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Demand and Supply of Handloom Industry: Gyanodaya-V Project Report
Demand and Supply of Handloom Industry: Gyanodaya-V Project Report
Demand and Supply of Handloom Industry: Gyanodaya-V Project Report
PROJECT REPORT
SHAHEED
SUKHDEV COLLEGE
OF BUSINESS
STUDIES
TEAM MEMBERS
1) Aman Budhiraja.
2) Devesh Revankar
3) Priya Agrawal.
4) Siddhant Arora...
5) Simran Soni.
6) Shubham Gupta..
7) Shubham Gupta..
8) Vartika Agarwal.
9) Vibhor Goel.
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Contents
TEAM MEMBERS ......................................................................................................................................................... 1
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT .............................................................................................................................................. 3
OBJECTIVES ................................................................................................................................................................. 4
INTRODUCTION........................................................................................................................................................... 5
METHODOLOGY ADOPTED ..................................................................................................................................... 6
FIELD VISITS ................................................................................................................................................................ 7
INFORMATION GATHERED ..................................................................................................................................... 9
PROBLEMS FACED ......................................................................................................................................................... 9
OPPORTUNITIES IDENTIFIED FOR FURTHER PROPOSALS ........................................................................ 10
SUCCESS STORIES .................................................................................................................................................... 11
1)
2)
Story of Hiralal kalita- Head of All India Handloom Cooperative Society ........................................................... 11
2.
3.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The journey of Gyanodaya V did not begin on 18th but much before it, and would not end on 29th but
much beyond it. The learning from the entire process- pre journey, journey, and post journey would
remain etched in our memories and experiences. This project would not have taken such a concrete
shape without the guidance and motivation of many.
We would like to thank the University of delhi for providing us the opportunity to be a part of
Gyanodya:V and work on the project Demand and Supply of Handloom Industry. We would also
thank our college in-charge for being so supportive since the very initial stages of gyanodaya proposals.
Grateful acknowledgement to Rehman Malik sir, project coordinator, for keeping us updated about all
relevant informations; Mr. Pattnaik for being extremely helpful with assamese language classes, and
introduction to assam.
We would also like to thank our mentor- Onkar sir, for being by our side all the time; group inchargeBaljeet Kaur madam and Tiwari sir; Pranjal Sir for providing us invaluable information whenever
needed;
Last but not the least we would like to thank all the officials, individuals involved in gyanodaya 5, for
making our journey comfortable, knowledgeable and memorable.
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OBJECTIVES
To Study the dynamics of demand and supply dynamics of handloom sector of Assam
Proposing feasible solutions to the govt. bodies and DU consisting of indexes, detailed
methodology and graphical illustrations.
To identify the problems arising while observation of methods used there for manufacturing and
trading silk.
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INTRODUCTION
The handloom industry of the north east region is one that has yet not been utilised up to its potential.
The amalgamation of tradition and commercialisation is a boon for the entire handloom industry
particularly in Assam. However, in the race of modernisation and globalisation, we must not forget to
preserve the cultural identity and traditional significance attached to them.
The North Eastern States have a long tradition of handloom weaving, handicraft and sericulture. The
region accounts for more than 50 per cent of the handlooms in the country. However, most of the looms
produce for domestic consumption. The textile sector in the region has tremendous potential for growth
and creation of employment opportunities.
Handloom industry plays a dominant role in the cultural and economic development of the rural masses
in majority of the North Eastern States. Almost all tribes and communities in the hills and the plains of
the region are actively engaged in this activity.
This region has the highest concentration and a rich heritage of handlooms in the country. Hence,
handloom sector plays a significant role in the economy of the region.
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METHODOLOGY ADOPTED
STAGE 1
STAGE 2
STAGE 3
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FIELD VISITS
DAY-1
SIBASAGAR
DAY-2
MAJULI
DAY-3
JORHAT
After having our lunch at saffron hotel, we visited a shop where we met a lady who was a handloom
weaver. He told us that there is an excess demand and a very minimal supply in the market.
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DAY-4
KAZIRANGA
DAY-5
TEZPUR
We first visited the Tezpur University where we were addressed by the registrar, the placement officer
and other officials of the college.
One of our members asked a question whether there are any courses in the university related to the
handloom designing or textiles
The University is looking for introducing specialization courses soon in the field of handloom.
We interacted with an Assamese student over there to know whether the modern generation is
interested in handlooms or not.
The findings were as such- they said that they wear silk sarees or Kurtis on occasions only because
they are very expensive and also they cannot wear it in daily use as it cannot be washed every day
because the cloth is such that it will get spoiled if you wash them every day.
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DAY-6
GUWAHATI
We were given a news that we wont be able to visit sualkuchi, the silk village of Assam where the
epicenter of our project was located.
We changed our research methodology from taking surveys physically to gathering information on
call.
We did a lot many calls to support our research work and complete our stage 2 of finding the ground
reality statistics and comparing it with the research data we found on the internet.
INFORMATION GATHERED
SOURCE
27 FIELD
INTERVIEWS
42
TELEPHONIC
INTERVIEWS
10 SURVEYS
STATISTICS (Source: Mr. Hiralal Kalita: Head of All India Handloom Cooperative Society)
PROBLEMS FACED
1. Unavailability of raw material at affordable price leading to greater prices and lower profit margin
2. Unavailability of skilled labor
3. Unawareness among the producers, retailers as well as the consumers about the silk mark.
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Bank accounts of retailers and the heads of manufacturing department are available
Product diversification
Design development
Globalization
During our research work we also came across some success stories of people which helped us to base
our proposals and played a significant part in moulding our project.
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SUCCESS STORIES
1) Story of jaishree Mohento
She owns a silk factory. She produces mekhla sadar,saree, muga silk, masa suta . She sells her stock and
inventory in the local market of Morigaon district which is near tezpur. She performs a B2C selling model
where things are sold to the customers directly via shops or through their own housing shop. She purchases
the raw materials through local wholesalers from the nearby marketplaces. She claimed that her design is
unique and different from that of the weavers in the silk village of Assam i.e., sualkuchi, which is situated
near Guwahati. She started with this business 9 years ago with only 2 looms and sold all of her produce to
the big wholesalers leading to a convincing start-up. Now, she owns 10 looms and is able to sell all her
produce to the regular customers without even visiting the marketplace. Most of her customers are in Assam
state and constitutes of a diverse potential market. Customers themselves approach her with different
designs and stylesheets which they want to wear and the product is delivered to them within 1.5 months.
She agreed upon the fact that she should also sell her product outside Assam but her production capacity is
restricted due to some reasons. Some major reason is non- Availability of skilled labour, less number of
looms, limited space and lack of finances for expansion. Furthermore she explained that the weavers in
sualkuchi produce upto 100 units at a time whereas she produces only 2-3 units due to the above mentioned
reasons. She told that there is ample demand for her products but she is able to supply less than the required
level. Though she was aware of the fact that she can sell her products via e-commerce sites but explained the
reason of not doing so due to limited produce. However she is confident that she will extend her distribution
channels to internet related services such as e-commerce as soon as she owns 50 looms. She exclaimed that
although she has not sold her produce through internet still she has a global reach as customers from
countries like USA, England, etc, buy products from her. She even takes the advantage of social networking
apps on which she communicates her designs directly to the customers before the final order is made.
We asked her whether she has got any quality standard mark or silk mark from the government, she told us
that the she is in talks with ministry to get the quality mark or silk mark soon. On asking whether she got
any kind of help from the government, she replied initially the government did not provide any support to
her business but later her business grew and a person from the ministry analysed her work, she was provide
with HRID training.
She was also awarded chief minister award and various government schemes were provided to her. The
ministry has also made a documentary of her work and contribution to handloom industry
2)
Cooperative Society
His companys name is Harman fashion house. Founded at 1999, makela sadar was his first product. Hiralal
kalita at present have 10 handloom weavers working under him. His business is based on traditional designs
where in he manufactures makela sadar ,sarees, khadi cloth, mulberry silk and muga silk.
He has inherited the skills from his father and his designs are based on their ancestral history. He is currently
on a venture of surveying and documenting weavers of sualkuchi for a conference at tezpur university and
has been conducting this survey under tezpur university for a very long time.
Some of his findings are:-
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There are a total of 5672 silk handlooms in sualkuchi. There are 3393 mulberry silk handlooms. There are
only 93 looms based on muga silk. There are 93 makela sadar looms. There are 1896 pafar looms in
sualkuchi.
He told us that no weaver has a bank account there.
There are a few weavers but maximum of them are outstation weavers. People of sualkuchi know about
internet and are quiet aware about e-commerce and e-commercial markets.
There is a storehouse or a warehouse in construction.
According to Mr. kalita, internet age has just begun in sualkuchi and its just been a month for them. Selling
of their produce is done by showrooms and retail shops owned by him. Highest sale of the season occurs
between Novembers to April of the year basically because this is the time when maximum of the foreigners
come for tourism. He is very satisfied and happy with his business prosperity and profit making. He told us
that the profit margins depend on quality. He has a handloom mark given to him by the handloom office. He
have achieved first prize in pure silk making. There is no need of any training programs for weavers as they
all use their paternal designs. He has showrooms at places like Mumbai, Delhi and Madras.
10,000-13,000 is the average amount of salary a typical weaver can earn monthy.
2. Design development
It has been observed that designs, traditions, culture and history are going hand in hand in the assam silk
handloom industry. The designs are dominated by traditional or religious symbols. For a local consumer (or an
aware person) the designs and motifs are pleasant. However, looking at the broad perspective, not all designs
are liked by all- since consumers vary in their needs and preferences. Some prefer bold designs; some are
inclined towards small but delicate designs. Hence, there is a need to not only preserve the traditional designs,
but also to encourage the stakeholders to innovate newer designs to suit other segments of the market.
For example in West Bengal, some Bengali sarees have bigger and bolder designs depicting elephants, coconut
trees and other such images related to nature which the people from other parts of India might not prefer.
We had a talk with a renowned Fashion Designer, Ms. Sunita Shanker, who has worked a lot in promoting
assam silk and projecting it in a fashionable way. According to her, certain religious designs (or religious
connections) can be removed from the mainstream commercial products such that there is a better design
development without harming the religious sentiments of the people. She said the designs of ghamosas can be
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used to make newer products like pajamas for ladies and other trendier options. However, care must be taken
to be aware about the designs- whether it has a religious significance or not.
3. Product diversification
Need for product development and product diversification in order to match the era of changing tastes &
preferences; and globalization.
Need to inculcate a parallel line of products to suit the changing needs and match the demands of a younger
market.
Presently, the product lines include mekhela chador (pronounced as sador), ghamosa, sari, shawls, scarfs
(stoles), rumaal which have been prevalent since ancient times. There is a need to incorporate modern versions
of products to suit the changing market needs- for example- kurtis, salwar kameez, tops, hand bags etc. the
logic behind this is simple, i.e., any non-assamese person would not be comfortable wearing a mekhela sador.
He or she would be willing to buy the speciality of assam- its famous silk products- but in a form they prefer
the most. Hence with changing times, additional product lines are desired.
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