INTRODUCTION

Handloom weaving is well-known for its ancient heritage,which includes traditional and
outstanding skills of the various craft artisans. This sector plays a very important role in the
development of the economy of the country. In this document the focus is many on the handloom
practices that are being carried out in Bihar. An online search of this place has been done helping
us learn different types of information related to the real life of the artisans, their craft work and
also shows the current status of the weavers. With an in-depth analysis, we have gathered the
absorption of information during the whole production process, which in turn leads to an
increased and improved well-being of a hand-loom workers.

A cluster is defined as a geographic concentration (a city/ city, several of the neighbouring towns
and areas adjacent to them) the units for the production of almost all of the same products, and
will be faced with common opportunities and threats. A small group of artisans it is defined as
geographically concentrated (mostly in villages/towns) amount of units to produce handicrafts,
hand looms. In a typical cluster, such producers often belong to a traditional community, that is,
the production of a long-established products for generations. Indeed, many of the store, the
clusters have a long history.

The craft cluster Initiative, offered by NIFT, is committed to the promotion of students' the truth
of the skills and knowledge of their environment, resources, processes, and marketing and a
variety of other fields as well. This program will assist us in the investigation and the search for
knowledge, and the information available as an ongoing and systematic manner, to the lives of
the artists, and arts and crafts. This is a cluster that helps expensive to acquire knowledge of the
students, since they have the ability to communicate with the other participants.

The term ‘craft’ denotes a skill, usually employed in branches of the decorative arts (e.g ceramics)
or in associated artistic practice (e.g lace-making). Craft is an occupation or avocation that requires
special and artistry skill. A key feature of crafts is that they involve high degree of “hands-on”
craftsmanship rather than just skill with machine.
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According to Wikipedia, crafts as a whole can be described based on two forms:

Art form: Crafts as an art form is an outlet of human expression, usually influenced by culture and
which in turn help to change culture. Crafts are a physical manifestation of the internal creative
impulse.
Visual art: Crafts as a visual arts form include painting, sculpture, photography, printmaking and
others, that focus on the creation of works which are primarily visual in nature.
Crafting includes a variety of art forms, from sculpture and metalwork to knitting and printing.
Common
types CRAFTS : AN OVERVIEW of crafts
includes:
Ceramic and Glass Crafts, Fiber and Textile Crafts, Flower Crafts, Leatherwork, House ware,
Fashion, Needlework, Paper Crafts, Wood and Furniture Crafts, Stone Crafts, Metal Crafts.

Types of Crafts
Like arts, crafts deals with beauty and creativity. Crafts can be divided into five basic types based
on their form and purpose. We have the textile, decorative, paper, functional, and fashion crafts.

 Textile craft: This includes any type of craft where you work with fabric, yarn or surface
design. Some examples are knitting, quilting, appliqué, weaving, and dyeing.
 Paper craft: As the name implies, paper crafts have to do with paper. It includes papier-
mâché, boxing, collage, calligraphy, paper making and origami paper folding.
 Decorative craft: Furniture making, metalwork, stenciling, stained glass, gilding, sponge
ware, and basketry all fall into the category of decorative crafts. This category also includes
toy-making and other arts. Combining furniture making with metalwork is a popular trend.
 Fashion craft: This craft encompasses all the elements of dressing the human body:
jewelry, hats, leatherwork (shoes, belts, handbags), and garments.This involves a variety of
materials from soft fabrics such as cotton, linen, and wool to sturdier materials such as
nylon, canvas, and leather.
 Functional craft: Many of the other types of crafts can also be classified as functional. Eg:
decorative pottery –including serving platters and utensils – is often made with components
that are okay for people to eat from. Many furniture crafts are primarily functional but can
also be quite decorative.

Textile Paper Decorative Fashion Functional

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 TEXTILE CRAFTS OF INDIA
 India has a very rich tradition and knowledge of crafts covering unique techniques and
materials like spinning and weaving of textiles, natural dyeing, metallurgy, block printing,
furniture making, wood and stone craft.

 Some of these traditions are living traditions which have been around for more than a 1000
years. It was the rich heritage crafts of India that made India the largest economy in the
globe before pre-Industrial times.

 Handicrafts account for Indian’s nonfarm rural economy, 15-20% of the country’s
manufacturing workforce.

 Indian Craft USP : Unique Aesthetics & Inherent Sustainability

 Indian economy begins with economy derives from rural India. Economy of rural India is
mainly identified through agriculture . Besides agriculture, if any, other sector has imposed
significance towards the rural economy of the nation is handicraft sector.

 Handicraft Sector creates new thing, generates new idea, encourage to start-up entrepreneur
for setup their business, making different type of crafts products for generating new
business which help to Indian Economy.
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HANDICRAFT OF INDIA
 HANDLOOM OF INDIA
Fragments of finely woven and madder-dyed cotton fabrics and shuttles were found at some of
the excavated sites of Mohenjodaro (Indus valley civilization). Indian floral prints, dating back to
the 18th century A.D were discovered by Sir Aurel Stein in the icy waters of Central Asia. The
evidence shows that of all the arts and crafts of India, traditional handloom textiles are probably
the oldest.

The advent of the Mughal empire saw weavers getting patronage from the royalty and creation of
new fabrics such as ‘Mulmul’, ‘Banarsi Brocade’, ‘Jamawar’ etc. The arrival of the East India
Company, however sounded the death knell for the Indian textile industry. Post-independence,
the Government of India took several steps to revive the handloom sector.

India has a long tradition of excellence in making high quality handloom products with

extraordinary skills and craftsmanship, which are unparalleled in the world. The intricate
workmanship of the handlooms provides this segment a unique identity of its own.
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INDIAN HANDLOOM
 SERICULTURE & SILK INDUSTRY
Sericulture is a labors-intensive agro-based industry that includes activities like, food plant
cultivation, silkworm rearing, silk reeling, twisting, degumming weaving, dyeing, printing and
finishing and garment manufacturing. The industry has spread an extended tradition in states like
Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh , TamilNadu, West Bengal and Jammu and Kashmir. Sericulture has
spread various development stages in the nontraditional states such as Uttaranchal, Uttar
Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Orissa, Bihar, northeastern states, etc. The cultivation of
crops range from one to six in a year in different sectors and in different areas. Mulberry is
cultivated one crop in J&K and Uttaranchal, two in most other hill and temperate areas and 3 to 5
in rainfed and irrigated areas in other states; and Eri is cultivated at a similar situation with 3-4
crops but only in rain-fed areas; Tasar with 2-3crops and Muga with 5-6 (2-3 commercial) crops.

SILK OF INDIA
Silk in the Indian subcontinent is a luxury
good. About 97% of raw silk is produced in
the five Indian states of Karnataka, Andhra
Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and
Jammu and Kashmir. The North Bangalore
regions of Muddenahalli and
Kanivenarayanapura and Mysore contribute to
a majority of silk production. Another emerging silk producer is Tamil Nadu where mulberry
cultivation is concentrated in Coimbatore, Erode and Dharmapuri districts. Hyderabad (Andhra
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Pradesh) and Gobichettipalayam (Tamil Nadu) were the first locations to have automated silk
reeling units.

LIST OF SILK IN INDIA

 Mulberry Silk, Tasar Silk, Muga Silk, and Eri Silk,

 Bhagalpuri Silk, Kosa Silk, Banarasi Silk, Kanjeevaram silk or Kancheepuram silk.
 Pat Silk , Baluchari Silk ,Sournachuri Silk,Chanderi Silk
 Mysore Silk,Dharmavaram Silk,Pochampalli Silk,Bangalore Silk
 Uppada Silk,Matka Silk,Garad Silk,Konrad Silk,Kota Silk
  Chettinad Silk,Patola Silk,Ikat Silk etc..
The Silk City- BHAGALPUR
Bhagalpur
is called the “Silk City” on account of its production of Tussar silk fabrics, it produces for
domestic consumption also as exports too. It gets additional technical inputs from the Silk
Institute and therefore the Agricultural University. Other than Tassar Bhagalpur produces small
quantities of Eri, Muga, Ghicca, Mulberry, etc. What sets Bhagalpuri silk aside from other sorts
of silk is that the undeniable fact that it’s environment-friendly; limited number of silk worms is
employed during the production of this silk. Due to this very reason, Bhagalpuri silk is
additionally sometimes mentioned as “peace silk”.

Pre-Process of Weaving
This stage prepares the finalized yarn to undergo the rigors and strain of the weaving process.
Throughout these steps, the freshly stretched yarn is inspected, treated and stretched onto the
loom, so that it can begin its transformation into one of our high-quality home textile products

Designing:

The master craftsmen select the drawings. The design is mainly variations of weave & color.
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Preparation of Raw Material

This is a long and
lengthy process which might also be divided into certain steps:

 REELING SILK: Cocoons are firstly chosen and then the better ones are boiled in water
with some soda for about 1/2 to 2 hours. After boiling, the silk strands are taken and it is
then that they are unwounded onto some bamboo spools. During this the expert workers
use their bare thighs to draw out a single filament of silk from the cocoons. This
 particular silk is known as ghicca silk. In khewa silk, the workers use their hands to
unwind the silk filament.

 THROWING: It is after this process that the spools are transferred to skeins. After it is
dried, these skeins are reeled backed on bobbins to make a much thicker, stronger as well
as multi threaded yarn. reeled backed on bobbins to make a much thicker, stronger as
well as multi threaded yarn.

 DYEING : Natural dyes are usually used for dyeing tussar silk. While the process of
dyeing is familiar for all colors, mordants are used differently for necessary -colors and
shades. In general, the first step for all dyes is the extraction which is done by boiling the
dyestuff in water. Then staring of the solution is done, and to wet yarn skeins the dye is
applied. After a certain amount of time the skeins are put right into the mordant solution
to quicken the effect of the dye. The last step is to do the washing of the yarn with reetha
powder. To get black color often harer powder is boiled in water for 15-20 minutes. The
wet skeins are put in a dye bath for 20 minutes in a different container. Kasis stone is
often utilised as the mordant. It is then used to put in plain water and sieved. The dyed
skeins are also used to put into this kasis solution for 5 minutes. After almost 20 minutes
the skeins are washed in reetha solution. For indigo dye the mordent (alum) is used
before dyeing, and the skeins are kept in an absolute airtight container. It is after half an
hour that the skeins are put into boiling indigo solution. The excess dye is then washed
out with reetha.
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 Weaving

After the preparatory process of dyeing of the yarn the artisan hands over the yarn to their
family. Firstly, one of the members of the family (generally women) winds the thread onto the
bobbin with the help of charkha so that it can be easily handled.

Then each warp thread is passed through reeds and rolled in warp wheel. Again, the thread is
passed through the heddles and then through reeds which divides the warp yarn into two parts
through which weft yarn passes. The warp beam is then taken to load onto the loom. It takes
around 4-5 days to load the warp beam on a handloom.

Looms are equipped with dobbies for making motifs and designs. The designing is done and set
in the dobby. The bobbins are placed in a shuttle which carries the weft threads back and forth
across the loom. The weavers use pedals to control the frames of the loom. Together the frames
separate the warp threads. The weft yarn is passed through the space created between the warp
threads. After every pass the weaver alternates the frames, interlacing the weft between the warp
and then brings the weft threads close together with the help of a comb.

First a sample of 25-30 cm is prepared and then sent to the respective supplier/Mahajan for
approval. Once the approval of the sample from the supplier is done the process of weaving is
continued further.
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 Dressing of Loom
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What Is Loom?

It is a type of device which is used in weaving and making tapestry, the basic purpose of the
loom is to hold onto the warp threads under tension so that the interweaving with the weft
threads can be done easily.
There are many types of looms such as Automatic and Manual looms which also has several sub
divisions based on the design and principle of working.

In, hand looms the threads are hunged from a picket piece or branch to an appendant to the
bottom.

Then weft threads are manually shoved in position or pushed through a rod that additionally
becomes a shuttle. Raising and lowering every warp thread one by one is required during the
start which is done by inserting a rod making a shack, the gap between warp threads are made so
that threads can traverse in total promptly without any issues.

This loom consist 2 sticks or bars between which warps are stretched, one bar is hooked up to a
set object and the other one to the weaver, sometimes by means of a strap round the back.

Then the weaver leans back and uses his/her weight to create tension in the loom. It works in
such a way with the help of the weight of a weaver such that 2 main measured squared sheds is
operated in a way so that the shed is rolled over to the previous set of warps and it passes
through it without any hindrance.
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 Parts of Loom
 Shuttle: It is made of wood and iron. It is mostly of 14 inches or 9 inches. It carries the
holder that carries the thread of the weft yarn while weaving. Shuttles are used to pass
threads back and forth through the shed, between the yarn threads of warp in order to
weave in the weft.
 Reed: It is part of loom which resembles a comb. There are 68 dents in 1 inch of the reed.
It is to separate and space the warp threads.
 Lease Rod: Rods that keep the lease orderly during separation of warp threads. They
separate the warp yarns forming a shed.
 Warp: The vertical threads in the loom are called warp.
 Weft: The horizontal threads in the loom are called weft. Paddle: Wooden paddles in pit-
loom which they handle using feet. It is for formation of shed of warp yarns.
 Bobbin: A cylindrical type structure made of wood or plastic. It is used to wrap threads.
 Cloth Beam: A roller at the front of the loom on which the woven material is wrapped.
 Warp Beam: A roller at the back of the loom on which warp ends are wrapped.
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 WEFT WINDING / WEAVING THE FABRIC

Weft winding: The yarn used for weft are wound into the bobbin or pirn and then inserted into
shuttle. Ghicha silk and tussar silk are mostly used as weft yarn.

Weaving the Fabric: This process of interlacing of two yarn is known as weaving. The looms
used for weaving are handlooms. It is run without the use of electricity or other fuel. The throwing
of the shuttle which carries the weft yarn is fitted to sync with pedals to lift the warp. Then,
beating is done and the process continues. The weaving is done on minimum 4 and maximum 8
shaft. A weaver weaves between half a meter and five meters of fabric in a day. After the products
are weaved and completed with the designs, they are finished properly so that they are ready to
wear. Once the products are finished, they are sold to the whole-sellers. Now the whole-sellers sell
the products to the retailers. Some of them also send the products to Kolkata, Bangalore and Delhi.
Then these products are further taken for foreign exports from these cities. The sarees with
madhubani painting on it are highly in demand in foreign countries.

YARN VARIETY & COSTING

 China Tussar: Tussar variety that is imported from China. 2 variants – 33 /37 D , 50/70 D.
 Khewa/ Desi tussar: Thickness of tussar in the cocoon varies. The middle portion comprising of
60% of fibre is of similar thickness. This 60% fibre reeled from 5-6 undamaged tussar cocoons is
called Khewa.
 Ghicha: Thigh reeled yarn from 20 pierced tussar cocoons.
 Katiya: Yarn reeled from remaining 40% of undamaged tussar cocoons.
 Dupion-Malda & Bangalore: Mulberry silk reeled from double cocoons; It is rough and irregular
Malda Dupion is light in weight, more fluffy and higher in price by 300/- compared to Bangalore
Dupion; So used to make light weighted dupion sarees.
 Bhagalpur Eri: Silk yarn prepared from a mix of reeled mulberry silk and spun mulberry silk.
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 Moonga: Spun china tussar yarn is called Moonga in Bhagalpur; not to be confused with Assam
muga silk.
 Staple viscose: Regenerated cellulose fibre is referred to as staple in Bhagalpur.
 Cotton: Mercerised cotton of 100s count is used in Bhagalpur sarees.
 Linen: Linen of count 60 s and 80s, 1/2 ply is used in Bhagalpur sarees.
 Noil silk: Yarn spun from the short fibre waste produced during the making of spun silk.
 Matka silk: Spun yarn prepared from the pierced cocoons /wastage of mulberry silk. Earlier they
used to spin the yarn with the help of a matka and so is the name.

Price: The price range of the products varies from factory (directly from the weavers or mahajan)
to the market depending upon the types of fabric and design.

 Silk sarees factory price: Rs.600 to Rs.5000 Local Market- Rs.2000 to Rs.7000.
 Cotton sarees factory price: Rs.300 to Rs.500 Local Market- Rs.300 to Rs.800.
 Silk dupattas factory price: Rs.400 to Rs.1000 Local Market- Rs.500 to Rs.2000.
 Cotton dupattas factory price: Rs.50 to Rs.150 Local Market- Rs.120 to Rs.300.
 Silk shirting and suiting fabricsFactory price- Rs.400 to Rs.1000/m Local Market- Rs.500
to Rs.2000/m.
 Cotton/linen factory price: Rs.50 to Rs.800/m Local Market- Rs.150 to Rs.1000/m.
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Time 10 am- 1 pm:

The august programme started with the inaugural speech with Prof. Sanjay Srivastava, Director,
NIFTPatna, along with other distinguished person; Dr. Rishikesh Kumar, CIC, NIFT-Patna, Mr.
Vinayak Yashraj, CAC, NIFT-Patna along with luminous presence of all the Centre Coordinators,

Artisans Awareness Workshop (AAW),

2021
Day 1: Agendas on 27th May 2021
 faculties, students and staffs of NIFT, Patna. It was then followed by introduction of all the
artisans present in the meeting.

Time 2 pm- 5 pm: Introduction and Display of the Artisans Work.

There was an interaction with all the artisan one by one .Artisans were exhibitng their works in the
workshop and meanwhile suggestions were given by all the faculties and students present.

Different method and approach to showcase their works to more people and build network were
suggested to the artisans.

Some of the works exhibited by

th
Day 2: Agendas on 28  May 2021 the Artisians in the workshop

Time 10 am- 1 pm:

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 Expert Interaction with the Artisans and students.

o Name of the Expert: Mr. Vikram Rajak
o Name of the Expert: Mr. Sharad Kumar
 Presentation on Color Story with department students and faculty.
Faculty- Mr. Satyendra Kumar Mishra.

Time 2 pm- 5 pm:

 Expert Interaction with the Artisans and students.

Name of the Expert: Mr. Avanish Kumar.
  Presentation on Design Process with department students and faculty.
Faculty- Ms. Sweta Rajan Sharma.
 Discussion on Craft based Case Study by Associate Professor, Mr. Toni Sharma.

Day 3: Agendas on 29th May 2021

Time 10 am- 1 pm:

 Expert Interaction with the Artisans and students.

Name of the Expert: Mr. Vikas Kunj.

Time 2 pm- 5 pm:

 Digital platform to promote/sell craft product with students and faculty.

Faculty - Mr. Jayant Kumar (CC-DFT)
Student- Aryan Rathore
 Presentation on Sustainable approach to hand crafted fashion with students and faculty.
Faculty- Mr. Dharmendra Kumar

Artisans - Fashion Technology

S.no Name of Artisan Craft Practiced Place Contact
1 Ms. Sanju Devi Sujani Patna 8789822523
2 Ms. Annu Kumari Sujani Patna 7909087698
3 Ms. Sarita Sharma Applique Patna 7903662964
4 Ms.Rajani Kumari Applique Patna 7292983623
5 MD. Shamim Zari & Zari Goods Patna City 7361981997
6 MD. Kasim Zari & Zari Goods Patna City 8252967252

Interview Sessions with the Invited Artisans in AAW 21

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Interviews are a crucial part of how we gain knowledge about the life of the artisans in the villages
of Bhagalpur. Due to the ongoing pandemic and Covid restrictions, the craft cluster has been
conducted through online mediums. The followings are the top-pics from the interview sessions in
AAW-21.

1. Mr. Sunil Kumar, Master artisan from Nath Nagar, Bhagalpur, Bihar
Sunil Kumar is also one of 7 brothers who do weaving in Bhagalpur. He learnt weaving from
his father when he was young and has been doing it for a few years now. He can speak and
understand Hindi, Bhojpuri, Urdu. He studied till 5th class and proceeded to learn
‘Taanekakaam’ after that. He was trained by his father and he has been working full time on the
loom for approximately 10 years now. He arranges his yarns from Dhanbad near the Jharkhand
border as well. The weaving process and the rates are the same as well, the ‘majduri’ rates are
low and that’s a concern for him. He started to financially struggle a lot during the pandemic.
With no work around, he stopped operating his loom and started driving. He is currently
driving to make ends meet. He might start weaving after things get better but for now, he
doesn’tthink working on the loom will help him earn money.

A 31-year-old Sunil Kumar picked up our call and he seemed like a friendly per- son. A father
to three children, he is one of the 7 brothers who do hand-loom related work. He is sending his
children to school because he wants them to be educated and be able to make a better living. He
mentions that weaving is a hard life and he often finds it hard to make ends meet. He can speak
and understand Hindi, Bhojpuri, Urdu and some Bengali. He studied till 5th class and
proceeded to learn ‘Taanekakaam’ after that. He was trained by his father and he has been
working full time on the loom for 10 years now. His current hand-loom is 20 years old and
belongs to his father. He said it still works fine and he can’t change it this year considering the
pandemic situation. He says that weaving a saree takes him 5-6 hours and he makes 1 or 1.5
sarees in a day, anything more cannot be done by him without getting overworked. He gets his
‘Taana’/warps from Dhanbad near the Jharkhand border.
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2. Mr. Vinod Kumar, Master artisan from Miranchak, Bhagalpur, Bihar

There are a lot of people that sell yarns in Bhagalpurand he didn’tstruggle to find sellers even in
thepandemic. He mentions that when rates of sale are good, he buys yarns and would sell the
fabric to customers directly. This leads to better profits but most of the time he gets free yarn
and is paid a fixed price (Majduri) to weave the fabric which is around 300 Indian rupees. He
mentions that the season around Diwali is the busiest time of the year with the most sales,
however this year sales weren’tgood evenaround Diwali. Talking about his hardships, he says
that he hasn’t been given any government help since the past 2-3 years. He wishes that some
government assistance is provided because the pandemic has caused a lot of financial troubles.
He further talked a little about health issues related to the work he does every day. He mentions
the back issues from all the bending on the loom and says that he gets cuts on his hands a lot
which sting while working.

3. Md. Afzal Alam Ansari, Master artisan from Miranchak, Bhagalpur, Bihar

Md. Afzal Alam Ansari was the first weaver that interacted with me and overall, we had a 29-
minute-long phone conversation. He said that everyone around him was in good health but the
Pandemic has made life very hard for him.
Mr. Ansari said that one saree on the loom takes him about 1 day (5-6 hours) and it causes a lot
of back issues. The warps and yarns are bought from a location near the Bihar Jharkhand
border which he called as “Mahajan village’ which is 6-7 kms from his village.
The weavers are paid for their ‘Masduri’ which means that the yarns and warps are given to
them free of cost and they are paid to make the saree. This to us sounds like a system where
there is a presence of a middle man since the weavers don’t sell the end fabric in the
market.The weaver gets around 300 rupees per saree which is a small price compared to the
final market sale price of the fabric.

4. Mr. Kamlesh Kumar, Master artisan from Nepura, Nalanda, Bihar

During lock-down the cost of ‘Nepura’ has gone down to 200-250 rupees which is less but the
weaver said they have no option so they work whenever they can work. Pre-lockdown the
weaver mentioned that he could earn around 9000 for the 30 sarees he weaves in a day. Out of
this 5000 is used up for house activities leaving behind a mere 4000. Mr. Kamleshdoesn’t have
much savings and the amount he had has gone away since the pandemic started. He mentioned
that hand-loom work around him has stopped since a month (October end to November end).
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He says the 20 hand-looms in his area sit idle with no one to operate them because of lack of
work. His voice sounds uncertain as he asks me if I work in connection with the government
and further inquiries what will be done with the information gathered from this conversation. I
don’tsay much except for making it clear that all information will be kept confidential in-case
we decide to use it for any ‘public’ purpose.

5. Mr. Akilesh Kumar, Master artisan from Nepura, Nalanda, Bihar

Mr. Akilesh Kumar elaborated that about 1000-1200 rupees go back into maintaining and
operating his loom and other work that might be needed to make the fabric.
He proudly mentions that he bought a new loom around 6-7 years ago. He was trained to
operate it at the village near Jharkhand where he buys yarn as well. Mr. Akilesh makes old
traditional patterns on his loom, or any pattern that he’s told to do by the people that give him
yarn in Mahajan. He mentions that in 2014-2016 some new designs were made on the saree and
they still make those.

He iswell aware that the fabric fetches a very high price abroad but he also says that he rarely
gets to directly sell to customers but now unable to do that since the pandemic started.
He lacks any knowledge of computers and doesn’t usehis smart phone for anything beyond
calling. He was last given some government assistance back in 2013-2014 and no assistance
has been provided in the lockdown. When asked out current problems he says that he faces
some issues with procuring yarns and beyond that he just wants things to get better and sales to
increase after the pandemic is over.
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Questionnaire Asked to the Artisans

These are key take-away from the interaction and online interaction and interview session to the
invited artisans and students.
Q1. Does the government provide any funds for your job as an artisan?
Ans- The funds we receive from the government are usually for the production costs, machinery,
location and materials, and sometimes living expenses through various schemes, however, those
are not very consistent and sometimes not very reliable.

Q2. Do you want to pass on your knowledge to your children and expect them to continue
towards this profession, as a legacy for your family?
Ans- Looking back at our life where we barely had food and roof for us, we don't think we
should expect our children to carry on the art, as we wish a better financial future for them than
we ever did. However, I do wish for the art to not die out as well.

Q3. Can you sustain your finances with the income you earn? What other means do you
earn from, if any?
Ans- Due to involvement of the third party in the business, who typically handles the
negotiations, transport and selling, It is very difficult for us to sustain our living, as the selling
price we sell it for is far less than what the third party sells out to the world, which is lot
expensive than we initially sell it for. So, we tend to get below average income. As for side
earning, we do not have any means to do so.

Q4. What is your average annual income from this profession?

Ans- Average monthly income can be from INR 14000-15000. However, it can occasionally go
from INR 20000-25000, when the whole family is involved in the process, when produced on a
larger scale.

Q5. Are you willing to directly participate in the business where you can sell your own
products, without involving the middle person or Mahajans who usually handles such
businesses?
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Ans- Yes, gladly. As mentioned earlier, we can't get an income which is equal to what it's worth
right now at this state of business.

Strategic solutions provided by

Department of Technology,Nift Patna
In a growing technology-run and industrialised world, people are increasingly forgetting the
traditional crafts and moving towards new innovation. Due to this, artisans are moving to
alternative income generation methods, for instance -- daily wage labour and farming; and art is
losing its grip.Preserving and protecting the skills and knowledge of traditional crafts is a growing
challenge. So, it is high time that art forms are revived and awareness spread about them in urban
space. Let's move towards a world where handcrafted items are given due respect and the artisans
are also get the recognition they deserve for their skills.Here are some points to do so:-

1. Understand the global market:

To keep the traditional craft alive, it is important for artisans to understand how trade fairs
work and participate in the same with an all round understanding of the profit and loss and pros
and cons involved in the global market.

2. Increase interaction with the consumers:

Artisans need to interact with the consumers and tell them all about their work and the meaning
behind it. This inspires the customers and establishes a connection between art and buyer. This
also helps the artisans know what the consumers want or need.

3. Recognise it as a source of supplementary income:

Since the craft sector is the second largest employer in rural India after agriculture, it is a source
of supplementary income for the seasonal agricultural workers, who have limited alternative
employment opportunities in the village.

4. Use this large arena of women's employment:

Most handicraft industries are large arenas of women's employment. In their free time, women 
they have to depend on these crafts for earning the income for their family. As women's of
Kishinnda Trust, which is running in a small village (Anegundi) of Karnataka state are producing
the "Paper" and other items made of banana trees and their leaves in their free time.

5. Bring back the mixture of old and new designs:

Craftsmen these days are bringing in a mixture of old and new designs to strike a balance
between the avant-garde and the traditional. Through this mixture of forms of craft, the
traditional handicraft industry has more hope for shining.

6. Understand promotional strategies: To bring back art and handicrafts into the market,
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craftsmen and the artisans need to understand the modern market and its promotional strategies.
They have to understand their space in the global market and then fix the price of their products.

7. Conduct workshops:

At both the rural and urban levels, workshops should be organised that enhance the skills and
also the knowledge of the people. Skill showcase, design education, creative and product
development workshops can be followed up with pricing, marketing, branding, micro-finance
etc. These workshops can help artisans eradicate the communication gap between the two
representations of society and bring in a better understanding of demand and supply. It also
initiates traditional art awareness.

8. Initiate collaborations between artisans and designers:

These awareness programmes will also initiate collaborations between the artisans and the
urban designer and brands to explore the opportunities together. Through these kinds of
initiatives and activities, we can save our crafts and promote our traditional craft in nationally
and globally with the various art and craft forms to find place in the dynamic art culture of the
world. These initiatives will bring out the traditional craft and also introduce the hidden talents
in India.

Schemes for Weavers

There are various Governmental scheme already available and launched for the artisans and to take
the maximum help and boosting up the handloom and handicraft business. The schemes are:

Baba Saheb Ambedkar Hastshilp Vikas Yojna  Mega Cluster Scheme

Integrated handloom development scheme Mahatma Gandhi Bunkar Bima Yojana
Work shed-cum-housing Scheme Deen Dayal Hathkargha Protsahan Yojana
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Baba Saheb
CONCLUSION Ambedkar
Hastshilp Vikas
Yojna
 Indian economy mostly depends on agriculture but besides agriculture, rural arts and crafts
give a gainful occupation to a large number of rural populations. They also serve as subsidiary
occupation to agriculture and increase their rural income substantially. Handloom sector is not
new for independent India. It has been in existence even before independence. There was a
time when it would fulfill the need and stomach of many and nowadays unfortunately it is
looking for its existence. Bhagalpur, once known as the silk city of India due to its silk
products and obviously that was due to the hard work of weavers. But the condition of
weavers in present is so much so pathetic and grim that it is tough to believe that it was once
known as silk city. The village craftsmen are gradually losing interest in their traditional
business. The marketing intermediaries like agents and brokers are collecting the products at a
very low price and selling or exporting those at a very high rate. They are also not paying
them their dues in time.

During this AAW 21 documentation, we came to know about the joys and grievances of
working with this craft. These artisans are very skilled and create beautiful products but their
hard work does not receive appropriate rewards. We also studied the problem that the weavers
are facing in this craft.
In conclusion to a truly educating journey we would like to mention that the craft cluster not
only broadened our area of knowledge but also helped us understand the life and culture of
these small yet proud communities.

References
https://www.indiatoday.in/education-today/jobs-and-careers/story/art-craft-356171-2016-12-07
https://thecraftersconnect.net/2020/07/06/crafts-an-overview
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https://www.startupoasis.in/craft-book-wecompresscom.pdf
http://texmin.nic.in/pdf/ar03_c05.pdf
https://www.investindia.gov.in/sector/textiles-apparel/handlooms-handicrafts