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Qasab: Kutch Craftswomen’s Producer Co. Ltd.

Article  in  Asian Case Research Journal · December 2018

DOI: 10.1142/S0218927518500116

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 ASIAN CASE RESEARCH JOURNAL, VOL. 22, ISSUE 2, 255–277 (2018)

ACRJ
Qasab: Kutch Craftswomen’s
This case was prepared by
Assistant Professor Shweta Producer Co. Ltd.
Mittal of Institute of Man-
agement & Research, Gha-
ziabad, India, Associate It was March 28, 2015. Pankaj Kanaklal Shah, founder of ‘Qasab’,
Professor Vishal Gupta of
Indian Institute of Manage- was sitting in his office and taking stock of the organization’s
ment Ahmedabad, India and journey so far. ‘Qasab,’ a producer company had 1,200 rural
Assistant Professor Manoj
Motiani of Indian Insti- craftswomen from 11 ethnic communities. ‘Qasab’ since 1997,
tute of Management Indore, had redefined, reinterpreted and repositioned the traditional
India, as a basis for class-
room discussion rather than embroideries of each ethnic community. It had taken to market
to illustrate either effective
or ineffective handling of an
the distinct characteristics of each community’s embroidery
administrative or business style and had brought together individual artisans to create a
situation.
collective enterprise. Qasab’s products reflected the traditional
Please address all correspon- embroidery styles of the ‘Harijan-Meghwars’, ‘Kutchhi-Rabaris’,
dence to Associate Professor
Vishal Gupta, Organizational ‘Sodha-Rajputs’, ‘Mutwas’, ‘Dhaneta-Jats’, and ‘Sindhi-Memon’ —
Behaviour Area, Indian Insti- some of the ethnic groups in Kutch. According to Pankaj,
tute of Management Ahmed-
abad, Vastrapur, Ahmedabad Qasab had done well so far and he wondered how to scale up
– 380015, Gujarat, India. the operations to a higher level.
E-mail: vishal@iimahd.ernet.in

BACKGROUND: GEOGRAPHY AND LOCAL ARTS

Geography, Demographics, and Livelihoods

Kutch district of Gujarat consisted of 10 ‘Talukas’ (a group of

villages organized for revenue purposes and a sub-division of
a district) and accounted for 24% of the total land area of the
state. It was the largest district in India. Its geography was
characterized by an extreme ecological divide, with the sea to
the South and a vast desert expanse in the North. There were
more than 1.5 million people in Kutch. Owing to its largely

© 2018 by World Scientific Publishing Co. DOI: 10.1142/S0218927518500116

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 256  ACRJ

rural settlement patterns, the district had a very low popu-

lation density. Most ‘Kutchis’ were descendants of people
who had immigrated to the region in the last thousand years.
Kutch was home to different tribal groups that had migrated
from countries as diverse as present day Pakistan, Afghani-
stan, Russia, Turkey, Iran, and other areas in the Middle East
and Central Asia. Textiles as well as portable vessels, jewel-
lery, and items of clothing reflected their diversity as they
had evolved as per the needs of different tribes and different
times. Each ethnic community and tribal group had its own
lexicon of motifs and embroidery stitches. The beading styles
had come through the sea trade with other countries. The
traditional economic base of rural Kutch households was a
combination of dry-land agriculture and animal husbandry,
the productivity of which had been eroded due to frequent
droughts and environmental deterioration.

Handicraft and Embroideries

For centuries, embroideries and quilts had been made with

love and affection by the rural craftswomen in this region as
dowries as well as for personal use. A bride would proudly
carry to her in-laws’ house beautiful embroideries for her,
gifts for the groom and a quilt collection. The quilts were
kept stacked in their homes for use in winter with extra ones
for guests. This beautiful craft had been passed from gen-
eration to generation in Kutch by most of the ethnic com-
munities who had settled in Kutch in the last 400 to 500
years. Embroideries had become an integral part of their cul-
tural identity. Embroidery in Kutch, unlike other crafts like
weaving, block-printing, tie-dye, etc. (in which the artisans
used to make the products for the surrounding communities),
was utilized only for personal use, adorning their homes and
cattle, garments and to a large extent, for dowries and gifts
and was never meant for commercial sale.
The past century had seen a major upheaval in these
craft traditions and creations due to the influence of external
factors. The embroidery and other crafts of Kutch started

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 QASAB: KUTCH CRAFTSWOMEN’S PRODUCER CO. LTD.  257

getting exposed to the outside world after the 1950s when

tourists, researchers, anthropologists, craft collectors and craft
lovers started discovering Kutch and the craft traditions of
its various ethnic communities. Visitors, fascinated with the
embroideries, started offering money to buy these priceless
creations. This laid the first seeds of the commercialization of
the embroideries. With growing urbanization, these commu-
nities were forced to live in their regions and find alternative
ways of income in times of drought. This affected their live-
lihood prospects and with modernization the costs of living
were also increasing.
Due to these circumstances, these communities who
had never sold their embroideries were compelled to do so
to survive the frequent droughts that occurred in this region.
The unrelenting consecutive droughts of 1985–88 led to a
massive commercialization of handicrafts as more and more
families started depending on these for survival. So, a craft
that had been so far practiced only for personal use, gradu-
ally found its way into the markets more by default than by
design. This, in time, led to an unplanned market growth,
leading to many inequities, with the sprouting of middlemen
and traders, depriving the craftspeople of the real worth of
their creations.

Initiatives to Organize Craftsmen

The governments of India and of the state of Gujarat came

up with various schemes for the promotion and develop-
ment of handicrafts as a cottage industry, providing artisans
with facilities to go out to the big cities of India and sell their
craft through fairs and exhibitions organized/supported by
them. The Government of Gujarat set up the Gujarat State
Handloom and Handicrafts Development Corporation Limited
(GSHHDC) that set up selling outlets in the big cities of India
under the name of ‘Gurjari’ and organized procurement of
craftwork from the interior regions of Kutch. With its entry,
the scale of handicraft production in Kutch expanded greatly
and a proper system for the marketing of handicrafts did

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 258 ACRJ

come up. While the intention of the Government was to reach

out to handicraft artisans and give them livelihood oppor-
tunities, the artisans were not equipped to scale up the craft
activity in a short span of time. With a sudden boom, the
focus was more on quantity than on quality, which led to
quick and mass production.
Embroidery, done in Kutchi homes primarily for per-
sonal use, was not initially looked upon as marketable. When
a limited market for embroidery did open up, middlemen
came to dominate the picture, which meant that no proper
benchmark was set for prices. Some of the male artisans
from the embroidery-rich areas who went to fairs and exhi-
bitions carried the embroideries with them and soon ended
up selling the embroideries made by the women. They would
take market orders, go back to the villages and commis-
sion women to do embroideries for them for meager wages,
making huge profits in the process and giving back very little
to the women who created those pieces, nowhere near the
true worth of their craft.
In this period, an industrial group from Kutch set up a
trust for developing the embroidery craft for organized mar-
keting and created a new avenue for the artisans. Gradu-
ally, other development initiatives started too. GSHHDC also
wanted to know about the ground realities of embroidery
artisans and requested a Development Support Organization
to help them in this process. This led to the formation of
the ‘Kutch Mahila Vikas Sangathan’ (KMVS), a development
organization that was started by a group of young women
in collaboration with the rural women of Kutch, sponsored
by the GSHHDC, Gujarat Women and Child Development
Corporation and ‘Jan Vikas’, Ahmedabad.
KMVS registered itself in 1989 as a Society and Trust
to enable rural women to take charge of their own develop-
ment, question their own condition and position as women,
and discover solutions within themselves for their socio-
economic development. It also supported them in focusing
on traditional occupations, setting up village-level collectives
and building up capacities through training, education and
awareness programs. The artisan members were organized

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 QASAB: KUTCH CRAFTSWOMEN’S PRODUCER CO. LTD.  259

to scrutinize their craft skills and build their capacities for

working as artisan-entrepreneurs and not lowly-paid piece-
rate workers. The larger collective of KMVS worked on dif-
ferent issues concerning the lives of its rural members and
started programs for health and, education, and to deal with
environmental, legal and self-government issues. Handicraft
activities were a subset of its larger activities/cause, the first
point of intervention in the community for a larger, long-term
transformation. The issues surrounding handicrafts provided
a platform to draw connections with the other economic,
social and political dimensions framing women’s lives.

GENESIS OF ‘QASAB’

By 1996, KMVS had to re-think the craft activity as orders to

the women from GSHHDC (which was so far taking care of
the markets for the embroidery craftswomen organized by
KMVS) had reduced considerably. A market system had to
be created that would not be dependent on just one source,
namely the GSHHDC. Due to the commercialization between
the sixties and the nineties, the quality of craft work had gone
down considerably. The artisans did not get an opportunity
to express themselves and were under pressure to produce
more quantity rather than focussing on quality, leading to
repetitive work. As the artisans were not involved in the com-
plete operation starting from production, costing, designing,
development, pricing a product and meeting the needs of
market, the original craft was distorted and eroded due to
rampant commercialization. This gave very little opportunity
for craftspeople to express their creativity.
Pankaj Shah set up Qasab in 1997 to provide business
support to the craftswomen and create sustainable livelihood
opportunities for embroidery craftswomen in the remote
areas of Kutch. He wanted to look into new market develop-
ment and revitalize the embroidery craft of Kutch and repo-
sition its cultural diversity. As a Kutchi, who had a business
background with interest in development activities, Qasab
was his initiative to re-interpret the traditional crafts for

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 260  ACRJ

contemporary markets. He was joined by Mina Raste, one of

the founder members of KMVS, who also had specific interest
and skill in craft development and by then had built an in-
depth understanding of rural communities and their craft
traditions. Pankaj’s main aim was to revive the art of the 11
communities which had been lost in the mass production of
the handicrafts. Mina started working closely with the arti-
sans, talking to the elderly women to understand their com-
munity art and revive it. Pankaj started understanding the
market needs, customer expectations, building the product
range and sending the consignment. In the end, he would
close the loop by taking the customer feedback and kept
pushing his artisans to improve quality. The foundations of
‘Qasab’ were laid on three main factors:
1.  Better price for the customers (value for money);
2.  Better returns for the artisans;
3.  Profitability for ‘Qasab’ in order to make it sustainable.
‘Qasab’ chose to develop and grow the traditional crafts
of these Kutchi women not just as a means of livelihood, but
also to revive traditional Kutchi art. It went back to the roots
of the embroidery of practicing communities and re­created
the original forms that had actually given way to low
quality work. The artisan never had an opportunity to create
a craft of his own which could become a means of his self-
expression.
‘Qasab’ was formed as a collective enterprise com-
prising around 1,200 rural craftswomen from 11 ethnic com-
munities, spread across 62 villages in the interiors of Kutch,
channelizing time, honouring skills by providing dignified
income, and sustaining and growing their centuries old cul-
tural craft. Exhibit 1 provides a description of the communi-
ties that were catered to by ‘Qasab.’ The essence of ‘Qasab’
was ‘art revival and preservation’. According to Pankaj, “The
main aim of ‘Qasab’ is to preserve traditional art and make
them economically feasible. ‘Qasab’ is an organization made
for artisans and by the artisans. It works on making them
self-reliant by earning through the traditional art and making
their identity through the skill. It is a grass-roots organization

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 QASAB: KUTCH CRAFTSWOMEN’S PRODUCER CO. LTD.  261

whose main focus is to bring the creative empowerment among

the women artisans.”

QASAB’S PRICING AND MARKETING MODEL

‘Qasab’ had a retail outlet in the city of Bhuj in Gujarat to

display the work of its artisans. This would give visitors a
feel for the original embroideries of Kutch as also the other
products that ‘Qasab’ was producing (Exhibit 2). Pankaj’s
prime challenge was to price the handicraft according to
the effort put in by the community/artisans. The price was
dependent on the artisanal work, raw material, tailoring, and
the overhead costs. So, he developed a system where the
pricing was done by taking into account of the complexity of
the stitches, how much time it took to create one piece, how
innovative the design was, and finally the overheads. ‘Qasab’s
pricing later started acting as a reference point and a bench-
mark for other artisans; they would not accept less than this
price from the middlemen.
Initially, Pankaj faced resistance from artisans as to why
they should be a part of ‘Qasab’. He had to convince them
that ‘Qasab’ was working for enabling them and their com-
munities to be the true owners and drivers of their own craft,
rather than they working as job workers for traders and/or
middlemen, allowing their centuries old craft to be distorted
in the commercialization process. They could create their own
wealth and work for themselves. ‘Qasab’ was thus established
as a producer company. Exhibit 3 provides excerpts from the
Memorandum of Association and Articles of Association of
‘Qasab.’ In this company, the artisans were the shareholders
and only a shareholder could become the Director. The profits
were distributed equitably among the women artisans. Pankaj
was happy to state that, “In Qasab, Kutchi women are not
portrayed as poor women but are recognised for the merit
of their work. Qasab created a niche in the market for
the artisans who had no formal education in design and
quality. This was possible by building systems which were
sustainable through economies of scale, teamwork, and a

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 262  ACRJ

cooperative framework. A critical mass of artisans and

embroidery produce was created to reach a break-even and
take the business forward in a sustainable way.”
The embroidery/applique was a secondary/part-time
occupation for most of the artisans (craftswomen), who did
this work in their spare time, because of which it was diffi-
cult to get products made and delivered within strict dead-
lines. Hand embroidery work was intense and strenuous and
it was difficult to work for more than three to four hours a
day. So, Pankaj created a system where artisans were given
the freedom to work from home, at flexible timings, to do
the work that they were already skilled at (as embroidery
was a tradition in these communities) and manage home and
work efficiently, for which they got fair wages. Apart from
this, he inculcated the business sense among the artisans by
creating each community as a cost center where they were
also responsible for their failure. He developed and catego-
rized expenditure heads that made them aware of efficiency
in operation to attain profitability. This made them realize
where the money that they earned from their work was going
to. They got an understanding of raw material and value
addition costs, operational overheads and total costs that
were involved in making their embroidery saleable in market.
This kind of transparency in sharing accounts also made arti-
sans realize that they were getting a fair remuneration for the
work they did.
Exhibit 4 gives a description of ‘Qasab’s business
model. ‘Qasab’ knew that new horizons had to explored for
creating markets for traditional work and the craft would
have to be redefined to cater to the needs of contemporary
markets. With the growth of new markets, the enterprise
brought in designers who could contemporise the art and
still retain its originality. The organization created a creative
economy where the design and craft were embedded together
and the skills of the artisans were valued. Over time, it had
developed the ability to interpret the market requirements
and customize the product based on market requirements. In
a relatively short span of 5 years, it had spread its work to
different countries (Exhibit 5).

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 QASAB: KUTCH CRAFTSWOMEN’S PRODUCER CO. LTD.  263

QASAB’S HR CHALLENGES

As ‘Qasab’ started growing, it needed people but found it

really hard to find people who were willing to work in such
extreme conditions, travel in the hot summers, and be able to
connect with the artisans who lived in a very different world.
The remuneration was also not comparable to the corporate
sector.
So, Qasab started involving the community and identi-
fying people who had leadership qualities who could discuss
deadlines, market requirements, quality issues, etc. with the
artisans. The organization needed people for bookkeeping,
but the work was entirely different from the manufacturing
industry as the material (cloth, threads, etc.) would go to dif-
ferent villages and would come back in different time lags.
So, they also needed to keep track of inventory. The organi-
zation wanted customized computer software which could
account for the different stages — production to sale — of
‘Qasab’s products so that inventory management became
easy. As the organization did not have any such software,
they had to enter various records manually in computers
and integrate the same in the final accounts. There was value
addition at every stage starting from raw material, printing,
artisan kit-preparation, artisanal work, finished product after
tailoring to other overhead costs. Again, all this varied across
different communities.
‘Qasab’ had a team of 18 people with 12,00 artisans.
Its organizational structure (Exhibit 6) was also in accor-
dance to the need of a system for inclusive growth involving
rural artisans. ‘Qasab’s culture ensured high retention of its
people. The recruitment system at ‘Qasab’ was robust where
they chose people who were inclined towards working in the
social sector and a passion for this kind of work. The orga-
nization provided a lot of flexibility to balance their personal
life and freedom in decision making, but no compromises
with quality were accepted. With this ethos, the Qasab team
worked with a deep sense of commitment, ownership and
pride in their work. Pankaj acquired the role of a mentor for

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 264  ACRJ

the new entrants and nurtured them on how to work in the

social sector.

QASAB’S SUCCESS STORY

Pankaj was successful in building ‘Qasab’, an organization

that had worked hard over the last seventeen years in re-
interpreting and re-positioning the traditional embroideries of
Kutch, building on the styles of each of its communities. One
major approach that ‘Qasab’ undertook was to highlight the
distinct and unique identity of each of the ethnic groups and
their embroidery styles through the artistic work — so that
the beautiful work was not just referred to as generic Kutchi
embroidery. The different communities had distinct embroi-
dery styles, which ‘Qasab’ insisted on maintaining (since the
embroideries were an integral part of their cultural identity).
‘Qasab’ had come to be known for its outstanding quality of
authentic Kutch embroidery, appliqué and patchwork prod-
ucts, the hallmark being the traditional motifs reflecting the
cultural identity of each community in contemporary designs
through items of premium quality. ‘Qasab’ had grown to
a collective enterprise comprising 1,200 rural master crafts-
women from 11 ethnic communities spread across 62 villages
in the arid interiors of Kutch and had been formally struc-
tured and registered as a Producer Company owned by tra-
ditional craftswomen. Exhibit 7 provides the profit and loss
statements of ‘Qasab.’
In each of the communities where ‘Qasab’ worked, it
created a team of artisans. The design team worked with
each community to develop products for the urban market.
The artisans participated in the designing so that they were
empowered by their own creative capabilities. There were
conscious effort to link tradition to a contemporary market
context. The classic collection of ‘Qasab’ included hand-
embroidered cushion covers, bags, pouches, leather and
embroidery wallets, and travel holders, which were popular
gifting and lifestyle products that were sold in India and
overseas. The returns from the sale of products went directly

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 QASAB: KUTCH CRAFTSWOMEN’S PRODUCER CO. LTD.  265

to the makers and the surplus generated from their business

after the deduction of their running expenses was re-invested
in the development activities of their craft. Also, a portion of
the money was distributed to its members as dividend based
on their contribution (in proportion to the amount of work
they did) during that period. Exhibit 8 provides the details
of sales and expenses for one of the communities catered to
by ‘Qasab.’ The exhibit provides a description of how sales,
expenses and inventory were tracked for each community.
This information was then used as an input for deciding the
payoff for the respective community.
Thanks to Qasab’s sustained efforts over the years, the
craftswomen had helped each other and their communities
extricate themselves from a vicious downward spiral of com-
mercial exploitation by middlemen and traders. They had
made ‘Qasab’ the enterprise which had solely focused on cul-
tural identity, quality, artisanal pride, better returns to arti-
sans, creating collectiveness within traditional communities,
value for money to customers, enhancing the value of tradi-
tional craft and creating equitable opportunities for traditional
embroidery craftswomen to earn a dignified income working
from their homes at their own pace and convenience as its
core values (Exhibit 9).

THE WAY FORWARD

Pankaj was happy that systems had been built where arti-
sans could have a sense of pride and dignity by earning from
home. Earning their livelihood had given the craftswomen a
sense of freedom and respect. Qasab had made it possible for
them work on something they liked. It empowered its arti-
sans to move away from being just job workers to be masters
of their own craft. It developed its artisans as craft entrepre-
neurs with complete creative freedom. While a lot had been
achieved, Pankaj still had some questions which were unan-
swered. How could he involve the younger generation in this
field? How could he conserve tribal art forms? How could he
scale up the work ‘Qasab’ was doing?

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Exhibit 1
Description of Ethnic Communities Served by Qasab

There are 6 ethnic communities of rural Kutch that are currently part of Qasab. These are:

1. DanetaJat (Sub-caste of Muslim)

2. Sindhi Memon (Sub-caste of Muslim)
3. Sodha Rajput (Sub-caste of Hindu)
4. KutchiRabari (Sub-caste of Hindu)
5. HarijanMeghwar (Sub-caste of Hindu)
6. Mutwa (Sub-caste of Muslim)
A brief description of some of the communities is as follows:

DanetaJat:
Jats are very conscious of their identity as a group. Their embroidery is exquisite labor intensive
embroidery. The power of Jat embroidery comes largely from the closely stitched patterns that
completely cover the cloth. They take pride in the fact that their “stitches outlive the cloth on which
they are sewn”. In this community the marital status of a woman is identified by the costume she
is wearing.

Sindhi Memon:
Sindhi Memon embroidery is done by the Sindhi Memon community who migrated from Sindh
in Pakistan many years back and settled in Kutch. This is a Muslim tribe and they do mostly
floral motifs. They do very fine embroidery with single thread. The traditional occupation of the
men of this community is trading of bullocks from Kutch. The women of this community do this
embroidery and they save for buying jewellery from the income nowadays. Traditionally the
embroidery was done only for their personal use, weddings, dowries etc.

Sodha Rajput:
In this community women wear an embroidered Choli and Jacket which is a two piece costume,
after their marriage. The widow women wear plain cloth mainly in black, blue or maroon color.
Their embroidery style is mainly referred to as Pakko embroidery (which is predominantly used)
and also comprises of other stitches such as Neran, Kharek, Kambhiri.

Rabari:
Embroidery is an integral part of a Rabari’s life. They consider their Kapdu (Choli) their most
important art form because of its heavily embroidered ornamentation. The Rabari Women wear
woolen Penu (Skirts), Kapdu and a Loni (Veil) to cover their heads and shoulders.Mostly all the
age group women wear the embroidered cloths. Intensity of the embroidery vary based on age and
marital status i.e., unmarried girls wear the Kapdu (Blouse) that is un-pleated, married women
wear the Kapdu (Blouse) that is pleated and the widows wear the simple black woolen dress.

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 QASAB: KUTCH CRAFTSWOMEN’S PRODUCER CO. LTD.  267

Exhibit 1 (Continued)
HarijanMeghwar:
The women of HarijanMeghwal community are highly skilled embroiderers. Just as we learn to
write each letter before making a word, they learn each stitch to make the pattern. They follow their
mother and learn their designs slowly. In this community women wear embroidered costumes
after their marriage; but widows also wear embroidery with lesser embroidery. Their motifs are
bright, bold and colorful. Embroidery styles are mainly Pakko, Neran, Kharek and Kambhiri.

Mutwa:
Their embroidery is very unique with its highly intricate work with tiny mirrors. Mostly married
women wear the embroidered Kanjries. The exquisite work with tiny mirrors distinguishes their
embroidery from all the other embroideries. Their motifs are only floral as Islamic communities
refrain from depicting human or animal forms on their embroideries.
Source: Qasab Internal Documentation

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 268  ACRJ

Exhibit 2

Qasab — Product Details

The Qasab product line comprises top quality items featuring authentic Kutchi embroidery
applique and patchwork. Currently, Qasab products are available in the following categories:

Art Panels: The distinct embroidery styles of each community developed to create exquisite art
panels. These are rare works of art — whose value will appreciate with time.

Product List: Art panels.

Lifestyle products: Traditional and contemporary — the collection of lifestyle products has
something for every taste ranging from an array of pouch-bags, handbags, sling bags, dolls,
pencil cases, to coin purses.

Product list: Pouches, handbags, sling bags, dolls, pencil cases, coin purses.

Home Furnishings: Adds a touch of character to any living space.

Product list: Bed-spreads, quilts, cushion covers.

Leather Products: A collection of exquisite luxury accessories in leather.

Product list: Embroidery passport and travel holders, credit card cases, wallets, bags.
Source: Qasab Brochure

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 QASAB: KUTCH CRAFTSWOMEN’S PRODUCER CO. LTD.  269

Exhibit 3

Key Excerpts from Memorandum of Association and Articles of Association of Qasab

After establishing itself as an enterprise, Qasab was registered as a Producer Company in which
only artisans would be shareholders, to ensure that ownership of the enterprise remained with the
artisans. A structure was thus created to ensure that the artisans were able to collectively own the
enterprise and create capital for growth of their enterprise for a brighter future of their craft and
community. The key values were incorporated in the Memorandum and Articles of Association
of the Company, so that they did not just remain ideal philosophy, but were translated to reality
through a legally binding structure. The values, mission and vision as had been envisaged are
reflected in the Memorandum and Articles of Association of the Company, key aspects of which
are highlighted in excerpts from the MOA and AOA as below:

The producer company was registered in 2010 under The Companies Act, 1956: COMPANY
LIMITED BY SHARES

MEMORANDUM OF ASSOCIATION OF QASAB–KUTCH CRAFTSWOMEN’ PRODUCER

COMPANY LIMITED

I. The Name of the Company is QASAB–KUTCH CRAFTSWOMEN’ PRODUCER COMPANY

LIMITED. The Registered Office of the Company will be situated in the State of Gujarat.

The Objects for which the Company is established are:

1. To carry on the business of producing, marketing and selling crafts products which involves
Production management, Merchandising, Quality Control, Product Development, Design
Development, Value Addition, Archival Development, Market Linkages, Infrastructure
Development, Financial management in respect of craft products, Selling, Export Produce
of the Members or Import of goods or services and whatever is required to carry on these
activities for the benefit of members. Provided that the Producer Company may carry on any
of the activities specified in this clause either by itself or through other institution;
2. To promote the enterprise of women artisans of Kutch by undertaking trade, exhibition,
promotional work and thereby strengthening livelihood options of women artisans of Kutch;
3. To export from India material, goods and articles whether raw, semi-finished or finished to all
parts of the world;
4. To create a socially relevant business, which is working on reviving and sustaining the
traditional crafts of Kutch and benefiting the larger community through its activity;
5. To have craftswomen as direct stakeholders in the enterprise;
6. To create a marketing operation that is appropriate for the times;
7. To benchmark standards for crafts Quality, design, artisans remunerations and pricing;
8. To render technical services, consultancy services, training, research and development and all
other activities for the welfare and promotion of the interests of its members;
9. To improve crafts skill through trainings of existing and new artisans, involving new generation
in the crafts activity;

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Exhibit 3 (Continued)
10. To promote techniques of mutuality and mutual assistance;
11. To empower craftswomen through support activities and carry out developmental activities
benefiting women artisans of Kutch;
12. To provide welfare measures / facilities benefiting Members as may be decided by the Board;
13. To help artisans improve on their social and economic status and further establish their identity
on global stage;
14. Manufacture, sale or supply of machinery, equipment or consumables mainly to its Members;
15. To channelize surplus profit after dividend distribution to the members of the company for
need based regional development, prioritizing women issues as may be decided by the Board;
16. Any other activity ancillary or incidental to any of the above mentioned activities (1-15) or
other activities, which promotes the principles of mutuality and mutual assistance amongst
the members in any other manner.

Excerpts from Articles of Association regarding membership norms and utilization of surplus
generated from business of the company:

“Craftswoman” means a woman who belongs to indigenous or ethnic communities , such as

Meghwar, Rabari, Sodha Rajput, Jadeja, Mutwa, Jat, Sindhi Memon, Halepotra, Pathan, Sama,
SamejaRaisipotra, Node, Ahir, Sambha, etc… settled in Kutch and for whom embroideries such
as Pakko, Neran, Kharek, Kambhiro, Sebha, Soof, Jat embroidery, Mutwa embroidery, Rabari
embroidery is part of her culture and have tradition of doing embroidery which has been passed
on from generation to generation also any woman not belonging to any of the above referred
indigenous or ethnic communities but if she has gained expertise in one or more of the above said
embroidery work that the Board of Directors is satisfied so shall also deemed as a craftswoman.

Any surplus arising out of the operations of the Producer Company should be distributed in an
equitable manner by:
A. providing for the development of the business of the Producer Company;
B. providing for common facilities;
C. distributing amongst the Members, as may be admissible in proportion to their respective
participation in the business; and
D. for need based or proactive craft development activities, prioritizing women issues or other
issues related to the development of crafts & women, as may be found proper by the Board of
Directors and approved in the general meeting.
Source: Qasab Kutch Craftswomen’ Producer Co. Ltd’s Memorandum of Association document.

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 QASAB: KUTCH CRAFTSWOMEN’S PRODUCER CO. LTD.  271

Exhibit 4

Qasab’s Business Model

Market  / end users
Producers / Artisans‐Cultural  Centralised  Operations  System‐
Direct‐Retailers/Re‐sellers
Communities At HQ‐ BHUJ
NATIONAL‐‐INTERNATIONAL

Production‐Home based (De‐ Inventory Sales and Marketing‐

Value Addition
centralised, Multi‐Location) Quality Control  Centralised‐ HQ‐BHUJ 

Revenue Flows
Value Proposition: Leveraging the rich heritage of cultural craft and traditional embroidery skills of ethnic communities  
to offer unique, meaningful aesthetic products (which cannot be industrially made) to a diverse set of users in the 
market. While artisans earn regular & higher income through their traditional skills, users gain a product with deeper 
sense of meaning and participation in socio‐development of rural communities and preservation of rich culture and 
heritage ‐ creating long lasting bonds between makers and users in the process.

B2C –
B2B – 40%
60%
QASAB
Market / 
Channels

• Producer company: A • B2B and B2C Model (60:40)

• 1200 master artisans, 11 ethnic
collective enterprise owned • Different Channels: Retailers,
communities, 65 villages in arid
by artisans and managed by re‐sellers, wholesalers,
interiors of Kutch
a professional team. exhibitions and direct retail
• Product range: Both traditional
• Key Functions: purchase and • Niche Market / Segments of
and contemporary, high quality
inventory management, art lovers, boutiques,
lifestyle embroidery products
design , quality control, designers, DIY market
retaining cultural identity and
marketing and financial segments etc.
integrity of communities
management

Source: Qasab Internal Document

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Exhibit 5

Spread of Qasab’s Market

Source: Qasab Internal Document

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 QASAB: KUTCH CRAFTSWOMEN’S PRODUCER CO. LTD.  273

Exhibit 6

Organizational Structure of Qasab

Source: Qasab Internal Document

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 274  ACRJ

Exhibit 7

Profit and Loss Account Statements of ‘Qasab’for Last 3 Financial Years

(all figures in INR)

Particulars 2013-14 2012-13 2011-12
1. REVENUE FROM OPERATION 1,15,00,950 80,84,273 92,89,190
2. OTHER INCOME (net) 1,29,734 1,00,104 76,022
TOTAL INCOME = A
1,16,30,684 81,84,377 93,65,212
3. EXPENSES
Cost of material consumed 15,22,663 15,97,492 29,77,875
Purchase of stock-in-trade 18,210 0 1,005,563
changes in inventories of finished goods, work in- 687,026 (942,858) (1,940,594)
progress and stock-in-trade
Employee benefits expenses 16,64,640 13,72,252 14,54,767
Other Direct Expenses 30,81,848 27,31,655 31,19,004
Operation and other expenses 38,67,311 32,11,602 27,78,941
Finance costs 1,227 1,017 1,045
Depreciation and amortisation expenses 93,806 88,083 67,838
TOTAL EXPENSES = B 1,09,36,731 80,59,243 94,64,439
4. PROFIT BEFORE TAX (A-B) 6,93,953 1,25,134 -99,227
5. TAX EXPENSES:
(a) Current tax 218596 5,337 0
(b) Deferred Tax Liability/(Asset) -2333 29,781 (25,577)
(c) Fringe benefit tax 11,354 0
(d) MAT credit entitlement

TOTAL TAX 2,16,263 46,472 -25,577

6. PROFIT FOR THE YEAR BEFORE MINORITY 477691 78,662 -73,650
INTEREST
AND SHARE OF LOSS OF ASSOCIATE
7. MINORITY INTEREST 0 0 0
8. SHARE OF LOSS OF ASSOCIATE 0 0 0
9. PROFIT FOR THE YEAR 477691 78,662 -73,650
10. EARNINGS PER EQUITY SHARE 290.92 76.89 -
(a) Basic
(b) Diluted 290.92 76.89 -
Source: Qasab Internal Document

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 QASAB: KUTCH CRAFTSWOMEN’S PRODUCER CO. LTD.  275

Exhibit 8

A Sample of Community-Wise (‘Mutwa’ Group) Accounting for Last 3 Years

Financial Years
Sr.No Particulars
2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 Total
A. Sales
A-1 Exhibitions
20,925 3,340 25,930 50,195
A-2 Nootan Colony
25835 13,090 12,865 51,790
A-3 Office Outlet/Order/Job Work 50,095 26,110 2,04,100 2,80,305
A-4 Outlet 1 36,095 7,595 70,865 1,14,555
A-5 Outlet 2 - 860 680 1,540
Total Sales 1,32,950 50,995 3,14,440 4,98,385
B. Expenses
B-1 Artisan Incentives 2,785 1,600 - 4,385
B-2 Artisan Payment (Including Skill Test) 36,825 32,000 45,780 1,14,605
B-3 Printing Expenses 1,345 650 1,314 3,309
B-4 Stitching Expenses 5,240 3,170 11,877 20,287
B-5 Dying Expenses 185 910 607 1,702
B-6 Discounts On Sales/Miscellaneous Expenses 1,431 360 2,060 3,851
B-7 Material Transportation - 69 294 362
B-8 Misc. Processing Expenses 32 242 1,000 1,275
B-9 Administration Expenses 10,033 3,928 16,491 30,452
B-10 Auditors Remuneration 360 362 1,483 2,206
B-11 Consultancy 13,840 7,350 32,212 53,403
B-12 Design Development Expenses 779 164 620 1,563
B-13 Exhibition Expenses 4,970 1,260 2,861 9,090
B-14 Marketing Expenses ( Includeds Outlet
7525 2, 556 16,595 26,677
Renovation)
B-15 Packing Material & Dispatch 843 325 1,189 2,357
B-16 Other Consultancies & ROC Expenses. - 115 41 156

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 276  ACRJ

Exhibit 8 (Continued)

B-17 Staff Salary & Benefit 25,017 10,940 47,002 82,959

B-18 Training & Workshops 601 166 679 1,447
B-19 Traveling & Transportation 3,479 1,782 7,724 12,986
B-20 Loss Due to Inventory Shortage/Discarded
481 2,751 3,233
Raw Material -
B-21 Bad Debt - 23 750 773
B-22 Other Tax Provisions 676 302 - 978
B-23 Professional Tax 49 7 27 82
B-24 Depreciation 377 573 2,549 3,499
Total Expenses 1,16,393 69,337 1,95,906 3,81,636
C. Details of Inventory
C-1 Total Unfinished Goods Made – ‘Mutwa’
377 221 290 888
group
C-2 Total Finished Goods – ‘Mutwa’ group 141 114. 192 447
C-3 Total Sold Items of ‘Mutwa’ Group 179 125 386 690

D. Closing Stock in Hand (In Rupees)

D-1 Finish Goods 23,062 7,702
D-2 Un-Finish Goods 35,527 65,728
D-3 Printing Pieces 74 1,304
D-4 Ready Kits ( Including WIP) 11,993 14,395
 Total Closing Stock 70,656 89,129
Source: Qasab Internal Document

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Exhibit 9

Photographs of Happy Craftswomen Receiving Their Payments.

Source: Qasab Internal Document

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