Indian Handicraft and Handloom Workers

India's rich, artistic heritage is being kept alive by rural artisans, however the author states that these artisans and their families live in poverty and experience miserable living and working conditions. Handicraft and handloom workers contribute a substantial amount of foreign exchange to the economy, but rarely make a living wage. The reasons for this include slack demand and economic domination of money lenders and middlemen, but also, artisans have no access to innovative ideas and techniques, capital, infrastructure, or the latest market trends. There is a need to revamp and modernise the sector, with emphasis being put on paying the skilled workers an appropriate wage.

This paper is a sample survey of villages in West Bengal, Orissa, Meghalaya, Rajasthan, Kerala, and Gujarat from 2007-2009; it examines the working conditions of the handicraft workers and highlights some of the basic challenges facing ordinary artisans and handloom workers. The author begins by examining the current trends of the handicraft and handloom production industry, which is being threatened by machine made goods. Secondly the paper profiles the conditions of rural workers in different villages. According to the paper, the fundamental issues facing rural artisans include: lack of easy to bank credit, corruption of the industry, rise in competition from China, and lax quality control.

The author makes the following recommendations: increase wages, improve work conditions with state supported policies, and implement safety measures and minimum standards of hygiene and health safeguards. This paper found that all educated workers who had access to capital were doing very well and catering to a rising demand for their products.

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Indian Handicraft and Handloom Workers