be replicated on a programmed machine that churns out batch after batch of immaculate shawls at the press of a button. The power looms can produce a shawl in a couple of minutes while the weaver spends an average of four days to weave an elaborate design on his handloom. We must learn to appreciate the beauty of inherent imperfections in a handcrafted product that renders it it’s exclusivity. No price is too high to pay for unadulterated art, be it for the purity of the wool, the sanctity of the natural organic dyes or the simplicity and genuineness of the heart of the person who is making it.

Apr18

The campaign

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The campaign

The campaign will carry a series of articles dedicated to the Traditional Kullu Shawl Weaving industry. The art of weaving is a part of the Kullu tradition and pride. Many here believe this art would die with the turn of the generation, as it is no longer considered lucrative by the locals. In our efforts to revive this industry, we present a hotchpotch of views, ideas, opinions, facts and ground realities. The main intention of this campaign is to spread awareness about the state of this industry, its bottlenecks, brainstorm possible ways of removing them and to generate enough interest amongst the public to help the weaver regain his lost glory.

Apr17

Project : Save the Weaver

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Project : Save the Weaver

SAVE THE WEAVER

…help him weave colour into his life again

Are we crucifying Art at the altar of Technology?

Are the benefits of development restricted only to those at the top of the pyramid?

Are those at the grass root level being exploited?

Do we as consumers bestow enough faith in the genuineness of the product that we buy?

Do we think twice before we buy?

Do we value the beauty of a handcrafted product?

Read the rest of this entry →