Crafts Council of India

CRAFT ECONOMICS AND IMPACT STUDY

Volume 1:
Stage 1 & Stage 2

April 2011





















Today, an argument, an attitude faces crafts and artisans in India. This is the
argument of economics, of sustainability, of marketability, which is the argument of
financial survival...(But) those who believe that crafts are only about beauty and
aesthetics are in error, just as those who believe in the other argument, the economic
argument, and think that paying for itself is the sole justification, are wrong...The
hard argument, the real argument, which overrides all others, is not exclusively about
sentiment or reason but about common sense. And that common sense tells that
whatever we do in terms of economic planning and development in India, there will
always be several hundred million people in this country, the figure being unverified,
who cannot but live with and through the work of their hands. Now it is a great
compensation of nature that these hundreds and millions of people have talent in their
hand, which the assembly-liners and the free-marketers do not quite concede. And
that talent is the unexplored reservoir which needs to be used for their good which
means the greater good of the great number of the people of India.

Gopalkrishna Gandhi

The pretentiousness of the culture of development has given way to a deepening of
meditative engagements and dialogues with other cultural traditions....The UN report
of the World Commission on Culture and Development (1995) has made a solemn and
sombre admission that many development projects had failed because the importance
of culture had been underestimated. ....Culture, which is the soul of development, can
no longer be ignored and needs to be explicitly stated in the notion of human
development.
UN Report of the World Commission on Culture and Development

There is a mistaken notion, common to economists and planners, that culture is
something which needs to be preserved. The truth is that culture IS the preservative.
Culture is the glue that holds people together as a community and as a humane
society, not mere economic growth.
Prof. Krishna Kumar

It is time to move away from the fetish with fiscal figures.
Amartya Sen














Contents

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1

A. INTRODUCTION 5
1. The handicrafts sector
2. The CEIS effort
3. Recognition demands visibility, visibility requires data
4. The need for cultural statistics
5. Linking experience and learning

B. THE ISSUE 9
1. Handicrafts: The opportunity and the case
1.1 Opportunity: Scale and strategic significance
1.2 The hidden crisis
1.3 Arguing the case: Attitudes, skills, employment
1.4 Arguing the case: Data as a starting point
2. Governance issues
3. Cultural economics

C. THE STUDY 23
1. The Study: Purpose and logic
2. Definition of crafts
3. Developing a methodology
4. Outcomes of Stage 1: Secondary study
5. Major findings of Stage 2: Household study
6. A first sharing

D. NEXT STEPS 31
Stages 3 & 4: Extending the cluster studies

E. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 32

F. ANNEXES
Annex 1. CEIS project definitions of handicrafts and artisans 33
Annex 2. Outcomes of Secondary Data Analysis 36
(Extracts from CEIS Volume 2, First Stage Report)
Annex 3. Select bibliography 61
Annex 4. Terms used/Conversions 66



























































1

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The Crafts Council of India (CCI) undertook this Craft Economics and Impact Study
(CEIS) to address the crisis of unawareness and misunderstanding that faces the
handicraft sector, the largest source of Indian employment after agriculture. The
objective of this effort is to suggest a methodology that can provide authorities with a
robust and reliable data-base for a sector that some estimates place at involving 200
million persons. Such a foundation for knowledge and action is missing today. As a
consequence, Indias artisans are in acute distress, despite the sectors remarkable
growth. Things cannot change unless accurate data is available to inform better
decisions and plans to lift the future of the sector, and of all those who work in it. The
Craft Economics and Impact Study (CEIS) attempts preliminary enquiries in this
direction. Initial work on the Study had to factor in several aspects and challenges in
entering a field which has remained relatively untouched as an area of economic
research and inquiry. Despite these influences and the constraints of experience and
resources, CCI believes that this Study can now lead the way to a methodology and a
national study by the Government of India that can help transform the sector as well
as the economy of which it is a part.

The CEIS involved a review of secondary data and sector literature (refer section C.4
in this Study), followed by a limited cluster study and sample household enumeration
(refer section C.5) in Karur (Tamil Nadu) and Kutch (Gujarat). Findings have
included the importance of crafts to social and political stability, the major role of
women suggesting a level of almost 50% and higher in key craft processes, strong
hereditary patterns as well as new mobility, considerable dynamism in adapting to
change, and changing patterns of remuneration (despite the dominance of piece-rate
payment), entrepreneurship and skill within craft communities. The Study has also
revealed various levels or grades of skills and roles within the sector, a key issue little
understood outside the artisan community.

A first sharing of outcomes 9 (refer section C.6) has been followed by recommended
next steps. These include a larger cluster study in the two locations, followed by a
2

further scaling-up in at least 50 craft clusters conducted in close cooperation with

data-gathering authorities. The outcome should then be incorporated into national
data-gathering and accounting practices. Other efforts are possible forthwith to
address the mounting distress among artisans, and to place them at the centre of new
approaches. A National Craft Perspective Plan should emerge to decisively improve
the economic, technical and social infrastructure available to artisans and speed their
access to entrepreneurship and markets.

In the course of investigations culminating in these outcomes, several key factors have
emerged which suggest the need to go beyond numbers, however important these are,
to a more holistic appreciation of what handcrafts have done and can do for India in a
new millennium. These factors include:
Widespread ignorance and confusion on what constitutes handicrafts, and on
its definition.

Wider ignorance and confusion on defining artisans. This is extended to
misunderstanding and neglect of their ongoing contribution to the national
economy, as well of their potential as an engine for national growth and
sustainability. This crisis reflects the poor quality and limitations of current
data that is available to guide decisions that affect the sector and the millions
who work within it.

Misunderstanding extends to the nature of artisanal work, which can be full-
time as well as a supplement to agriculture and other activity. There are
artisans who individually and with their families work full-time as artisans,
and part-time in agricultural production or by selling their labour. There are
artisans who work seasonally full-time and then combine their handcraft
production with work as rural labour. These distinctions are critical to any
understanding of the economics of the sector.

Past studies attempting to create data for the handicrafts sector have differed
widely in their results (see sections B.1.4 and C.4). Data available on the hand
sector is weak for several reasons, including the sectors own fluidity and the
dependence of national statistics on standard industrial classification codes
entirely biased towards formal industry. This is compounded by misleading
labels such as informal and unorganised, which disrespect age-old systems
of organisation and formality.

There is a need to situate and evaluate the hand sector within a regular,
national statistical accounting platform, freed from historical and
administrative quirks (refer sections B.1.4 and C.1). Until a robust and
reliable data base for Indian handicrafts is established, the nation will continue
to suffer a major cost of lost opportunities. Therefore an urgent requirement is
a detailed national estimation of the numbers of people deriving their incomes
3

primarily for hand manufacturing activity, and of their contribution to the

national economy. This information should incorporate the theoretical ground
established by the emerging discipline of cultural economics.

Better data and understanding also demand an acceptable definition of craft
and of the artisan, to replace the variety that now exist, and used to lift the
quality of national discussion of and planning for the sector (refer section C.2).

Notwithstanding these limitations, the sweep and potential of the sector is
incontrovertible in terms of employment, output, exports and growth (refer
section B.1.4).

Many industrial hubs and clusters have grown out traditional artisanal
strengths, and important examples exist of artisanal skills providing key
competitive strengths in precision engineering and other industries.

There is strong evidence that a more supportive policy and planning
environment would enable Indian artisans to provide the economy with key
drivers of specialisation and competence (relevant to both craft and
mechanised production), provide employment for millions while empowering
communities still on the margin of society including women and youth,
deliver income-generating options in rural settings where non-agricultural
opportunities are essential as a brake on forced migration, and do all these in
an environmentally sustainable manner with low energy needs and strong re-
cycling capabilities.

Opportunities within the phenomenal rise of the retail industry include the
growing consumer demand for green production, expanding tourism (domestic
as well as foreign visitors), growth in fashion and luxury markets, the potential
of e-commerce and increasing space for cultural goods in markets at home as
well as overseas. The global market for handicrafts is estimated at USD400B,
of which Indias shares is below 2%.

Stringent competition in home and export markets underlines the importance
of new marketing and distribution challenges which Indian artisans must be
assisted to overcome. These include better access to market trends, to urban
markets, to R&D (including design) resources that can help lift quality, and
better terms of trade.

There is a disconnect between official craft support schemes and the twin
realities of artisans motivations and the changing requirements of growing
markets that are increasingly more segmented. Policy and schemes have
largely subsidised and incentivised market players in preference to artisans,
often ignoring the incredible creativity that is vested in them and reaching only
a fraction of the millions working in this sector.

Government schemes are preoccupied with the export or market significance
of crafts identified through an archaic taxonomy. This anomaly continues in
the new approaches of working with clusters.

4

Artisans are now located at the bottom end of the value chain, facing a
multiplicity of challenges. These include a clash of value orientations which
can often be disruptive and debilitating for artisans suddenly transported lnto
modern markets.

The confusion is compounded by defining the value chain in either economic
terms or in historic terms e.g. Benares silk, Kanjeevaram silk. An artisan who
by this classification is not the producer of goods of privileged consumption, is
automatically devalued, almost dispensable, as though the artisans knowledge
and skill (such as the expertise in making the kullhar clay pot for tea) can be
acquired by just about everyone with no other livelihood option.

A synergy is needed between contemporary systems of economic analysis and
Indias systems of indigenous knowledge, which represent such a rich heritage
and invaluable resource.

There is a critical need to look beyond the singular preoccupation with GDP as
the sole basis for understanding growth if the nation is to counter increasing
evidence of mal-development in human and social terms.





















5

A. INTRODUCTION

1. The handicraft sector

Handicraft is the second largest source of employment in the country, after
agriculture. Yet Indias hand industries are in a crisis of misunderstanding.
Encouraging statistics of growth at the macro level often mask a tragic neglect at the
micro level. The centrality of hand production to national wellbeing is not
comprehended in most decision-making circles. There is neglect and ignorance of
how artisanal production such as the weaving of a sari or shawl or making the
utterly simple kullhar for drinking tea contains within itself the incredibly rich
philosophy of Indias civilisation, its culture and its practices. These persistent
misconceptions remain as hangovers of Indias colonial experience.

Because modernity has been primarily framed as an evolution or adoption of ideas
and ways of living that mimic the West, the products of the artisan are branded as
local, primitive, ethnic and similar adjectives that can denote qualitatively
inferior products when compared with machine-made, mass-produced objects of
uniform quality. Official support schemes, developed from policies that were
designed to transform India into modernity, therefore adopted the orientation that
artisans were persons who belonged to a pre-industrial past. From this an attitude
could quickly follow that they were liabilities on a strained exchequer. Sustaining
them was a burden dictated by the politics of poverty rather than the logic of
efficiency implicit in modern day economic theory.

There is thus neglect and ignorance of the value of artisanal production, its scale and
potential within rapidly changing markets, and its critical contribution to social and
environmental stability. Indias fabled wealth that attracted waves of conquerors,
merchants, speculators and adventurers was built on what it produced. This was not
agricultural commodities or raw materials, but the finest finished goods that fetched
huge premiums in global markets. Imperialism converted the production and trade in
Indian goods into the production of commodities and raw materials that could be
converted in the metropolitan economy and then sold back to the colonial market.
6

Mahatma Gandhis Swadeshi legacy attempted to transform these perceptions, leading
free India to include handcraft within the framework of national planning. Official
support schemes, often indifferently designed and reluctantly implemented, today
touch only a fraction of possibly 200 million or more engaged in craft activity. There
is despair, confusion and misery among millions of artisans faced with rapidly
changing markets, intense competition, decline of the natural materials on which they
depend, and the lack of the information and skills needed to benefit from new market
opportunities. Artisans are confronted by new challenges that include those associated
with technology, communication and intellectual property.

A key factor in this situation is the absence of reliable data that accurately reflects the
contribution of the hand sector to national employment, production and income.
Without such a foundation of knowledge and awareness, the political will is lacking
that can spur investment in the sectors growth, and thus help ensure its future
contribution to Indias economic, cultural, social, political and environmental
sustainability. There can be no excuse for the crisis in Indias handicrafts at a time
when opportunities have never been greater, and a global awakening exists of the
importance of artisans and the artisanal culture to a sustainable world order.


2. The CEIS effort

Recognising that a foundation of robust data for the sector is an essential yet missing
pre-condition for recognising crafts as an engine for economic growth and national
wellbeing, the Craft Council of India (CCI) met with senior planners and other
stakeholders in 2009 to investigate what could be done to remedy the lacuna. This
paper reports on the first steps toward innovating a methodology for data collection
which can help reframe the lenses through which the sector is perceived. It indicates
developmental directions which accord with new learning as well as with the need for
urgent resolution of the formidable barriers which today mask the great possibilities
within Indias second largest source of livelihood.

7

The Council commenced its Craft Economics and Impact Study (CEIS), described
in this report, in 2009-10 with the support of a small grant from the Sir Dorabji Tata
Trust. The study was conducted in two stages. The first stage included an
investigation of existing sources of information relating to the sector and dealing with
the challenge of defining handicrafts and artisans more accurately. The second stage
was composed of two parts: a limited cluster study followed by a sample household
enumeration in the two craft clusters of Karur district (Tamil Nadu) and Kutch district
(Gujarat). Findings were then shared with others in the sector, leading on to
recommendations of next steps toward improving national data-gathering systems.
These can then finally reflect the scale as well as the implications of an industry on
which millions now depend, and help ensures that Indian handicrafts emerge from
grey invisibility to recognition as a giant industry of immense national and global
significance. Several reforms immediately possible are also recommended.


3. Recognition demands visibility, visibility requires data

National planning is a huge and complex exercise. Large organised sectors receive
better attention than those considered less crucial because they are regarded as
informal or unorganised. The opportunity cost of this is enormous, as labels and
definitions often fail to respect the validity of indigenously organised, localised
production and distribution systems. The lack of awareness about the potential of
crafts for economic growth is rooted in the sectors invisibility resulting from
dispersion, and the consequent ignorance of size and scale. The crisis of data also
reflects a deeper problem in Indian planning. It has so far failed to bring together,
within current administrative structures, the range of economic, social, political,
environmental, cultural and ethical concerns that are required for nurturing crafts as a
sector of sectors of enormous future significance. The structural framework cannot
change until awareness does, in a typical chicken-and-egg syndrome.

Once a base of reliable data is established for the sector, priority may be achieved
through better informed decisions that can help ensure employment and a quality of
life for millions of Indians. This may finally translate pride in national heritage into
conditions for strengthening that heritage as a force for social and political stability,
for more equitable and inclusive growth, as well as for environmental sustainability at
a time of growing concern regarding natural resource management and climate
change. These factors came together to impel CCI to work with national authorities
and other partners toward developing a methodology that can provide a foundation of
data on Indias artisans and craft industries that is reliable, robust and accessible.




8

4. The need for cultural statistics

Planning begins with numbers. The UNESCO Framework for Cultural Statistics
provides a comprehensive starting point to comprehend and lay out the contours of an
exercise towards creating a reliable data-base that can reflect the true dimensions of
Indian craft. The CEIS study attempted to initiate preliminary methodological
enquiries in this direction. National accounting statistics and databases, built from the
Census and the National Sample Survey Organization (NSSO) do not enumerate
artisans or handicraft activity. Special studies occasionally commissioned by the
National Council for Applied Economic Research (NCAER) and other organisations
have often been reviewed unfavourably as differing widely in their results. The Office
of the Development Commissioner (Handicrafts) -- or DC (H) -- has often had to
function without a reliable database. It is presently engaged in an ongoing census
conducted through private partners. Welcome as this may be, the methodological
rigour and standardisation across these partners in difficult to comprehend through the
piecemeal data currently available on the DC (H) website that is not backed by
transparent detail or explanation.


5. Linking experience and learning

Classical narratives of economics have treated sectors such as small-holding
agriculture and artisanal handicraft as backward, and require them to yield place to
so-called modern sectors. Mindsets that treat hand production as primitive and as
sunset clearly point to their obliteration in a modern, shining India. This attitude of
disdain may account for the discontinuation of category codes under National
Industrial Classification (NIC) that once provided some reference markers that could
be used to assess the scale of hand production in India. In marked contrast to this
indifference in India, there is a global awakening to the limitations of conventional
approaches in economics which are fixated on particular statistics of growth such as
GDP. This is paralleled by an explosion of new literature on the critical place of
tradition and culture in human development. These and other linked learnings, which
are touched upon in this paper, provide a logical new approach to development. The
new learnings, and the preliminary findings from the CEIS contained here, assume
urgent criticality in the light of sustainability concerns and those of climate change. It
is therefore important that the links between experience and learnings are traced, and
space created for new approaches to Indian development within which the centrality
of crafts can be appreciated.



9

B. THE ISSUE

The handicrafts sector is large, and its growth performance, especially post
liberalisation, has been impressive. Despite this performance (and perhaps because of
it), the sector is taken for granted and remains much misunderstood. The governance
apparatus is fractured and mired in historical aberrations. Developmental policy to
date has marginalised its key asset: the artisan. Empowerment of the artisan can yield
considerably better growth rates. Past approaches should now yield to fresh
understanding stimulated by current findings in economics and social sciences.

The potential of the handicraft sector for greater growth also includes its ability to act
as a significant resource to modern sectors of the economy with knowledge, skills
and design --- a potential little recognised or used in contrast to other economies such
as those of Japan, Korea and Scandinavia. The challenges in the global economy
position the sector as a major resource of skills for innovation and creativity, capable
of lifting Indias global competitiveness. This strategy has to be very sensitively
researched and nurtured, just as Indias Asian and European competitors are now
doing.

1. Handicrafts: The opportunity and the case

The handicrafts sector, the second largest employer after agriculture, has also been the
fastest export growth sector since liberalisation. It is a documented source of deep
innovation and creativity. The wellspring of Indias identity as a civilisation, the
sector has been much misunderstood and marginalised following on colonisation and
growth aspirations modelled on the West. The fact is missed that the underlying
nature of crafts is that of a tradition that adapts to the contemporary, and can often
pale the modern in contrast. This is exemplified by many contemporary successes,
and a recorded history of being the source for much of modern industrial design. The
nature of such creative and cultural enterprises, and their centrality to developmental
processes, is now finding prominence in the literature of economics. This finding also
parallels recognition of the limits of market or technology-led theories that are so
often ignorant of and impatient with traditional modes of organising economic activity
10

efficiently and with indigenous knowledge. Yet handicrafts represent a treasure trove
of skills that can be readapted to ethnic produce as well as to modern sectors such as
precision engineering
1
. A combination of circumstances now makes it possible for
India to realise this new value from the sector, provided recognition of this potential
of the Indian artisan is unleashed through policy emphasis. One essential step toward
such recognition is reliable data on the scale and contribution of handicrafts and
artisans to the Indian economy. This is needed to stimulate the fresh attitudes and
investments which together can help India to optimise the contribution possible by
hand production and by the communities that have created hand producing goods
for the Indian market through millennia, underlying their relationship with national
wellbeing. The CEIS addresses this critical need, drawing attention to sources of
disparities and divergences in existing micro and macro data. A related need is to map
Indias artisanal technologies as a priority. Both data and mapping demand research
and understanding so that coherent planning becomes possible for the sector.

1.1 Opportunity: scale and strategic significance

Handicraft is a sector that has slipped through the cracks in Indias development
planning over many decades. This may in part be on account of a pre-occupation with
its cultural importance at the cost of a corresponding awareness of economic, social
and political dimensions. The case for the handicrafts sector rests on a conviction that
despite enormous challenges the hand sector sits on the verge of an explosive growth
due to a convergence of incremental inputs over the decades and new market
opportunities. Rightly recognised and supported, the opportunity can provide the
economy with key drivers of specialisation and competence in global manufacturing
and services, sustain and build employment for millions of citizens including those in
remote rural locations, empower vast number of citizens still on the margin, reinforce
educational efforts, and address major cultural issues --- and do all these is an
environmentally sustainable manner.




1
Bharats indigenous metal industry is the foundation for Indias modern steel and manufacturing industries (including precision
engineering). The hope is that policy and planning as well as industry can see and make the connections.
11

1.2 Hidden crisis

The opportunity inherent in Indian crafts belies the disconnect between macro
achievement and micro reality. Achievement and opportunity coexist with such
phenomena as suicide rates, exodus from hand manufacture, mass migration, natural
resource degeneration and the absence of clear marketing and distribution system to
support an industry of such scale, complexity and dispersion. Compounding ignorance
and neglect is stringent competition in home and overseas markets. Competition
underlines new marketing and distribution challenges that demand attention to issues
of market research, intellectual property rights, branding, merchandising and the
entrepreneurial expertise essential to benefiting from current opportunities.

Experts have characterised the key problem in the handicrafts sector as one of vastly
asymmetric information as well as asymmetric capabilities between the artisan and the
market operators
2
. Past development efforts have focused primarily on external
indicators of performance such as the value of exports. The result is that official
policy and schemes have largely subsidised and incentivised market players in
preference to the artisan. Arbitrage has been supported rather than the wellsprings of
deep creativity. This has led to a profound livelihood crisis for artisans resulting in a
wave of suicides among weavers and others, forced migrations, and highly-skilled
artisans seeking casual labour employment in the absence of literacy and formal
economy qualifications. Over the years, authorities at the centre and in the states
have operated a large number of schemes toward lifting the capacities of artisans.
These have included design and technology transfers, awards and opportunities for
sales and exhibitions. Despite the range of these supports (many of them operated
through NGOs), outcomes have been far from satisfactory, often reflecting a
disconnect between official schemes and the reality of shifting markets, limited
understanding of artisans motivations, the absence of artisans participation in
decision-making, ever-pervasive corruption, and the domination of growth models
that are insensitive to the artisanal culture and the potential of tradition.


2
See Maureen Liebl and Tirthankar Roy: Handmade in India: A Preliminary Analysis of Crafts and Craft Production,
Economic and Political Weekly, Dec 27,2003,
12

There is a need to understand that migration for work, even as casual labour on
exploitative contractual terms has its attractions for artisans faced with financial crisis,
fear of shrinking demand, uncertainty because of the marketing bottlenecks, usury and
indebtedness. The status of the craftsperson has also been affected within their own
societies by politically promoted social engineering programmes. The continuous
bombardment via by the media about how education opens up the possibility of a
white collar future that is not manual or hand-based has affected the self-perception
of the artisan. With education being promoted as an instrument for moving away from
labour, the artisan and his educated children tend to believe that the future lies
elsewhere.

Without prejudice to the absolutely necessary idea of reservation of jobs as a means of
creating a more equitable society in terms of opportunity, there can be no escape from
the impact that it has had on artisan communities, often organised as caste
occupations through heredity. If education enables a low-ranked caste artisan to move
into a government job, then the push to change occupations is greater than the pull
to remain within the occupation. The young thus believe they are leaving the artisan
communities for a better life. The impact of these influences is that those families or
communities that can afford the cost of education (because their work was more
skilled and fetched higher prices) have more young migrating out of traditional work
than the less skilled and consequently less economically better off.

As a result of this multitude of these influences, artisans are now located at the bottom
end of the value chain. Here they are challenged with another range of problems.
Among these are:
An absence of feeder skills which can help them participate in the new
economy
3
, results in placing artisans at the bottom casual labour rung
whenever the craft becomes unviable

Most artisans belong to socially disadvantaged groups

Low literacy and education levels compound the inability of artisans to
interface and access resources from modern sectors


3
Absent are such simple skills as basic literacy and formal language, as well as essential knowledge of urban and modern ways.
For example, not being able to read a design drawing means the artisan cannot participate in providing a new product.
13

The natural resources on which artisans depend are becoming scarce through
environmental degradation

Traditional knowledge systems that depend on long years of apprenticeship
and tacit learning have been critically neglected

Exploitation of artisans as a resource for piracy of design and skills (IPR) by
the formal and export sectors

A developmental philosophy and paradigm that treats handicraft as a sunset
sector, doomed to extinction in a modern, shining India except as festive
window-dressing, all rhetoric on cultural heritage notwithstanding.

Reservation in education and government/public sector jobs is an inducement
and an incentive to abandon the family tradition, while artisans can also be
drawn away into unrelated industrial clusters located without sensitivity deep
within zones that are culturally rich.

A particular factor is the clash of value orientations can often be disruptive or
debilitating for artisans suddenly transported into modern market contexts. Indian
artisans often derive from a strong tradition grounded in social and ecological ethics.
This can be an active inhibitor to successful behaviour in modern markets, unless this
interface or coupling is sensitively designed and managed. This is a significant reason
for reforming the control of the craft market to empower artisans with the capacity to
negotiate with traders, exporters and other outside agents. This will reduce the
information asymmetries which lead to low incomes for artisans at the production
end, while also reinforcing their confidence, self-esteem.and ability to influence the
market with their own values.

1.3 Arguing the case: attitudes, skills and employment

India faces two major demographic realities which can make or break its development
potential the demographic dividend of a large youthful workforce facing a massive
gap in skills and employability. It has long since been recognised that with the free
flow of capital and technology, the key differentiator within economies is the
knowledge and innovation capabilities of their workforce.

Many authors have urged a shift in the policy environment toward greater support of
primary producers. Addressing their needs can trigger vast bursts in productivity, a
14

recommendation which obtains urgency in the light of the crisis in rural employment.
While growth of job in major sectors has been limited by new labour-saving
technologies (such as IT), there has been an explosion of work opportunities in urban
and newly urbanising areas and in the service sector of unskilled, semi-skilled and
even skilled labour. Construction sites too have experienced a sharp rise in demand
for unskilled, semi-skilled and even skilled labour. However the spiralling growth in
jobs in services and construction cannot absorb all the young people who have joined
the workforce and the multitudes who will join the workforce over the coming years.
Policy shifts are therefore relevant to the current global developmental crisis since
craft processes provide millions of jobs which are largely green and make very low
demands on capital investment and energy. Not do they call for labour migration into
overcrowded towns and cities. Finally, they provide unique and valuable cultural
signifiers and social glue ---- through ethnic goods and services ---- in a global
marketplace that is now thirsty for them.

The organisation of production and services is primarily a social function. Many
scholars have argued that Indias sunrise sectors represent a success resting on
traditional cultural strengths and not just on a capability with modern knowledge or
enterprise. It is argued that in software and IT, India succeeds from an innate
tolerance to ambiguity and an ability to deal with problem-solving in unstructured
situations. Many industrial hubs and clusters have grown out of strengths in traditional
manufacturing that have adapted to markets Rajkot and Coimbatore in engineering,
Tiruppur in garments, Surat in diamond cutting, Chennai and Mumbai in gold
jewellery manufacture. Their growth stories are less of organised, capital intensive
huge industry and more of a unique social network, based on communications, trust
patterns and entrepreneur mentoring that arise from an admixture of several socio-
cultural parameters including caste and community
4
. Other engineering industries
have recruited artisanal skill for delicate precision processes. At the National Institute
of Design (Ahmedabad), wood and metal artisans have for years been at the centre of
training Indias industrial designers to achieve and set world standards.


4
Y.K. Alagh, Small is Big in Globalisation Look at Surats Diamond Trade, Indian Express, North edition, edit page, 12
August 2008. Another example is Dr. Padmini Swaminathan et al Draft report on the knitwear cluster in Tiruppur: An Indian
Industrial district in the making?, Madras Institute of Development Studies, September 1996.
15

The CEIS pilot household study points to the availability of a large pool of high skills
in the handicrafts sector, one that has been largely ignored despite national need. With
innovation and creativity accepted as the cutting edge of industrial success, a change
in strategy toward the artisan would promote a unique competitiveness in Indian
manufacturing and services. This would open to India premium markets in luxury
engineering, apparel and all design related sectors including precision engineering,
graphics, animation, textiles, handicrafts and industrial design. There are strong
examples in many countries of traditional artists and artisans collaborating in leading
modern sectors to unleash new and innovative approaches and solutions.
Contemporary advances in design theory, management sciences and sociology point
to vast lodes of hidden knowledge and skills in traditional systems, which when
combined with the best of contemporary advances in flexible manufacturing and
services, can create unique, customised and valuable offerings. It is a win-win
strategy.

A strong example of this synergy is found in the Titan and Tanishq companies of the
Tata group. They have carried out a silent revolution in the way their design and
manufacture of precision watches and contemporary jewellery has been organised,
with the traditional artisans skills at the heart of a corporate process. Elated with the
success of this approach, Tata have begun to share this learning with competitors
toward lifting the entire industry. Their experience suggests a combination and
convergence of factors and processes which can make it possible to upscale such
experience in a substantive way just as major industries have done in Japan, Korea,
Italy and Scandinavia. In numerous areas (including green building technology,
furniture, water and waste systems) Western technologies and approaches have been
recognised as unsuited to Indian requirements, and artisanal traditions and solutions as
more appropriate to a local context.

The case for the handcraft sector is supported by belated recognition that economics is
not a mathematical science but a creation of society and culture
5
. Developmental

5
This has been established by Prof. Stephen Gudeman, Chair Professor of Anthropology, University of Minnesota in Economics
as Culture: Models and Metaphors of Livelihood. The idea that science and technology create objectivity and rationality, and
that there is something different in the application of these principles that characterises modernity, has been disproved by Bruno
Latour, one of the worlds most renowned sociologists from France, in We Have Never Been Modern.
16

experts at the World Bank, IMF, the UN agencies and ActionAid

6
, as well as reputed
sociologists and philosophers have turned a central focus to culture and specifically to
crafts as a basis to rescue human society from the current economic morass and moral
impasse
7
. There is therefore a need to look beyond the singular preoccupation with
GDP as the sole basis for understanding growth, and to reconsider why development
planning in India is faced with such large and disturbing evidence of mal-
development on several fronts in human and social terms. The case for the artisan
must therefore be one of several efforts to ensure that the approach to the Twelfth
Plan can go beyond mere statistics to encompass a broader understanding of human
development within the opportunities unleashed by liberalisation and the global
marketplace, as well as a mature acceptance of its threats.

1.4. Arguing the case: Data as a starting point for action

An essential starting point for any exercise to reveal the importance and vitality of
Indian craft would clearly be to create a comprehensive and reliable database for the
sector that can guide national planning. Data now available on the sector is extremely
weak for several reasons:
The sector operates through large, flexible and fluid networks of multiple
small agents. This differs from the formal economy sector, and makes data-
gathering more challenging. These differences can be a source of cultural and
economic advantage, rather than reflecting lack of organisation as exemplified
by the misnomers of informal economy and unorganized sector. These
advantages are increasingly being recognised by scholars.

Past primacy afforded to GDP has spawned a rigour in national accounting
statistics based on standard classification codes for industry and occupation.
This is a relevant and useful formalisation but is entirely biased to modern
industry sectors. It does not recognise a significant, larger chunk of the
economy, the one misnamed as informal, which subsumes the handicraft
sector.

The GDP-centred approach is also blind to social and cultural activities and
their economic and meta-economic value. Enumeration of such activities is
also problematic when the respondents fail to see their own activity as
significant in economic terms. Respondents can be expected to be self-
censoring or evasive, when the survey design and instruments display subtle

6
Whole books and treatises, as well as key policy statements, are available to underscore this.
7
For example, see Richard Sennett, The Craftsman, Yale University Press, 2008. Prof. Michael Walton, Centre for Policy
Research, Harvard University sees cultural industries as a 21
st
century industrial strategy and not as conservation activities No
society achieves transition successfully without innovation and deep creative skills.
17

biases and prejudices (such as those mentioned above) and limited

appreciation of cultural activity.

Handicraft, like farming, is not premised on the guarantee of minimal returns.
At the same time, individuals in these activities cannot exercise an option to
withdraw their investments and fund the next sunrise sector, for myriad
reasons. They are forced to take recourse to belt-tightening. The wave of
suicide among Indian farmers and weavers indicates a calamity hidden by
national income calculations biased toward production and value addition in
the so-called formal sector.

Given these conditions, the crisis of data is not difficult to understand. It is a crisis in
planning that has so far failed to bring together the range of economic, social,
political, environmental, cultural and ethical concerns that are required for nurturing
crafts as a sector of sectors of enormous future significance.

A common estimate of artisans in India is 6.5 million
8
a stock figure carried for long
years in publications of the DC (H) and elsewhere. National Sample Survey estimates
made almost two decades ago suggested a figure of 8 million. The Eleventh Plan
targeted 8 million in handicrafts and 7 million in handlooms, or a total of 15 million
by 2012. (This figure is close to an estimate made as long ago as 1982 by the late D N
Saraf)
9
. A source in the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade estimated 173 million in
September 2009. Other estimates range between 100 and 200 million. Perhaps none of
these figures acknowledge that almost the entire adult population of regions such as
the states of the North East and Kashmir comprises artisans, nor the finding revealed
in this study that some 50% of all craft production may originate from women
artisans. These huge variations have failed to attract serious attention.
Notwithstanding the absence of reliable data indicating a collective amnesia, the
broad sweep of the sectors might is incontrovertible. The most casual reflection on
the dimensions of the sector, revealed by conservative examination of available
statistics, will reveal a staggering resource that demands attention. Employment is
huge, in hundreds of millions. CCIs considered guesstimate of the numbers of
artisans at the core of the handcraft industry is 200 million
10
.

8
An estimate released in June 2011 was of 7.6M, of which over 47% were women, some 25% SC and 2% ST. Refer the glossary
for conversion factors for numbers and currencies.
9
D N Saraf Indian Craft, Vikas Publishing House, 1982.
10
An analysis of the national statistical databases, commissioned by CCI with the Madras School of Economics, returned a
figure of 31 million artisans for 2001 Census, based on screening the National Industrial Classification categories for handicrafts.
This procedure and dataset only includes main workers. It excludes women working from home, as well as pre- and post-
production processes, and possibly many artisans subsumed under various industrial codes for one reason or another. CCI applied
18

What might be the real value of output from the sector? Handicrafts have been the
fastest growing export sector since liberalisation. In 2007, Government estimates
suggested that craft production had risen to Rs. 36,000 cores from Rs. 20,000 crores
five years earlier. The Eleventh Plan targets an annual growth rate of 18% to Rs.
82,000 crores by 2012.

Exports in 2007-08 were Rs 23,400 crores, reflecting a 14% compounded annual
growth rate, from Rs 10,934 crores in 2002-03. By the end of the Eleventh Plan,
exports are to rise to Rs 48,522 crores, doubling Indias miserable share of global
handicraft trade from 1.4% to 2.8%, even at a time of global recession. The
production target for 2011-12 for handicrafts is Rs 90,412 crores, about double that at
the terminal year of the Tenth Plan (which was Rs 43,600 crores). Handloom exports
were expected to grow annually at 15% from over Rs 4,600 crores in 2006-07 to over
Rs 9,200 crores by 2012. These figures are understood not to include a sizeable
portion of handmade carpets and handmade gems and jewellery, which are classified
elsewhere. In summary, exports from the handicraft and handloom sectors together
reached about Rs 28,000 crores (USD 0.62B or INR 28B) in 2007-08 and are
expected to touch Rs 48,522 crores (USD 1.08B or INR 48.5B) by the end of the
Eleventh Five Year Plan in 2011-12. These figures exclude certain categories of hand-
knotted carpets, gems and jewellery and categories such as pottery and other
handicrafts that are administratively under other departments like the KVIC.

Investments in the sector during the Eleventh Plan period have been estimated at Rs.1,
812 crores, up from Rs.447 crores in the Tenth Plan. The emphasis is on developing
geographic clusters, support services (marketing, design, technology, R&D, training)
and welfare schemes. Additional investments include those by the Khadi & Village
Industries Commission (KVIC) and the Ministry of Rural Developments Rs.50,000
crores fund for skilled workers as well as craft-related programmes in each State. The

an extrapolation factor corresponding to the findings of its pilot field study in Gujarat and Tamil Nadu, for adding back non
main workers, to arrive at a figure of 100 million. Given that one has no idea how many main workers are excluded by virtue of
being subsumed under the wrong industrial codes, the figure of 200 million, derived from the Eleventh Five-Year Plan document,
might be closer to the truth. (See paras 5.17 and 5.43 in Plan document. Employment figures for 2006-07 for handloom and
handicraft are shown respectively as 124 lakh people in 2001 and 68 lakh people in 2006-07). This does not include handicraft
artisans who may be currently counted under silk, unorganized wool, coir, KVIC and gems and jewellery (manufactured goods)
categories in the Plan document. 200 million is the best reading of current available statistics for the number of artisans in the
handloom and handicraft sectors, although it refers to a non-standard definition and exclude large categories that are
administratively categorised elsewhere. The real number may well be much larger.
19

strategy is a partial acknowledgement of the significance of the sector to issues of

migration, employment and agri-based communities. Yet the methods employed to
develop the sector are too often a mix of failed schemes that have managed mostly
to throw money at the sector without checking where the money actually went. Even
if for arguments sake, the strategy is considered workable, the roll out of the strategy
is often found wanting.

While the concept of scale is thus not new to the sector, its true scale remains
invisible. With no change in the policy regime, these growth trends are likely to
continue. A supportive policy can help multiply this growth by consolidating and
strengthening the true asset of the sector, the artisan, through harnessing creative
skills to both traditional and contemporary manufacture.

There is now an urgent need to situate and evaluate the hand sector within a regular,
national statistical accounting platform. Indias handicrafts sector is a key component
of what is now termed cultural and creative industries which represent a very major
sector in India of enormous value and potential opportunity. CCI has examined this
possibility in some detail through the preliminary study elaborated in the second
section of this paper. Fortunately, there are major opportunities for change, including
reforms within global data systems. The GDP-centred approach is now supplemented
by an attempt to generate a more holistic understanding through the compilation of the
Human Development Indices and the progress on the Millennium Development Goals
(MDGs). UNESCO has brought a special focus on cultural statistics. However, these
new indicators are still plagued by issues of secondary data analysis, interpretation
and reliability. The absence of primary data collection, and the persistent reporting
and referencing only to GDP by senior functionaries, implies a deep persistence of
the old paradigm, notwithstanding ritual obeisance to social development objectives
and the common man.

2. Governance issues

Since the First Five-Year Plan, responsibility for craft planning in India has vested
primarily in the Offices of the Development Commissioners for Handicrafts and
Handlooms. Both Offices are situated today in the Textile Ministry, which is pre-
20

occupied primarily with the mechanised sector. Many hand skills and activities are
outside the purview of these authorities, who are seldom seated as they should at the
highest tables of decision-making. When planning commenced in the early 1950s, a
selection of handcrafts was brought under what was then the Ministry of Commerce
and Industry with the objective of earning much needed foreign exchange through
exportable Indian crafts. Later, as this ministry transformed, these offices were moved
to the Ministry of Textiles, a ministry that is unrelated to many craft materials and
manufacturing processes. The KVIC is responsible for a number of hand activities,
and is supported by the Ministry of Industry. Other ministries share responsibilities
related to the sector: Agriculture, Education, Environment, Human Resources
Development (HRD) among them, and most recently the Ministry of Small and
Medium Enterprises (MSME). This fractured approach extends from the Centre to the
States. Official statistical compilation appears to reflect these historical and
administrative quirks. Monitoring, licensing and taxation decisions often do not
distinguish between hand activity and powered manufacture. Government support
schemes reflect little understanding of changing realities, as even a casual visit to
most state-run emporia can reveal. Activists estimate that in an environment in which
political will is low and cultural economics virtually unknown, at best only 25% of
artisans are issued official identity cards or brought under the purview of current
development schemes.

3. Cultural economics

Cultural economics is today a growing field across the globe, testimony to increasing
awareness of the limitations of basing national policies purely on economic theory.
Fresh concepts of culture and of economics are evolving. There is recognition of
the living fabric of community and social relationships that go beyond monetary value
and powerfully influence everyday choices and actions. Despite its unique cultural
heritage, India is yet to acknowledge the synergy between contemporary systems of
economic analysis and her own systems of indigenous knowledge. The links between
these resources for human development are now familiar in the global discourse on
economics, including contribution to GDP, employment and natural resource
management. As environmental awareness has increased, the green dimension of craft
activity takes new significance. So too the importance of strengthening the awareness
21

of craft within issues of seasonal livelihoods, migration, the status of women, lifting
the relevance of school education to Indian realities, the challenges of natural resource
management upon which crafts depend, and even disaster management
11
.

Contemporary theory has discovered that socio-cultural activity has added
significance as it produces both economic and non-economic outcomes. It has
established that socio-cultural activity is not initiated from an economic drive. Instead,
its initiation is often rooted in social and cultural values a need to express positive
social or cultural messages or values (peace, tolerance, diversity), or a desire to do
something well for its own sake (like making a precision product or an artwork). Its
outcomes can be both economic (an artefact to be sold) and non-economic (festivals,
celebrations and rituals). The non-economic outcomes include furtherance of social
and cultural values and addition to the stock of social and cultural assets. Key among
these are the deep knowledge and skills for innovation and creativity which assist in
problem recognition and diagnosis, as well as in problem-solving. Many of these non-
economic outcomes cannot be easily valued in purely economic terms, but they are far
more critical to the wellbeing of society. Such skills and knowledge differ from those
more easily recognised as the portable and modular knowledge and skills of a market
economy. The portable skills only sustain the market, which also creates problems it
cannot readily resolve such as those of social dislocation, migration, urban pressures,
pollution and the destruction of natural resources. The modern market paradigm
intrinsically includes an inability to recognise problems of its own making, as well as
and poor problem-solving skills which are extremely limited and locked to specific
paradigms and contexts. The knowledge and problem-solving taught in craftsmanship
contribute to not creating externalised costs and problems, and further they foster
problem recognition and diagnostic skills that have widespread applicability
12
.

In 2005, a UNESCO initiative leading to the Jodhpur Consensus on Cultural
Industries recognised these industries as a source of capital assets for economic,
social and cultural development as well as a vital resource for the cultural identities
of communities and individuals which lead to further creativity and human

11
During the 2001 Kutch earthquake, following immediate relief, craft was the first therapeutic and income-generating activity
that could be offered to the communities that were devastated and dislocated, and can be counted amongst the most successful
interventions.
12
See, for example, Richard Sennett, The Craftsman and Matthew Crawford, The Case for Working With Your Hands.
22

development What cultural industries have in common is that they create content,
use, creativity, skill and in some cases intellectual property, to produce goods and
services with social and cultural meaning
13
. This means that while the value they
produce in cultural and social goods and meaning may often not be measurable in
economic terms, these industries are fundamentally important to social development.

None of this should come as a surprise to a land in which the Mahatma rooted the
struggle for freedom in an instinctive understanding of these factors, positioning khadi
and hand production at the core of a social and political revolution. That Indian
experience is important to appreciating the context for this Study, a context which the
Crafts Council of India attempts to revive and sustain.






















13
The Jodhpur Consensus, UNESCO, 2005.
23

C. THE STUDY

1. The Study: purpose and logic

The volunteers who have constituted the Craft Council of Indias efforts over more
than four decades have repeatedly been reminded of the economic significance of
hand production in India in addition to the cultural richness which has received the
greater attention over these years.

In 2004, India celebrated 50 years of what was described as a craft renaissance.
National events during that year underlined that while government and civil society
were celebrating this heritage dimension, artisans (both master craftspersons and the
younger generation) were deeply frustrated by the worsening of their economic
situation in the face of enormous and rapid changes in markets for hand production
both in India and overseas. The global recession which followed brought home to CCI
the importance of an approach to sustainable livelihoods that would be essential for
maintaining the crafts sector and its contribution to Indias economic, social, cultural
and political stability. The crisis in the sector, CCI discovered, seemed rooted in the
neglect of craft economics for reasons set out in the first section of this Study. This
neglect has resulted in a national schizophrenia: on the one hand ritualistic obeisance
to the richness of craft culture within the Indian identity and on the other, an absence
of any national approach that could embrace the sector in all its complexity. Most
particularly, there has been a persistent absence of any robust understanding of the
contribution of handicrafts to the economy, despite acknowledgement as the second
largest source of Indian livelihood after agriculture. The lack of understanding at the
economic level has had a cascading effect, diminishing attention and resources at
several levels of need and action.

In 2004, discussions with the Planning Commission by CCI and others had advocated
a stronger understanding of the economics of craft production. By 2008 it was
apparent that in planning circles crafts as part of the so-called non-formal and
unorganised sector was being increasingly marginalised as a sunset activity outside
of Indias core strategies for growth in a competitive global market and for its status
24

as a world power. Little realisation existed of its huge scale, or of the fact that hand
production in India has its own systems of both organisation and formality. Further
dialogue with senior planners indicated that attitudes and decisions reflected
widespread ignorance as well as confusion about what constitutes handicrafts and the
contribution of hand production to the economy. Investigation at Planning
Commission and Ministry levels indicated that a key reason for this has been the lack
of a reliable database through which the scale and the scope of handcrafts could be
clearly understood in economic terms. Limitations of the existing data sources were
explained by data-gathering authorities to CCI. It became clear that unless a
foundation of data was established for the sector, national planning could continue to
ignore or marginalise crafts. The question then arose as to how the data gap could be
bridged. If official data was inadequate, earlier studies had provided some useful clues
on the reasons for this lacuna. Clearly an overview of the sector did not exist within
census and survey organisations. There was also no single coordinating authority that
could ensure application of such an overview to the reform of data-generating systems
from a handcraft perspective. CCI itself had no experience in such research. The
challenge was then for CCI to help initiate a national process that could provide such
a foundation. This study is its result.

What is required is a detailed national estimation of the numbers of people deriving
their incomes primarily from hand manufacturing activity, and their contribution to
the national economy. Simultaneously, there is a need for detailed mapping of
technologies used by traditional hand manufacturing, so that anomalies can be
corrected in categorising what is the hand sector. This information should incorporate
the theoretical ground established by the emerging discipline of cultural economics.
The outcome should then help establish a methodology that can provide clear
numbers of people and households involved in craft activity, their geographic
dispersal and demographic characteristics, technologies, activities and livelihood
patterns, as well as a comprehensive estimation of their contribution to national
income. Such a methodology should also cover aspects of cultural value and the
significance as well as potential earning power of hand production as a creative and
cultural industry. The methodology could then be utilised by census and survey
authorities to ensure that future data-gathering efforts in India bring hand production
to priority attention.
25

CCIs logic for making the beginnings in this effort was simply to seize the urgency,
pave the way for a more concerted and capable national effort, and encourage those
with greater competence in data-gathering and economic analysis to provide this
gigantic sector with the serious attention it deserves.

2. Definition of crafts

A major contributing factor to the difficulties in the sector is the problem of defining
crafts accurately. The operational challenge is the reality of a continuum between
hand manufacture and industrial manufacture. Many activists have tended to assume a
distinct divide while in reality, craft production has over at least the past two centuries
reflected multiple stages and mixes of hand and industrial technologies. The link
between tradition and so-called modernity is not new to Indian artisans, who have
been open to new technologies, materials, design resources and markets for centuries.
This capacity has accelerated in recent years, initially because Indian planning in the
1950s emphasised the export potential of Indian crafts, demanding an ability to deal
with and cater to alternative lifestyles and distribution channels. More recently,
liberalisation has transformed the Indian market, exposing artisans to an entirely new
level of competition within which innovation alone ensures survival.

Utilising definitions developed by the Development Commissioner (Handicrafts),
earlier crafts studies as well as UNESCO frameworks, this pilot study has developed
and applied the following definitions of handicrafts and artisans
14
:

Handicrafts are products or services provided by artisans, working
primarily with their hands. The artisan very often uses traditional
knowledge and her/his direct manual contribution forms a substantial
or distinctive part of the end product or service. Usually there are
minimal or limited inputs from machines.


14
See the report, CEIS: Preliminary Findings from Stage 2 A Pilot Study of Two Clusters, for detailed discussion of extant
definitions, further elaboration of the CEIS definition, and examples of its application and interpretation in real context.
26

The distinctive nature of handicraft comes from the fact that these
goods or services can be identified with certain traditions or
geographies.

An artisan is a person with special hand skills, often handed down
traditionally across generations, and often linked to a complex
traditional knowledge system encompassing the material, technology
and / or design aspects.

3. Developing a methodology

The approach to methodology began with consultations with the Department of
Economics and Statistics in the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation,
the Planning Commission as well as institutes of research and key resource persons.
This dialogue suggested an initial exploratory study in two stages. The first stage
would consist of secondary research and compilation of available data, statistics,
institutions and data sources related to handicrafts. The next stage would be a pilot
field exploration in one or more districts, to test and evaluate an appropriate and
rigorous methodology for estimation. The outcome could eventually point the way to
a comprehensive national study by the Government of India.

As work began, it became clear that the design of data gathering would need to
consider many factors:
A sector characterised by fluid and informal boundaries and arrangements

The chief value of these boundaries and arrangements, which is their
contribution to social and cultural wellbeing, to fostering a respect for peace,
diversity, ecology and other significant non-economic outputs

Challenges in terms of definitional and classification issues

Limitations of national statistical accounting procedures that are built towards
GDP measures alone, such as the standard industrial / occupational code
categories

The need to incorporate some measurement of qualitative aspects that
significantly impact livelihood issues such as multi-dimensional poverty and
aspects of social identity.

27

There were several challenges in developing a methodology. These included:

An inability to address the absence of relevant codes in the National Industrial
Classification Codes. The 2004 structure provides few vacant group codes to
interpolate additions. As a temporary workaround, CCI employed a parallel
structure using a 5 digit classification for the craft categories.

The lack of resources to complete an elaborate cluster study. CCI focused on a
preliminary visit to understand and list the details of production process (es),
tools used, and other informational details required to be pre-coded for the
detailed household study. Other dimensions of the cluster, such as its
networking and information patterns, as well as the supply chain and the
forward and backward linkages in craft processes, could not be explored.


The preliminary study has revealed key characteristics in current craft systems
(see Section 5 below). A more detailed investigation of the cluster would have
had to include characterising its typical network, information and
entrepreneurial aspects (together these constitute a mapping of the cluster),
infrastructure and livelihood aspects and mapping the value chain. This
requires a structured qualitative study. Such a study can now be designed
based on the CEIS experience. It would need to be administered by researchers
conversant with qualitative data-gathering.

An important issue which emerged is the granularity -- or the various levels or
grades -- of skills and roles within the sector. It became clear that referring to
artisans (e.g. potters or weavers) as if they were all identical would not work.
So far, this key issue is unacknowledged outside the artisan community.

Two stages of the project have now been completed, partially addressing the objective
of developing a national methodology, within the constraints of available resources.
The study commenced in June 2009. The first stage involved a study of existing
databases (Census, NSSO and a literature search). This review of secondary data and
sector literature was completed in the first six months, although CCI could not obtain
access to the Economic Census
15
. The second stage included two parts - a limited
cluster study, followed by a sample household enumeration in two clusters. The two
pilot studies, in Karur district (Tamil Nadu) and Kutch district (Gujarat) were
undertaken between April and June 2010. By July, the task of collating and analysing
the outcome began and by November a sharing took place with other activists of
outcomes and possible future directions. Their responses have been taken into account
in finalising these stages of the CEIS. The next steps of extending the cluster studies
in order to reach a robust methodology are set out in Section C below.

15
CCI could not afford to pay for it at the quoted price. A request for a free / subsidised copy was not responded to.
28

4. Outcomes of Stage 1: The Secondary study

Estimating the numbers and contribution of artisans from national statistics is fraught
with difficulties
16
. When data is aggregated, certain details are lost. The Census
excludes marginal and home-based workers, although their contribution to craft
production is immense. It is also not possible to apply simultaneously the industrial
and occupational classifications and aggregates. The NSSO is sample based data, but
provides sampling inflation factors that permit extrapolation to the population.
Eventually, the numbers arrived at depend on the interpretation of the definition
applied to handicrafts through the sieve of NIC and NCO. A brief recap of the variety
of results this can produce is indicated below:

S.No. Database source / nature of estimate All-India estimate for
number of artisans in
millions
Previous studies
1. Tenth Plan document estimates for 2008 34.5
2. Handmade in India (Liebl and Roy) estimate,
2000
9-10
3. SRUTI estimate for 1980 (guided by late Shri
L.C. Jain)
Between 7.45 to 12.50
CEIS findings
4. Main workers in Census 2001 using NIC 2004
interpretation according to CEIS definition
31.1
5. Ditto; DC(H) definition 15.7
6. Principal and subsidiary workers as per EUS
data of NSSO 61
st
round 2004-05 using CEIS
definition
16.8
Source: CEIS Study, CCI, November 2010.


16
The UNESCO framework for Cultural Statistics 2009 notes that information on cultural occupations are often not declared
or captured in censuses and labour force surveys, being secondary occupations or cottage industries. There are some work-
arounds estimations can be used to distinguish the cultural from the non-cultural components within specific industrial classes,
and weightings or coefficients used in analysis of data from surveys. The alternative is a bespoke survey..
29

5. Major findings of Stage 2: Household study

The household study has provided important insights into activities and value
generation, and revealed players, intermediaries, geographic dispersion and other key
characteristics of the craft economy. The household surveys in Karur and Kutch have
highlighted several important findings. These include the range of skills possessed by
artisans, and the diversity of roles and relationships within artisan communities. Some
important findings are:
The importance of crafts to Indias social and political stability has emerged
strongly.

A large proportion of artisans are from disadvantaged social groups (SC / ST /
OBC / Muslim).

This disadvantage of social status is compounded by extremely low literacy
and education levels. In the absence of alternative livelihood options, faced
with narrow portability of traditional skills into the new economy (owing to
lack of complementary skills required including familiarity with urban terrains
and ways, literacy, language, communication), casual labour is often the only
other livelihood option.

Women have emerged as significant players, suggesting a high level of almost
50% and equally high participation at higher skill levels.

In both locations, craft practitioners go back three to four generations with the
vast majority continuing traditional practices, even as new entrants join and
some leave. The dynamism inherent in the sector is further reflected in artisans
adapting to changes in technology, material and markets; even as resource
disadvantages restrict adaptations and mobility.

Piece-rate payment is the dominant remuneration system.

Over 40% of the artisans surveyed reported craft activity of 250 to 300 days
annually, work availability being influenced primarily by rainfall.

A significant number of artisans adapt old practices while a few create new
ones.

Over 80% of the artisans were found to have learnt their skills from within the
family while external training opportunities have reached only a very small
section.

Consumption patterns are changing rapidly (through possession of TVs, cell
phones, cooking gas and transportation). Less than 20% of surveyed
households possessed land.
30

Almost a third of the artisans were struggling entrepreneurs marketing their
products independently. This, however, produces a marked improvement in
their incomes as compared to artisans who sell to traders. It is also exemplified
in the overall support to artisans that traders deliver when they rise from the
same community, as in Bhuj, as compared to Karur. The corresponding
difference in artisan incomes is substantial.

Only 25% of the artisans had been issued artisan ID cards by the Development
Commissioner (Handicrafts).


6. A first sharing

The initial outcome of CCIs effort was shared at a Kolkata seminar organised by the
Crafts Council of West Bengal at the Victoria Memorial in November 2010.
Participants from several disciplines (crafts, architecture, engineering, academe,
conservation, media and others) supported the urgency of an improved database for
crafts
17
. Case presentations by them demonstrated the actual and potential value
addition from craft attitudes and skills to the innovative capacities essential to future
industrial growth and Indias ability to compete effectively. It was also felt that CEIS
findings could ensure stronger networking within ministries, departments and among
craft activists. They are also an important pointer to the need to foster linkages
between the crafts sector and other national initiatives including the Knowledge
Commission, the National Mission on Skills, the proposed Mission on Innovation, the
NCERTs approach to integrating artisanal culture into national education, and the
efforts of the recently constituted Coordination Committee on Intangible Cultural
Heritage established by the Prime Ministers Office.








17
For example, a practising architect from Delhi who had incorporated traditional building wisdom into his work felt that the
unavailability of an artisan database listing building skills was a barrier to implementation. While the Indian Council of
Architecture had expressed great interest in his experience, other architects cannot adopt such practices in the absence of an
artisan database. Many similar examples of absence of information, networks and other critical infrastructure were shared.
31

D. NEXT STEPS

Stages 3 and 4: Extending the cluster studies

The immediate next step would be to extend, in the present two locations, the
household study into a larger cluster study (Stage 3). Once this is completed, it should
be possible to scale-up the experiment by applying it to at least 50 clusters across the
country (Stage 4). At this stage, the field experiment would need to be conducted in
close cooperation with data-gathering authorities so as to ensure their participation
and ownership of improved systems. This could then be incorporated into national
data-gathering and accounting practices.

The Crafts Council of India and other civil society craft activists could use the
outcome of these studies to strengthen and professionalize their own services to
artisans, through a better ability to grasp current challenges and opportunities to
prioritise.

Without waiting for improved data, simultaneous efforts could be launched forthwith
to address the distress amongst the artisans. Foremost would be issues affecting the
status of artisans, reform and sensitisation of the administrative machinery to address
artisan concerns, mapping Indias artisanal technologies, improved facilities for craft
research and documentation, and an upgrade in the quality of craft development
schemes in the light of findings. Efforts should involve government at the Centre and
in the States as well as civil society and the private sector, in suitably empowering
partnerships. The artisan needs always to be positioned at the centre of new policies
and schemes. A National Craft Perspective Plan should emerge that can decisively
improve the economic, technical and social infrastructure available to artisans and
speed their access to entrepreneurship and markets. The experience and expertise of
the CCI, other crafts NGOs, master craftsperson and other supporters from academe
and through intelligentsia must be drawn upon to initiate and monitor the outcomes of
such efforts.


32

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS


This paper has been authored by Prof Raghav Rajagopalan, in consultation with
Ashoke Chatterjee and member volunteers at the Crafts Council of India and several
others elsewhere. It is based on findings of the Craft Economics and Impact Study,
initiated by CCI in 2009 and coordinated by Prof Rajagopalan, with support from a
team of CCI colleagues and resource persons. Dr Brinda Visvanathan at the Madras
School of Economics conducted the secondary data analysis and Dr. Sudhersena
Allalasundaram undertook the literature review that formed the first part of the study.
Veena Mahor conducted the primary data analysis for the pilot household study.

The author would like to particularly acknowledge the patient and painstaking support
from Ashoke Chatterjee and other CCI colleagues through numerous iterations of this
paper. Other sources of unstinted support and critical review inputs were Dr Padmini
Swaminathan (Madras Institute of Development Studies) and Dr J Jeyaranjan
(Institute of Development Alternatives, Chennai).

The CEIS project began with the encouragement CCI received from Dr Syeda
Hameed at the Planning Commission, Mr Pronab Sen at the Ministry of Statistics and
Programme Implementation and Mr Vijay Kumar, Director-General, Central
Statistical Organisation. The Sir Dorabji Tata Trust provided the seed funding which
enabled CCI to begin work. Over several months of effort, the guidance received from
Shikha Mukerjee (Paul Foundation, Kolkata), Ritu Sethi (Craft Revival Trust, New
Delhi), Dr Kapila Vatsyayan and Dr A Vaidyanathan have been of great assistance.
CCI volunteers Gita Ram, Kasturi Gupta Menon, Vijaya Rajan, Prema Paranthaman,
Ruby Palchowdhury, Manjari Nirula and others in several parts of the country have
reviewed output at several stages of the CEIS, sharing their mature experience in the
sector. Vidya Sastry has throughout managed the project administration and
monitored its outcome, keeping track of the threads from all over the country that
needed to be woven together and commenting critically on all aspects.

Earlier work on the craft sector (including the major 2003 study by Maureen Liebl
and Tirthankar Roy, the seminal 1995 Status Report by SRUTI, as well as reports and
publications by the National Institute of Design, Rajeev Sethi, DRONAH, the Craft
Revival Trust and others) provided a foundation of insight and wisdom. UNESCO and
other recent research in cultural economics and craft theory have offered new
understanding of Indias craft advantage. The Crafts Council of West Bengal and the
Victoria Memorial Trust provided two important opportunities linked to the CEIS
project. A seminar in February 2008 on Crafts in Transition was its starting point,
and another on Reinventing Crafts for the 21
st
Century in November 2010 provided
a first sharing of the CEIS outcome. It was in Kolkata in February 2008 that
Gopalkrishna Gandhi, then Governor of West Bengal, inspired the Crafts Council of
India to venture into uncharted territory. Three years of effort later, that journey has
only just begun.





33

Annex 1
CEIS project definition
18
of handicrafts and artisans
(Extract from CEIS Report Volume 2, Chapter 2: Methodology, section 2)


Handicrafts are products or services provided by artisans, working primarily with their hands. The
artisan very often uses traditional knowledge and her/his direct manual contribution forms a
substantial or distinctive part of the end product or service. Usually there are minimal or limited inputs
from machines.

The distinctive nature of handicraft comes from the fact that these goods or services can be identified
with certain traditions or geographies. Handicraft products generally use locally available raw materials
from sustainable resources and also consume low energy, and apply sustainable and frequently less
polluting processes, which usually emphasize recovery and reuse of materials.

Handicrafts are products having values that are aesthetic, artistic, economic, utilitarian, creative,
religious, social, decorative and cultural. Recent developments might include adoption of old skills to
new materials or products, adoption of traditional skills by new communities, incorporation of
traditional knowledge or skills into modern products, or completely new creative hand skills applied on
contemporary material, and also creation of products by mixed means partly industrial and partly by
hand.

An artisan is a person with special hand skills, often handed down traditionally across generations, and
often linked to a complex traditional knowledge system encompassing the material, technology and / or
design aspects. They are typically self-employed at the individual or cottage production level or work
in small production groups or teams. Traditional work formats usually employ family members and/or
hired labour to participate in several pre and post-production processes, not all of which may require
high skills. The current scenario may involve newer forms of production organisation, such as small
factories, registered ascooperatives, small-scale industries, Sec. 25 companies or societies.

We have listed 15 specific categories of crafts. +SRUTI listed 6 categories whereas Liebl-Roy do not
categorise they have, in fact, accepted the arbitrary and restrictive formulations of the DC(H); the
UNESCO Framework for Cultural Studies (FCS) also lists 6 very broad categories.


18
This is adapted from the several definitions used by various agencies a brief note is appended as
Annexure 9.








34

!"#$%&'

Earth Wood
Clay / terracotta teak
sheesham
ebony
soft
Stone sandal
marble rosewood
soapstone walnut
granite
Leather

Glass

Plastics, other new age or recycled
materials
Fibre (excluding textiles)
Combined media articles excluding
musical instruments and handmade
toys ( will include items like, for
example, bullock carts or handmade
looms)
Textiles
bamboo cottons
cane and wicker wools
palm leafs silks
rattan
screwpine Carpets
shitalpatti
coir Ivory, bone and shells.
jute
banana Musical instruments
stalks/ branches / waste
reeds / grasses Toys and masks
pith
Painting
Metal
Iron / steel
Brass Craft skills offered as a service
Copper
Silver Carpentry
Bell metal Tailoring
Other alloys: panchaloha; etc. Tribal / traditional art

Jewellery

35

The UNESCO Framework for Cultural Statistics
(Extract from Report Volume 2, Section 2.10)


The FCS adopts the International Trade Center (ITC) and UNESCO definition of Crafts, or artisanal
products, described as those produced by artisans, either completely by hand or with the help of hand-
tools or even mechanical means, as long as the direct manual contribution of the artisan remains the
most substantial component of the finished product. The special nature of artisanal products derives
from their distinctive features, which can be utilitarian, aesthetic, artistic, creative, culturally attached,
decorative, functional, traditional, religiously and socially symbolic and significant (UNESCO and
ITC, 1997).

























36

Annex 2
Outcomes of the Secondary Data Analysis
(Extract from CEIS Volume 2, First Stage Report)


..After the census or national sample survey data is aggregated, certain details are lost.
The census data excludes marginal and home based worker data; also, it is not
possible to apply both the industrial and occupational classification to the data set to
sieve out possible handicraft artisans. The NSSO is sample based data but provides
sampling inflation factors (multipliers) that permit extrapolation to the population.

...The first significant conclusion is that the numbers that can be inferred for
estimating the sector size depend on the definition applied. The DC (H) definition is
far too restricted.

The tables that follow give an idea of the range of numbers currently put out by
government sources, and those inferred by us through different methods applied to the
databases.


37

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38

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'/#^,.'($()%'*#$+%)!#',*,Q+_*,#&.G/.*Q",*
!"#$%&'"(%"#)*+,-$.(/%&&'*"./*&0($.1&%',2/%*"'/('"(*&(',2-/3)'
,%."--",('
*1
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*23456789:9;9<69@89@9CP<><9BBC>68
$3=;646<:>=9:6<
2?94:><9@<AB64<2@<>@
:6@<2?C9DE<24
=>CC>2@<F
()"$*+,+-./%)+0+&11'2"3"+%30+,)456/")25/7&118
G
)9>@ T24D64< 9< B64 +'- 5C9<<>?>59:>2@
9BBC>68:2'6@<3<IJJG
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9BBC>68:2'6@<3<IJJG
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5C9<<>?>59:>2@9BBC>68:2'6@<3<IJJG
LG1G
()"$*+,+-.5997:;9")2-3<%=2"3"+%3+0+,)45/7&118
M
!4>@5>B9C9@8<3;<>8>94PT24D64<9<B64.Q*
89:9 2? $**( 6Z5C38>@V T69X>@V ?24 E2=6 H
+'-86?>@>:>2@a[G<:423@8IJJMJN
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89:9 2? $**( B42`65: A6ZB9@868F
86?>@>:>2@a[G
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Some of the other important findings are:
x Various kinds of critical gaps in the data pertaining to handicraft and handloom activity exist.
The gaps are not purely in terms of enumeration; but have their origins in flawed concepts and
definitions. Some examples
x Women working from home (extremely common in handicraft activities where specific
activities are outsourced to individual workers who complete them at home) being treated as
home workers. A lot of weaving and other activities in entire states and districts such as the
North eastern states, Kashmir, or Bhuj in Gujarat, is home based.
x Several production stages not being taken into account.
x Entire activities falling between the cracks for example, potters are not included in the
purview of the DC (H).

39

Some of the key trends in relation to sub categories of the artisan population are:
1. There are proportionately more artisans (per hundred persons) among the Muslims, STs, and BCs.
2. Craft is often not the primary occupation but has a subsidiary status. Many women are
predominantly engaged in craft activities through home-based production.
3. Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Orissa, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu have a higher share of crafts
population. Uttar Pradesh: 18% of the crafts population against 14% of the total working population;
Tamil Nadu: 12.8 % and 6.6 % respectively.

Census and NSSO data were analysed based on selecting the occupational and industrial code
categories corresponding to the definition used for handicraft / artisan. These are tabulated below;
further details are in Volume 2 of this report.

Occupational codes for crafts: DC-H Definition

NCO-68 codes as used in
NSS-04/05 NCO-2004 codes as used in 2001 Census
Handicraft/craft# Non-craft#
Earth 891-899 7321-7324/7329 8131/8139/8153
Fibre
751/752/754-759/
792-797
7431-37/
7346/7332
8261-65/
8269/3471
Metal 881-883 7313 8290
Wood 941/942/944-947 7312/7424
Stone 821 7113 8112
Leather 761/762/769 7441 8265
Craft teachers
etc. 156/170/179 3340 2452

Note: The handicraft sub-division as indicated in by NCO-2004 codes and the additional codes which
relate to the medium are classified under non-handicrafts sub-division.


40

Occupational codes: CCI definition

Medium used for craft
Group Family NCO name
89 &95 0 Earth
89 890 Supervisors & Foremen, Glass Forming, Pottery & Related Activities
89 891 Glass Formers, Cutters, Grinders & Finishers (excluding Glass and Lac Bangles)
89 892
Potters & Related Clay & Abrasive Formers (except Village Potters, Brick and Tile
Moulders)
89 893 Glass & Ceramics Kilnmen
89 894 Glass Engravers & Etchers
89 895 Glass & Ceramics, Painters and Decorators
89 896 Village Potters
89 897 Brick and Tile Moulders
89 898 Makers of Glass and Lac Bangles
89 899 Glass Formers, Potters and Related Workers, n.e.c.
95 951 Bricklayers, Stone Masons & Tile Setters
95 953 Roofers
95 958 Hut Builders & Thatchers
95 959 Well Diggers and Construction Workers, n.e.c.
73,75&79 0 Fiber
73 734 Paper Makers
75 750 Supervisors & Foremen, Spinning, Weaving, Knitting, Dyeing & Related Processes
75 751 Fibre Preparers
75 752 Spinners and Winders
75 753 Warpers and Sizers
75 754 Weaving and Knitting Machine Setters & Pattern Card Preparers
75 755 Weavers & Related Workers
75 756 Carpet Makers & Finishers
75 757 Knitters
75 758 Bleachers, Dyers & Textile Printers and Finishers
75 759 Spinners, Weavers, Knitters, Dyers & Related Workers, n.e.c.
79 790 Supervisors & Foremen, Tailoring, Dress Making, Sewing & Upholstery Work
79 791 Tailors and Dress Makers
79 792 Fur Tailors & Related Workers
79 793 Milliners, Hat & Cap Makers
79 794 Pattern Makers & Cutters
79 795 Sewers & Embroiderers
79 796 Upholsters & Related Workers
79 799 Tailors, Dress Makers, Sewers, Upholsterers and Related Workers, n.e.c.
72,83,87&88 0 Metal
72 724 Metal Casters
72 725 Metal Moulders & Core-Makers
72 726 Metal Annealers, Temperers & Case Hardeners
72 727 Metal Drawers & Case Hardeners
72 728 Metal Platers & Coaters
72 729 Metal Processors, n.e.c.
83 833 Tool Makers & Metal Pattern Makers
83 835 Machine Tool Operators
83 836 Metal Grinders, Polishers & Tool Sharpeners (excluding Knife Sharpeners)
83 837 Village Blacksmiths
83 838 Knife Sharpeners
83 839 Blacksmiths, Tool Makers & Machine Tool Operations, n.e.c.

41

87 870 Supervisors & Foremen, Plumbing, Welding, Structural & Sheet Metal Working
87 879 Plumbers, Welders, Sheet Metal & Structural Metal Preparers & Erectors, n.e.c.
88 880 Supervisors, Jewellery & Precious Metal Working
88 881 Jewellers, Goldsmiths & Silversmiths
88 882 Jewellery Engravers
88 883 Other Metal Engravers (except Printing)
88 889 Jewellery and Precious Metal Workers and Metal Engravers, n.e.c. (except Printing)
73,81&94 0 Wood
73 734 Paper Makers
73 735 Wood Sawyers, Machine General
73 736 Wood Sawyers, Hand
73 739 Wood Preparation and Paper Making Workers n.e.c.
81 810
Supervisors & Foremen, Carpentry, Cabinet Making & Related Wood Working
Processes
81 811 Carpenters
81 812 Cabinet Makers
81 813 Wood Working Machine Operators
81 814 Cart Builders & Wheel Wrights
81 815 Coach & Body Builders
81 816 Ship wrights & Boat Builders
81 819 Carpenters, Cabinet Makers & Related Workers, n.e.c.
94 940 Supervisors & Foremen, Production & Related Activities, n.e.c.
94 941 Musical Instrument Makers and Tuners
94 942 Bamboo, Reed and Cane Furniture Makers and Makers of Broom, Chic, etc.
94 943 Non-metallic Mineral Product Makers (excluding Salt Makers)
94 944 Basket Makers
94 945 Mat Weavers
94 946 Leaf Plate Makers
94 947 Winnowing Fan Makers
94 948 Salt Makers
94 949 Production & Related Workers, n.e.c.
82 0 Stone
82 820 Supervisors & Foremen, Stone Cutting & Carving
82 821 Stone Cutters & Carvers
82 829 Stone Cutters and Carvers, n.e.c.
76 & 80 0 Leather
76 763 Collectors of Bones and Hides
76 764 Carcass Lifters
76 765 Skinners of Dead Animals (or Flayers)
76 769
Tanners, Fellmongers and Pelt Dressers, n.e.c. (excluding Collectors of Bones and
Hides and Carcass Lifters)
80 800 Supervisors & Foremen, Shoe and Leather Goods Making
80 801 Shoemakers & Shoe Repairers
80 802 Shoe Cutters, Lasters, Sewers and Related Workers
80 803 Harness and Saddle Makers
80 804 Makers of Large Raw Hide Vessels
80 805 Leather Container Makers
80 809 Leather Cutters, Lasters and Sewers and Related Workers, n.e.c.
92 & 93 0 Other
92 921 Compositors
92 927 Book Binders & Related Workers
93 933 Village Painters (on Wall and Clay Objects, etc.)
93 939 Painters, n.e.c. (except Painter on Wall and Clay Objects, etc.)

42

Industrial codes: Liebl - Roy definition
Product Category
NIC-
1964
NIC-
2004 Product Details
Khadi 232 1711
Cotton handlooms 233 17111 Preparation and spinning of cotton fiber including blended
Silk handlooms 244 17112 Preparation and spinning of silk fiber including blended silk.
17113
Preparation and spinning of wool, including other animal hair and
blended* wool including other animal hair.
17114
Preparation and spinning of man-made fiber including blended
man-made fiber.
17115 Weaving, manufacture of cotton and cotton mixture fabrics.
17116 Weaving, manufacture of silk and silk mixture fabrics.
17117 Weaving, manufacture of wool and wool mixture fabrics.
17118
Weaving, manufacturing of man-made fiber and man-made
mixture fabrics.
17119
Preparation, spinning and weaving of jute, mesta and other natural
fibers including blended natural fibers.
Cotton, silk and other
textiles by hand 236 1712
246 17121 Finishing of cotton and blended cotton textiles.
17122 Finishing of silk and blended silk textiles.
17123 Finishing of wool and blended wool textiles.
17124 Finishing of man-made and blended man-made textiles.
17125 Finishing of jute, mesta and other vegetable textiles fabrics.
Zari 262 1729
17291 Embroidery work and making of laces and fringes
17292 Zari work and making of other ornamental trimmings
17293 Manufacture of linoleum and similar products
17294 Manufacture of gas mantles
17295 Manufacture of made-up canvas goods such as tents and sails etc.
17296
Manufacture of wadding of textile materials and articles of
wadding such as sanitary towels and tampons
17297
Manufacture of metallised yarn or gimped yarn; rubber thread or
cord covered with textile material; Textile yarn or strip,
impregnated, covered or sheathed with rubber or plastics
17298 Manufacture of waterproof textile excluding Tarpaulin.
17299 Manufacture of other textiles/textile products
Carpets 263 1722
17221 Manufacture of blankets shawls
17222 Manufacture of cotton carpets
17223 Manufacture of woollen carpets
17224 Manufacture of silk carpets
17225 Manufacture of durries, druggets and rugs
17226
Manufacture of carpets, rugs and other covering of jute, mesta and
coir
17229
Manufacture of other floor coverings (including felt) of textile,
sannhemp and other kindred fibres
Miscellaneous
products 279 2029
20291 Manufacture of wooden industrial goods
20292 Manufacture of cork and cork products
20293
Manufacture of bamboo and cane article and fixture of bamboo,
cane, reed and grass products (thatching etc.)
20294 Manufacture of broomsticks
20295 Manufacture of wooden agricultural implements

43

20296
Manufacture from cane and bamboo of shopping bags, ornament
boxes, costume articles, trays, table lamps, fancy baskets, table
mats, tumbler and vessel holders and other household utilities
20297
Manufacture of articles made of palm leaf, screw-pine leaf and
khajoor leaf; articles of vegetables fibre etc,.
20298 Manufacture of products of pith and shalapith
20299
Manufacture of other wood products (including wooden tools,
handles, etc. ornaments and household products)
Earthware 322 2691
26911
Manufacture of articles of porcelain or china, earthenware,
imitation porcelain or common pottery, including earthen statues
26912
Manufacture of statues and ornamental articles of stone and other
stoneware, including writing slates of slatestone
26913
Manufacture of ceramic tableware and other articles of a kind
commonly used for domestic purposes, including ceramic
statuettes and other ornamental articles
26914
Manufacture of ceramic sanitary wares: sinks, baths, water-closet
pans, flushing cistern etc.
26915
Manufacture of ceramic insulators and insulating fittings for
electrical machines, appliances and equipment
26916
Manufacture of ceramic ware for laboratory chemical or other
technical uses
26919 Manufacture of other non-structural ceramic ware n.e.c.
Plating/polishing 345 2892
28920
Treatment and coating of metals; general mechanical engineering
on a fee or contract basis
Jewellery and related
articles 383 3691
36911
Manufacture of gold jewellery : gold, silver and other precious
metal jewellery; precious and semi-precious stone jewellery; gold
and silver articles including presentation coins but not the coin
used as a legal tender
36912
Diamond cutting and polishing and other gem cutting and
polishing
36913 Minting of currency coins
Making of musical
instruments 386 3692
36920
Manufacture of musical instruments [this class includes
manufacture of keyboard stringed instruments, including
automatic pianos, and other stringed instruments, keyboard pipe
organs and harmoniums and similar keyboard instruments with
free metal reeds, accordions and similar instruments including
mouth organs]
Leather manufacture 290 1911
19111 Flaying and curing of raw hides and skins
19112 Tanning and finishing of sole leather
19113 Tanning and finishing of industrial leather
19114 Vegetable tanning of light leather
19115 Chrome tanning of leather
19116 Finishing of upper leather, lining leather and garment leather etc.
19119
Other tanning, curing, finishing, embossing and japanning of
leather
291 1920
19201
Manufacture of footwear (excluding repair) except of vulcanized
or moulded sandals and chappals, leather-cum-rubber/plastic cloth
sandals and chappals made by and or by any process.
19202
Manufacture of footwear made primarily of vulcalized or moulded
rubber and plastic. This class includes manufacture of rubber
footwear, plastic & PVC, canvas-cum-rubber/plastic footwear etc.
including sports footwear.
Leather manufacture 292 1810

44

18101
Manufacture of all types of textile garments and clothing
accessories
18102
Manufacture of rain coats of waterproof textile fabrics or plastic
sheetings
18103 Manufacture of hats and caps from waterproof
18104
Manufacture of wearing apparel of leather and substitutes of
leather
18109 Manufacture of wearing apparel n.e.c.
293 1912
299 19121 Manufacture of travel goods like suitcases, bags and holdalls etc.
19122
Manufacture of purses and other ladies handbags, artistic leather
presented articles and novelties etc.
19123 Manufacture of saddlery and harness
19129
Manufacture of other consumer goods of leather and substitutes of
leather, n.e.c.
294 1820
295 18201
Scraping, currying, tanning, bleaching and dyeing of fur and other
pelts for the trade
296 18202 Manufacture of wearing apparel of fur and pelts
18203 Manufacture of fur and skin rugs and other similar articles
18204 Embroidering and embossing of leather articles
18205 Stuffing of animals and birds hides
18209 Manufacture of other leather and fur products n.e.c


45

Terminologies used in National Sample Survey:

Economic Activity: Any activity resulting in production of goods and services that add value to
national product. This includes market activities and own consumption and own production activities
Labour Force: The population that supplies or seeks to supply labour for production.
Labour Force Participation Rate: The proportion of labour force in the total population.
Work Force (Employed): The population that supplies labour for production.
Work Force Participation Rate (Worker Population Ratio): The proportion of economically active
persons in the total population.

Activity Status: It is the activity situation in which a person was found during a reference period with
regard to the persons participation in economic and non-economic activities. Accordingly a person is
(a) Employed: Engaged in economic activity, (b) Unemployed: Seeking or available for work or (c)
Not in labour force: not available for work which includes attending educational institutions, domestic
duties etc. Different approaches are used to determine the activity status based on the reference period
of the survey as given below
Usual Activity Status: The activity status during the previous 365 days. This is further classified into
principal status in which the person spent the major time and subsidiary status in which the person
spent minor time.

Status of Employment
Self-employed: The persons who have the autonomy and independence for carrying out their economic
activity and the remuneration received by them comprises of their share of labour and profit of the
enterprise. The persons either operated their own farm or non-farm enterprise or were engaged
independently in a profession or trade on own account or with one or few partners. They have been
further classified into own-account workers, employers and helpers in household enterprise.
Regular salaried/wage employee: The person works in others farm or non-farm enterprise (both
household and non-household) and in turn receives salary or wages on a regular basis. This includes
persons getting time wage, piece wage or salary and paid apprentice, both full time and part time.
Casual wage labour: The person is casually engaged in others farm or non-farm enterprise (both
household and non-household) and receives wages according to the terms of the daily or periodic work
contract.


46

Extracts from Outcomes of the Second Stage: Pilot Household Study

On Development and Culture

...from the Preface
..We largely hold craft as traditional (primitive, simplistic, innocent, natural, frozen in a time warp) and
not modern; static and not dynamic; cultural (as in quaint, ritualised, colourful, decorative) and often
elide its economic nature
19
(as in providing the key source of livelihoods to artisans, creating utilitarian
and functional products and services, and ultimately surviving in the marketplace)
20
.

...The idea of redefining crafts finds place in literature from some of the most eminent sociologists and
political commentators. They point to crafts as a plausible answer to the present developmental
failures
21
. In the process, there has been an excavation of its meaning and relevance to the
contemporary human situation, especially the current economic crisis.

...Problems arising from this limited understanding
22
which has deep roots in the history of
industrialisation and Indias colonisation
23
range from the application of flawed concepts and
definitions by the government planning machinery to distorted social perceptions, markets and prices.
This in turn, affords the artisan - trying to further her / his situation - only some highly stifled and
limited ways to engage with and respond to the economic and social realities
24,25
.

19
This aspect has a mirage like quality. Often, craft consumers will deny this. Venkatesan narrates an
amusing anecdote about how an American insisted on haggling the price for a mat because they just
do this in their spare time, it does not cost them anything
20
Hence in the words of an august member of the Indian Planning Commission - craft is a sunset
industry.
21
See references to the works of Richard Sennett and Matthew Crawford, inter alia, in the Introduction.
22
See Box 1 on page 34
23
See, for example, Matthew Crawford, The Case for Working with Your Hands, Chapters 1 &2, pp.
11-53. He quotes T.J. Jackson Learss (No Place for Grace) historical enquiry into the Art and Craft
movement and the Smith-Hughes Act of 1917. These and several other events at the start of the
industrial revolution reversed existing values about work and consumption; the process continues today
with beguiling but false ideas being propagated about the creative knowledge worker. Another source of
enquiry into these aspects is Soumhya Venkatesan, Craft Matters, Chapter 1, pp. 21 45. She argues
that a historical examination of the origin of the word points to three disparate elements fused together
in the context of the politics of work in the 19
th
century when resistance to the mechanical and political
control of the worker peaked at the start of the industrial revolution. In India, the term acquired new
layers of contested meaning in the context of nation building - with the debates and ideology remaining,
however, the province of the elite.
24
Venkatesan, ibid. This is the substance of her whole thesis, about the contestations in the market
space for craft and the maudlin ethnic concerns of craft consumers that artisans as craft producers have
to pander to. It is also tempting to quote an extremely perceptive article that appears as I write, which
underscores the universality and depth of this problematic. See Nisha Susan, Gond Art in Society &
Lifestyle Column, Tehelka, Vol. 7, Issue 30 (31 July 2010). The latest problematic formulation in this
regard is the idea of the cultural and creative industry. As Nisha Susan perceptively comments, this
form of cultural consumption is akin to the porn phenomenon.
25
Exceptions are rare but they can and do exist if only to prove that another way is possible. This
cannot be underemphasized in India where appalling apathy and inertia lead to depravities practised
cynically in the name of inclusive development. Annexure 10 contains the entire text of the post dinner
speech at the Santa Fe Folk Art Market in itself, formidably reputed by Ashoke Chatterjee in 2008

47

So, while the two stages of the study have explored the ways in which gaps arise in the estimation of
the size and contribution of the sector, this points to a deeper malaise the ways in which we construct
and perpetuate an image of crafts and artisans. These are not necessarily acceptable to the artisans
themselves
26
, nor do they afford them the basic rights to livelihood and dignity that our constitution
enshrines.

...One significant body of understanding amongst these emerging ideas is about the nature and place of
culture in our understanding of development. There is evidently a growing need to go back to the
drawing boards and resurrect basic value frameworks around aspects like ecology and ethics.
Paradoxically to some modernists
27
, this is often pointing back at traditions like crafts to take us
forward.

Our country has an unsurpassed advantage here, if only it be recognised that it is up to us to define craft
as sunrise, and then to shape it into our winning edge. Some of the findings from the study hope to
point to the dimensions and aspects within the craft sector that could provide elements of such a
winning new basis and edge to innovation and creativity in our modern industrial, design and services
sectors.


...from the Introduction:

..One core idea that seems to undercut much of the new thought is the new understanding of the nature
and place of culture in human development.
...
Sociology and Political Theory
The RLS Mandala
28
postulates that all human livelihood activity necessarily has a cultural component,
and that this informs peoples decisions, choices and comfort with the scheme of things.
The renowned sociologist Richard Sennett
29
has argued in his book The Craftsman - the case for
looking at crafts as one source for a basis for a way out of the current quagmire in western society.




which is moving testimony to how such exceptional spaces and interventions can be created and
sustained.
26
Ibid.
27
See page 44 last paragraph for a brief discussion on tradition and modernity. For a fuller
understanding of the challenges in the Indian context, see Kappen, S, Tradition, Modernity,
Counterculture: An Asian Perspective, Visthar, Bangalore, 1998 (second edition).
28
See, for example, the RLS Mandala, in Ruedi Hogger and Ruedi Baumgartner (editors), In Search Of
Sustainable Livelihood Systems, Managing Resources and Change, SAGE publishing.
29
London School of Economics; also founder, The New York Institute for the Humanities at New York
University; also teaches at MIT and Trinity College, Cambridge University. Past President, American
Council on Work and has been advisor to UNESCO.

48

Harvard University, Centre for Policy Research

Prof Michael Walton (Senior Fellow, Centre for Policy Research, Harvard University), sees cultural
industries not as conservation activities but as a 21st century industrial strategy: the creative sector as
the sector of the future, not merely as the protector of the past. Prof Walton said no society achieves
transition successfully without innovation and deep creative skills.


Extracts from Chapter 2 Methodology

2.2 Purpose of the Pilot Study
The goals of the pilot study were derived as:
1. To study a sample of artisanal households in the pilot clusters in some micro detail in terms of their
social, cultural and economic aspects, to better understand their livelihood systems holistically, and
understand the changes that occur over time.
2. To determine approaches and indicators to assess the correct numbers of artisans and their economic
contributions.

2.4 Adopted Methodology
The methodology adopted was to undertake the study in select craft clusters in two steps. The study
was initiated with a structured qualitative assessment. This was followed by a household survey
administered through a formal questionnaire with close-ended responses to be coded and recorded in a
standardised and clearly defined and tested procedure.

The cluster survey involved an open-ended enquiry, restricted, however, to specific probes around 3
definite themes. These selected themes were:
i. Sustainable Livelihoods. Questions related to this attempted to surface aspects of peoples
vulnerabilities, the kinds of resources they are able to access, the strategies they forge and the
institutional structures and processes they encounter, and the typical outcomes.
ii. Skill inventory: Identifying and inventorying in some detail the types and levels of skills
involved would correlate with the livelihood choices and vulnerabilities.
iii. Role inventory: A detailed understanding of the entire production chain, processes
involved and the types of role baskets and niches generated in a cluster would also correlate with the
above two aspects.




49

Extracts from Chapter 3: Findings
3.2 Demography
Our attempt was to cover about 200 households each in the two clusters. After rechecking and ensuring
completion of all the received questionnaires, we had 406 valid schedules that were considered for
analysis. The distribution of these 406 households across the two clusters and the crafts is shown in
Table 1.

Table 3-1: Details of craft households covered in pilot study

The total population covered in the survey is 1925 persons in these 406 households. This averages to
4.74 or about 5 persons per household. Some of the important demographic characteristics of the
sample are summarised in Table 3-2, which follows. The Table 3-3 shows the status of literacy in these
households.

The total population in these houses working for an income is 935 (2.30 persons per household).
Among these, 754 persons earn primarily from craft (80.64 % of working population).Within this,
711 persons earn solely from the craft, which is about 76% of the total earning population. The other 43
have a secondary income which is (in all these cases) agricultural.

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50

S(dL".&.$+#/_%$+%#$-#$+"(()c.#0%$&

Karur is legendary for the type of bedsheet called 2 x 2. This is still woven in a few
pockets. This bedsheet has distinctive geometric patterns in multiple colours
which are achieved by selective lifting of warp threads using up to 16 pulls
attached to foot pedals. Accomplished weavers operate these foot pedals with
high speed and precision, and the permutations and combinations are staggering.
Indeed, when this author attempted to buy two bedsheets of identical design at a
weavers cooperative, he had to search for an hour amongst hundreds of them
before being successful. This is because the weaver simply sings another tune
(i.e., she changes the design) each time she starts on a new bedsheet. The idiom
is not off the mark; it is commonplace to refer to such weaving with Tamil phrases
which translate into the feet speak or the feet sing.

The seemingly simple act of interlacing warp and weft threads on a handloom has
produced an unparalleled richness of diversity in Indian fabric. Combined with the
judicious use of natural yarns of appropriate qualities, the fabrics in their functional
qualities afforded a stunning range suitable to each clime and purpose. Each
fabric thus has a characteristic texture, design and colour palette and unique
appeal. At one time, each cluster of villages was known for some such speciality.

Groups of users, differentiated by caste and occupation, traditionally sourced their
distinctive fabrics from specific weaver families or clusters, often at vastly
separated geographies. In some cases, where special ritual wear for religious
purposes or ceremonies, wedding dresses, etc. were involved, the weavers had
an intimate knowledge of the clienteles worldviews, traditions and beliefs, and
often acted as a significant link in the transmission of such knowledge!

51

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)>V49@:a#@P?9=>CP46B24:>@V:E9::E6PE9X646C259:68?42=9@P2:E64C259:>2@AX>CC9V6F9:9@P:>=6>@:E6B9<:E9X6;66@
:469:689<=>V49@:<1^2486?>@>:>2@2?9CC2:E64:64=<BC69<646?64VC2<<94P2@B9V6KN1

Among this population, about 35% is illiterate, while another 52% reports basic literacy (with or
without primary schooling). Only 5% report education beyond the 10th grade.

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Average family size among respondent households was 4.74 or close to 5, which is very close to the
national average. However, within clusters, this varies significantly; the average family size at Kutch
being 9.34 while at Karur it was 3.55.
Average no. of persons from household practising craft is 1.86 persons. Average sex ratio within
surveyed household population is 51 males for every 49 females.
The total population in these houses working for an income is 935, which comes to 2.30 persons per
household. Among these, 754 persons relate earning primarily from craft (80.64 % of working
Kutch Karur Erode Total
Numbers 206 117 83 406
Population 1216 397 312 1925
Average size 9.34 3.4 3.8 4.74
Local 175 117 83 375
Migrant 31 0 0 31
Hindu 104 117 82 303
Muslim 102 0 1 103
SC 96 8 1 105
ST 9 0 0 9
OBC 21 41 5 67
Other 80 68 77 225
Nuclear 122 103 69 294
Joint 84 14 13 111
Sole migrant 0 0 1 1
APL 110 11 8 129
BPL 83 103 68 254
Not available 13 3 7 23
Kutcha 23 12 17 52
Semi Pucca 156 95 62 313
Pucca 27 10 4 41
Owned 184 94 63 341
Rented 19 23 19 61
Other 3 0 1 4
Available 199 108 73 380
Not available 7 9 10 26
Own Tap 193 12 11 216
Shared tap 3 72 52 127
Other 10 33 20 63
Ration Card
House type
Electricity
Water source
Domicile
Religion
Caste
Family type
Household
characteristics
Demographic
Variable Category
Number of households

52

population). Within this, 711 persons earn solely from the craft, which is about 76% of the total earning
population. The other 43 have a secondary income which is (in all these cases) agricultural.

3.2 Skills, Processes and Roles:
Liebl and Roy
30
have stated that artisanal skills do not command the recognition and respect they
deserve. This is partly a reflection the traditionally low social status of the artisan communities (most
of which are caste-based), as well as the low levels of education and high levels of poverty in the
sector. To this, we must add the governing elites rush to modernise by transposing the Western
model of urban-industrial development and consequent rejection of anything rural or traditional.

A formal assessment of the skills and knowledge available in craft traditions would in many ways help
to improve their productivity. For continuation in the same occupation, it would help design
customised interventions to improve existing skills, add missing ones and design better support
frameworks. From a livelihoods perspective, the challenges faced by persons at different strata on the
skills ladder differ considerably and would call for different interventions. For a shift out of the craft
occupation, the mapping would help too.

Enumeration of Skill Levels
We adopted a graded scale of five levels for artisans, and added two more types of categories. These
two categories described modern enterprise roles that are often performed fulltime in craft enterprises
where a collective / group of people work together. The first such role was designer which was not
further segregated. The second set of roles we anticipated was the managerial and administrative tasks
related to an enterprise where we segregated two levels managerial and assistive. The definitions
applied to these levels are described in annexure 8.

The responses show a larger than expected number of artisans with higher skills amongst the studied
population.

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749 416 333

30
This excerpt is from the article in the Economic and Political Weekly issue December 27,
2003, pp. 5374 top.

53

Average number of skills / roles handled by each person: 40% of the persons handle only a single role;
while 20% handle two roles and another 40% handle many roles (more than two roles).

Types of roles
Typically, most crafts revolve around a key technical process, such as weaving, which require high
skills. Around this, several roles in pre processing (such as preparing the yarn and loading it on the
loom before weaving) and certain post processes (finishing edges, etc.) also exist, with varying skill
levels. Conceiving the final end product its end use, size, colour, design, and other parameters is a
task undertaken even before the production is undertaken. Design is often a key element because,
unlike mass production, it is not standardised and in many cases, each product is unique.

The organisation of production can take many forms. While household (cottage level) production is
common, artisans can also work in small groups. Enterprises grow in two ways. Often, the market
facing entrepreneur might simply expand through the putting out system, which involves enlisting
other home producers to work for them. This might be a loose or a bound arrangement. Sometimes, the
entrepreneur owns the loom or makes some other capital investment or loan to the artisan which binds
her to him. Another form of enterprise is when the master or entrepreneur provides a work shed. This
usually employs 5 to 15 people, and might not be formally registered. Larger, more centralised
production arrangements with a factory like atmosphere, assembly line break up of roles and
formalised systems are also found, less frequently.

Depending on the scale of organisation of production, all enterprise related roles planning, sourcing,
selling / gathering orders, supervision, accounting, financial management, might be handled in addition
to the core craft technique roles; or assigned exclusively. We looked at the levels of roles performed in
relation to the enterprise side of the craft along a simple gradation from overall management to
assistive functions.
,9;C6LGJ

While the nature of the craft and production system determines the implications of the ability to
manage entire process or perform any role; it is still revealing to find that the proportion of people
$9:3462?42C6 $3=;642?
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54

within the production system who value add through core roles is quite high as compared to non core
or undifferentiated assistive roles.

Practise and Processes
Responses to Since when has this craft been practised in your family?:
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This agrees with prevalent understanding that handloom weaving is in sharp decline recently owing to
withdrawal of government support on essential aspects like availability of hank yarn; as also the sharp
rise in exports of other handcrafted goods as reported by Liebl-Roy.

55

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=2;>C>:P\9556<<:2<5E6=6<9@8?95>C>:>6<1

A good proportion of households have television sets and mobile telephony. About 16 % have reported
possessing some agricultural land. Hardly 25% of those surveyed have artisan ID cards, and the
coverage under health insurance is also reported at 19% for the Central scheme while it is nearly 100%
for the State scheme in Tamil Nadu.






Total number of households 206 117 83
Radio/ transistor 62 55 34 30 45 37
Television 146 98 78 71 88 79
Fridge 54 0 2 26 1 14
Cooking Gas (LPG or gobar) 48 43 20 23 32 27
Computer 6 0 0 3 0 1
Landline telephone 22 1 11 11 6 8
Mobile telephone 174 72 44 84 58 71
Internet connection 5 0 1 2 1 1
Bicycle 89 79 50 43 65 54
Two wheeler (powered) 88 38 16 43 27 35
Four wheeler 7 1 0 3 1 2
Tractor 2 1 0 1 1 1
Three wheeler 2 1 0 1 1 1
Electric motorpump 12 1 1 6 1 3
Diesel pump 3 0 0 1 0 1
Agri land 31 30 5 15 18 16
Borewell 2 0 0 1 0 0
Irrigation 6 1 0 3 1 2
Artisan ID card 58 23 21 28 22 25
Health card RGSSBY 1 42 33 0 38 19
Janashri Bima Yojana 3 1 0 1 1 1
Kalaignar Kapittu Thittam n.a. 110 78 -- 94 n.a.
Bank loan 18 2 2 9 2 5
Loan from SHG/ Federation 5 3 7 2 5 4
SGSY 11 0 0 5 0 3
Artisan Credit Card 0 0 0 0 0 0
Percentage households
Kutch Total
Karur
Cluster:
both blocks
Households possessing / having availed -
Particulars
KUTCH
KARUR
Block
ERODE
Block

56

Economics
,9;C6LIU

<= 30000
rupees
30001 -
40000
rupees
40001 -
50000
rupees
50001 -
80000
rupees
80001 -
120000
rupees
> 120000
rupees
N 10 12 5 20 19 9 75
Row % 13 16 7 27 25 12 100
Column % 6 17 14 35 63 35 19
N 89 28 13 13 1 144
Row % 62 19 9 9 1 100
Column % 51 40 36 23 4 37
N 14 9 11 14 2 1 51
Row % 27 18 22 27 4 2 100
Column % 8 13 31 25 7 4 13
N 42 2 1 1 2 48
Row % 88 4 2 2 4 100
Column % 24 3 2 3 8 12
N 5 5
Row % 100 100
Column % 3 1
N 4 4 1 1 10
Row % 40 40 10 10 100
Column % 2 6 3 2 3
N 2 2
Row % 100 100
Column % 1 1
N 2 1 1 2 6
Row % 33 17 17 33 100
Column % 6 2 3 8 2
N 2 2
Row % 100 100
Column % 8 1
N 1 1
Row % 100 100
Column % 3 0
N 9 15 3 7 7 9 50
Row % 18 30 6 14 14 18 100
Column % 5 21 8 12 23 35 13
N 175 70 36 57 30 26 394
Row % 44 18 9 14 8 7 100
Column % 100 100 100 100 100 100 100
Wood carving
Block printing
Total
Pottery
Lacquerware
Leather work
Copper bell
Table mats - cloth
Bhavani rugs - full cotton
Bandhani
Knife making
Annual Earning
Total Crafts
Hand weaving
57

,9;C6LIK

,9;C6LIR
Total sales N
% of
Total
N
Mean Minimum Maximum Sum
<= 30000 rupees 60 21.7 22210 8300 30000 1332606
30001 - 40000
rupees 48 17.3 36103 30400 40000 1732955
40001 - 50000
rupees 39 14.1 45848 41520 50000 1788062
50001 - 60000
rupees 27 9.7 56489 50400 60000 1525190
60001 - 80000
rupees 41 14.8 71471 60408 80000 2930292
> 80000 rupees 62 22.4 165617 80320 815000 10268254
Total 277 100 70676.39 8300 815000 19577359
Table compiled for responses received.
Table 3-30
Total sales
District N
% of
Total
N
Mean Minimum Maximum Sum
Kutch 96 34.7 105758 8300 815000 10152800
Karur 104 37.5 43458 10800 129600 4519613
Erode 77 27.8 63701 10800 727680 4904946
Total 277 100 70676 8300 815000 19577359

Kutch Karur Erode

N 11 35 14 60
Row % 18.30% 58.30% 23.30% 100.00%
Column
11.50% 33.70% 18.20% 21.70%
N 14 24 10 48
Row % 29.20% 50.00% 20.80% 100.00%
Column
14.60% 23.10% 13.00% 17.30%
N 8 14 17 39
Row % 20.50% 35.90% 43.60% 100.00%
Column
8.30% 13.50% 22.10% 14.10%
N 7 13 7 27
Row % 25.90% 48.10% 25.90% 100.00%
Column
7.30% 12.50% 9.10% 9.70%
N 14 10 17 41
Row % 34.10% 24.40% 41.50% 100.00%
Column
14.60% 9.60% 22.10% 14.80%
N 42 8 12 62
Row % 67.70% 12.90% 19.40% 100.00%
Column
43.80% 7.70% 15.60% 22.40%
N 96 104 77 277
Row % 34.70% 37.50% 27.80% 100.00%
Column
100.00% 100.00% 100.00% 100.00%
Total
<= 30000
rupees
30001 -
40000
rupees
40001 -
50000
rupees
50001 -
60000
rupees
60001 -
80000
rupees
> 80000
rupees
District
Total Total sales

58

Extracts from Chapter 4: Discussion

4.1 Highlights of findings
In these two clusters the nuclear family is fast becoming the norm, with about 73% of the households reporting
that they are nuclear. The joint families are largely in the Bhuj cluster where their share is 41%; in Karur and
Erode blocks they are about 12 and 16 per cent respectively. In joint families, craft was practised as a part of a
basket of livelihood strategies while certain adults worked full time in the craft tradition, one or more (usually
the eldest son) would be supported to develop and then diversify into a salaried job or some petty trade or
business; in some cases some agriculture or allied activities could be added to the basket. In a basket strategy,
there was the flexibility and freedom to mop up available free time after household work or agriculture to pitch
into the craft. Household chores like cooking and care of children could be anchored by one person, leaving the
others free to work and earn. Since the craft practise was not the only source of income, there was no pressure to
earn a certain floor level of income from this activity. As nuclear families become the norm, continuing craft
practise and simultaneously managing household chores (especially care of children) in itself is a challenge. The
grim alternative (once the craft earning falls below a viable level) is usually casual labour, since the luxury of
educating or supporting entry into salaried jobs or small businesses for even one member is difficult to
orchestrate.

Literacy and education levels are extremely low. Hardly any person possesses any other skill or knowledge for
an alternative livelihood source. Once an artisan is unable to sustain herself through the craft practise, the only
alternative is to offer oneself for casual labour. This is usually sought within the local context and migration is
the last preference of the artisans. Only about 7.6% of the artisanal households here have migrated. There are
serious issues in relation to the message that the formal education system communicates to artisanal
communities and children about the worth of their occupations, and the way in which it treats the knowledge
systems and skills inherent in these traditions as irrelevant or inconsequential. That can be the subject of
discussion for a modest sized book. However, see discussion in Box 6 on page 68 about the Kala Rakhsa
Vidyalaya in Kachhch.

Women who work for the craft number only slightly less than the men and constitute 45% of the artisanal work
force. Over 40% of the artisans have high degree of skills and have met the project definition of master
craftspersons. In terms of skills and roles, women contribute significantly about 68% of women artisans report
to be at the skill level of highly skilled aka technician and above while 26% are reported in apprentice or
assistant skill levels; the corresponding percentages reported for men are 88 and 9. In terms of roles undertaken,
30% of the working women artisans are in management or oversight of the entire process, 10% report an ability
to undertake any role, another 23% report performing the key skilled role and finally 36% are in non core /
assistive roles; the corresponding percentages for men are 48, 22, 21 and 8.

The gender composition of contribution to workforce and value addition in general as well as specifically within
crafts sector has often been contested by sector representatives.


59
Previous reports that depend on secondary data or analysis provide figures in the range of 14% (Liebl Roy) to
17% (our own analysis of census data). Part of the reason is that the census data only records main workers and
excludes home based work. The Bhuj and Karur clusters have a predominance of weaving, embroidery and
other crafts wherein the participation rates of women are higher. These are also crafts which are usually carried
out from home, unlike, say, woodwork or metal work (more common in UP and northern states) which are
increasingly organised in Kharkhanas. Nevertheless, micro surveys like this have consistently pointed out higher
rates than official statistics.

Of the artisans surveyed in these two clusters, about 27% are entrepreneurs who largely market their own
wares
31
. This percentage is higher at 47% in the case of Bhuj. The other channels of marketing are selling to
local traders (49%) and accessing retail customers directly (22%).

Income levels range from as low as Rs. 8,300 per annum to Rs. 8, 15, 000 per annum for a household. Most of it
is scattered in the range between Rs. 20,000 to Rs. 2, 00, 000 per annum. About 63 % of the households are
identified as living below the poverty line and possess BPL ration cards. However, higher income levels,
sometimes going beyond Rs. 8, 00, 000 lakhs per annum, are reported in many individual cases from Bhuj
where many artisans have turned into big entrepreneurs.


4.3 Further interpretative discussions
There is dynamism in the artisans in selecting livelihood and coping strategies, within available knowledge and
competencies. They innovate and adapt to changing market preferences, technology shifts and competitive
changes.

However, while individual adaptability and dynamism exist, at a sectoral level, this takes the form entirely of a
reactive and not a pro active stance. Rarely are individual artisans or enterprises large enough to weather
technology shifts or to invest in suitable R & D towards anticipating changes.

The tradition itself has seen rigidities, such as caste bound boundaries or boundaries to adapting products to
other utilitarian purposes than originally conceived. Traditional uses are often overlaid with ceremonial,
religious or votive meanings. This implies strictures about the nature and manner of use; and corresponding
specifications and strictures about the method of manufacture. There are both positive and negative movements
with regard to these. Many of these boundaries are breaking women are playing much larger roles, new castes
take up these activities. However, when markets are still accessed and controlled by intermediaries, traditional
strictures about the production process often continue to hold sway on the artisans making it difficult to adapt to
contemporary needs.


31
These roles are fluid and usually it means that a master craftsperson has taken on trading and supplies to
various markets. S/he may have a variety of arrangements to source from other artisans and depending on the
type of markets accessed, may either sell only to intermediaries or directly to customers or to both.

60
The dynamic factors which determine the growth or decline of the craft need to be understood from a total
livelihoods perspective and not from a narrow economic perspective alone. Other sections of society have
engaged with greater success in market participation. There are peculiar characteristics of the artisanal culture
and value systems which preclude their easy assimilation into the market economy.

There is no doubt that market integration needs to be achieved. However, we cannot paint all handicrafts with
one brush. Many crafts are not dying due to their own intrinsic weaknesses in the face of modernisation. Often,
they are dying due to wilfully loaded hostile terms of trade.

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61

Annex 3
Select bibliography


Books

Chattopadhyay, Kamaladevi Handicrafts of India, Indian Council for Cultural Relations, Wiley Eastern
Limited, New Delhi.

Chhiber, Neelam Stone Craft of India, Volumes 1 and 2[2005], The Crafts Council of India.
Crafts Council of India Champa [2010].

Crafts Council of India, Grass to Gold [2009].

Crafts Council of Karnataka The Temple Treasures (3 Volumes)

Crawford, Matthew The Case For Working With Your Hands [2009], Viking (an imprint of Penguin).

Dhamija, Jasleen (Editor) Asian Embroidery [2004], Crafts Council of India Abhinav Publications.
Gudeman, Stephen, Economics as Culture: Models and Metaphors of Livelihood [1986], Routledge and
Kegan Paul.

Latour, Bruno We Have Never Been Modern [1993], Harvard University Press.


Pal, P.K. Crafts and Craftsmen in Traditional India [1978], Kanak Publications, New Delhi.

Ranjan, Aditi and Ranjan, M.P. (Eds.) Handmade in India: Crafts of India [2007], co-published by
COHANDS and Mapin Publishers Pvt. Ltd., National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad.

Ranjan, M.P., Iyer, Neelam and Pandya, Ganshyam Bamboo and Cane Crafts of Northeast India,
National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad.

Ranjan, M.P., Singh, Mann (Editors) Bamboo Initiatives: Design Strategies from NID-BCDI, National
Institute of Design.

Roy, Tirthankar Artisans and Industrialisation: Indian Weaving in the Twentieth Century [1993],
Oxford University Press.

Roy, Tirthankar Artisans and Industrialization: Indian Weaving in the twentieth century, Delhi Oxford
University Press, 1993.

Saraf, D.N. In the Journey of Craft Development, 1941- 1994, (The Panorama- Crafts In States)
[1991], Sampark (Publication Division), New Delhi.

Sennett, Richard The Corrosion of Character: The personal consequences of work in the new
capitalism [1998], WW Norton.

Sennett, Richard The Craftsman [2008], Yale University Press.

Sennett, Richard The Culture of the New Capitalism [2006], Yale University Press.


62
Subrahmanian, K.K. (Editor) The Handicrafts Industry in Kerala, Blending Heritage with Economics
[2006], Daanish Books, Delhi.
Throsby, David Economics and Culture [2001], Cambridge University Press.

Venkatesan, Soumhya Craft Matters Artisans, Development and the Indian Nation [2009], Orient
Black Swan.

Journal articles
Dev, Mahendra S; Galab, S.; Reddy, P. Prudhvikar and Vinayan, Soumya, Economics of Handloom weaving:
A field study in Andhra Pradesh, Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. XL111m No. 21 (May 24-30, pp. 43-51.

Jain, L.C., A Heritage to Keep: The Handicrafts Industry, 1955-85, Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 21,
No. 20 (May 17, 1986), pp. 873-887.
Kurup, K.K.N., Traditional handloom industry of Kerala, Centre for Heritage Studies, Department of
Cultural Affairs, Govt. of Kerala. Indian Journal of Traditional Knowledge, Vo. 7(1), January 2008, pp.
50-52.

Liebl, Maureen and Roy, Tirthankar, Handmade in India: Preliminary Analysis of Crafts Producers and Crafts
Production, Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 38, No. 51/52 (Dec. 27, 2003 - Jan. 2, 2004), pp.5366-5376

Noorbasha, A., Handlooms in Distress, Economic and Political Weekly, June 8, 1996, 31(23) pp. 1384-86.

Roy, Tirthankar, Out of Tradition: Master Artisans and Economic Change in Colonial India, Journal
of Asian Studies, Vo. 66, No. 4, November, 2007 pp. 963-991.

Solanki, S.S., Reaching the unreached: The missing links - A case study of rural artisans in Haryana
and Rajastan, Man and Development, 25(20, 2003, (June) pp. 33-48.

Solanki, S.S., Sustainability of Rural Artisans, Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 43, No. 19, May
2008.

Som, Suparna; Bharati, Susmita; and Chatterjee, Arun K., The Role of Women in Weavers' Family: A
Case Study in West Bengal Village, Journal of Indian Anthropological Society.42: 23-30 (2007.)
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Asia Pacific Creative Communities: The Jodhpur Initiative (commonly called Jodhpur Consensus),
UNESCO, 2005.

Contribution of Handicrafts and Handlooms in Indian Development, Industrial Development Services,
A report on Hand-Printing, New Delhi, January 1983

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N. Delhi, 1982

Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions,UNESCO, 2005.
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Creative Economy Report 2008: The Challenge of Assessing the Creative Economy: Towards Informed
Policy Making, UNDP - UNCTAD


63
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International Symposium on Crafts and the International Market, Trade and Customs Codification",
Final Report, Manila, Philippines - 6-8 October 1997), UNESCO, UNCTAD

Law and Handloom Cooperatives, Vasudha Nagaraj, Dastkar Andhra, 2007.

Mandate for Growth: The Handloom Cooperative Experience in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka,
Dastkar Andhra AIACA, 2007.

Globalization of Indian handicrafts: A human development approach. Pradeep Kumar Jena: paper
privately circulated.

The handloom industry and the socio-economic condition of weavers in Orissa, Rajkishor Meher,
Nabakrushna Choudhury Centre for Development Studies, Orissa, Bhubaneswar

Reflections on the Cooperative, Occasional paper, Dastkar Andhra, 2007.

Rural Artisans in Tamil Nadu, E.S. Srinivasan, MIDS Working Paper 20.

The 2009 UNESCO Framework for Cultural Statistics

hLLp://www.uls.unesco.org/LemplaLe/pdf/cscl/framework/lCS_2009_Ln.pdf

The Future is Handmade. Prince Claus Fund Journal #10a, The Hague, Netherlands 2003.
unescobkk.org/ellb/publlcaLlons/2003creaLlve_communlLles/creaLlve_communlLles.pdf

Valuing Craft: Locating the Artisan in Times of Transition A Seminar held in conjunction with
Kamala 2008 (proceedings summary), Crafts Council of India, February 2008.
NCAER reports
Census of Handicraft Artisans 1995-96, State Series Vol 1, NCAER, New Delhi

Census of Handicraft Artisans 1995-96, State Series Vol 10, NCAER, New Delhi

Census of Handicraft Artisans 1995-96, State Series Vol 11, NCAER, New Delhi

Census of Handicraft Artisans 1995-96, State Series Vol 22, NCAER, New Delhi

Ameta, H.R., Census, Handicraft artisans 1995-96

Vijayagopalan S. Economic Status of Handicraft Artisans, NCAER, New Delhi - 110002, 1992
NSSO reports
The National Sample Survey, Seventh Round: October 1953-March 1954, Number 19, Report on Small
Scale Manufacture

The National Sample Survey, Seventh to Eighth Round: October 1953-April 1955, Number 42, Report
on Small Scale Manufacture

64

The National Sample Survey, Fourteenth Round: July 1958 - June 1959, Number 100. Tables with
Notes on Rural Employment and Unemployment
Planning Commission documents and reports
Annual Report, Ministry of Textiles, Government of India, 2008-09

Draft Report of sub group on Handicrafts for the Eleventh Five Year Plan, Office of the Development
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Draft Report of the sub group on Handicrafts for the Tenth Five Year Plan, Office of the Development
Commissioner (Handicrafts), Ministry of Textiles, Government of India

Draft Report of the sub group on Handicrafts for the Ninth Five Year Plan, Office of the Development
Commissioner (Handicrafts), Ministry of Textiles, Government of India

Evaluation Report on Khadi & Village Industries Programme, PEO Study 181

Past Forward: The Future of Indias Creativity (Report of the Task Force for Cultural and Creative
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Report of the Task Force on Handicrafts for the VIII Five Year Plan, Office of the Development
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Study of Handloom Development Programme, 1967, PEO Study No.61

Study of Village Artisans, 1956, PEO Study No. 17
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Census of India 1961 Part Vii-A Handicrafts and Artisans of Madras State, Palm leaf products

Census of India 1961 Part Vii-A-(ix) Handicrafts and Artisans of Madras State, Brass and Bell-Metal
Ware of Nachiarkoil

Census of India 1961 Part Vii-A-(vi) Handicrafts and Artisans of Madras State, Wood carving of
Madurai

Census of India 1961 Part Vii-A-(vii) Handicrafts and Artisans of Madras State, Druggets and Carpets
of Walajapet

Census of India 1961 Part Vii-A-1 Handicrafts and Artisans of Madras State, Silk Weaving of
Kanchipuram

Census of India 1961 Part Vii-A-IV Handicrafts and Artisans of Madras State, Fine Mats of Pattamadai

Census of India 1961 Volume IX, Madras, Part I-A-(ii), General Report

Census of India 1961 Volume IX, Madras, Part XI-A, Handlooms in Madras State.


65
Census of India, 1961, Madras State, Part VII-A, Monograph No. 4, Cire Perdue Casting in
Swamimalai, Office of the Registrar General of India, Ministry of Home Affairs, New Delhi -11

Census of India, Series No1, Paper No. 2 1970, Office of Registrar General of India, Ministry of Home
Affairs, New Delhi. Basketry and Mat-weaving in India

66
Annex 4
Terms used/Conversions

Note: The words (handi)craft, (handi)crafts or (handi)craft sector are used throughout this report to include
and subsume both the handloom and the handicraft sectors. The CEIS project definition of handicrafts does not
follow the arbitrary administrative compartments and definitions applied by the DC(H) and the GOI. For a fuller
discussion, see the section on definitions page 42.

Abbreviations and explanations for colloquial or specific terms used

Agarbatties Incense sticks
APL Above Poverty Line
Artisan
A person who works to produce handloom or handicraft items is referred
to as an artisan. An artisan is a person with special hand skills, often
handed down traditionally across generations, and often linked to a
complex traditional knowledge system encompassing the material,
technology and / or design aspects.
Bandhani A traditional form of tie-dye technique for colouring fabric.
BC Backward caste
Bhavani rug
A special form of a tough (canvas like yet supple) hand-woven cotton rug
that has traditionally been used to spread on open grounds at outdoor
functions for people to sit on; and also under the mattress in some parts of
India. It is still the floor spread of choice for outdoor events and is usually
made in striking bands of colour according to a distinctively recognisable
design idiom.
BPL Below Poverty Line
CCI (The) Crafts Council of India
CEIS
This report is the second stage of a study undertaken by the Crafts
Council of India. This study was titled Craft Economics and Impact
Study, or CEIS in short.
Chapathi
A traditional Indian bread made from whole wheat flour rolled thin and
round and cooked fluffed on a pan.
Cluster
We have loosely applied this term to refer to two specific pockets that
were covered in this study. A cluster normally refers to a geographically
contiguous area possessing some unifying activity or characteristic, and is
increasingly seen as a better basis for targeted intervention in preference
to artificial administrative boundaries. Thus it might include parts of two
contiguous administrative territories such as blocks or districts.
CP Craftsperson
Craft
The word craft is used throughout this report to refer to both handloom
and handicrafts. Handicrafts are products or services provided by artisans,
working primarily with their hands. The artisan very often uses
traditional knowledge and her/his direct manual contribution forms a
substantial or distinctive part of the end product or service. Usually there
are minimal or limited inputs from machines. The project definition and
explanations are contained in specific sections of the report.
CST Central sales tax
DC (H) or DCH Development Commissioner Handicrafts
DFID Department for International Development (of the UK)
EC Economic Census

67
EU European Union
EUS Employment - Unemployment Survey of the NSSO.
FCS Framework for Cultural Statistics of the UNESCO Institute of Statistics
GDP Gross Domestic Product
GoI Government of India
Handicrafts


ITC
Same as craft above. For more accurate description, see the CEIS project
definition. Subsumes handlooms and handicrafts.
International Trade Centre
Kharkhana A local expression for a workshed or factory
Kutcha / kuchcha An expression meaning raw or unfinished
KVIC Khadi and Village Industries Commission
Lakh A hundred thousand; or one tenth of a million (1,00,000)
Million A thousand thousand (1,000,000)
MSME Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises
NCAER National Council for Applied Economic Research
NCO National Classification of Occupations
NGO Non Governmental Organisation
NIC National Industrial Classification
NIC National Industrial Classification
No(s). / no(s). Number(s)
NREGA National Rural Employment Guarantee Act
NSSO National Sample Survey Organisation
NSSO National Sample Survey Organisation
OBC Other Backward Communities
PAN A registration to identify an individual or enterprise for Income Tax
PDS Public Distribution System
Ph.D. Doctor of Philosophy
Powerloom A simple automated loom that runs on electricity.
PRA Participatory Rural Appraisal
Pucca an expression meaning solid or well finished
RLS Mandala
The Rural Livelihood System Mandala - an outcome of a global study on
sustainable rural livelihoods by the NADEL University; which has later
been incorporated into the DFID Sustainable Livelihoods Framework.
RTE, RTI Right to Education, Right to Information
SC Scheduled castes
Sec. 25 company A registered not-for-profit company

Sector
The word sector connotes a reference made when referring to handlooms
and handicrafts as an industry sector. Unlike other modern industrial
sectors, this one involves formal and informal manufacture at household,
cottage or industry levels as well as a range of specialised services
provided - again both formally and informally. The presence of separate
agencies for production and for market interfacing, with many
intermediaries and much informality, also poses problems in assessing the
total size and value addition of the sector.
Semi-pucca
Pucca means finished. This refers to a house that may have any (but not
all) of its walls, floor or roof in an unfinished state.

68
SHG Self Help Group
SRUTI Society for Rural, Urban and Tribal Initiatives
ST Scheduled Tribes
UK United Kingdom
UNESCO United Nations Educational, Social and Cultural Organisation
UP Uttar Pradesh



Conversions

Numbers
1 million = 10 lakhs = 10, 00, 000
1 crore = 100 lakhs or 10 million = 1, 00, 00, 000
100 crore = 1 billion

Currency
1 USD = about 45 INR (Indian Rupees, abbrev. Rs.)
USD 1 billion = INR 45 billion;
INR 1 billion = USD 22 million or 0.0222 billion