Session Handout for Marketing of Village Products

Handicrafts and Handlooms together engage about 16 million people and have a turnover of $5 billion annually (Seventh Five year plan, Vol.II). However, this translates to only about Rs.13000 per person per annum at Rs.42/$ (usually per family). But go to any crafts shops in India (other than orgn. like KVIC), the prices of articles tend to be exorbitant, the traders and middlemen take the profit margins away.

However, there are initiatives where designers and craftsmen are working together to address the contemporary market with appropriate designs, color combinations etc. Here the earnings of the craftsmen increase tremendously. For example, in Warangal, AP, Dhurry weaving has been extremely profitable due to designer intervention (to target markets in Japan and Europe). Mnay non-weavers are learning to weave to produce because of the earnings. Similarly, in Etioppaka, C.V.Raju produces wooden crafts with vegetable dyes (he spent over 10 yrs. Researching about these) of very good quality. On an average, craftsmen supplying articles to him earn Rs.3000-7000 pm. Jinnan, a National Institute of Design graduate, works with potters in Kerala. His potters also earn upto Rs.7000 pm, producing clay tiles for walls. These are the new entrepreneurs who believe in fair trade and share profit among the craftsmen.

There are few portals dealing with Indian handicrafts

• www.craftsoftheorient.com
• www.peoplestree.org/sipa
• www.craftsindia.com
• www.banascraft.org

To develop a portal for crafts, the issues of interest are: The interested end, ie., b2c (buzzword for business to consumer) or b2b (buzzword for business to business). Initially, the portal would start with b2c operations and perhaps at a later stage also deal in b2b interaction.

The ground realities in the current “brick and mortar” operations: current b2c operation is through exhibitions and fairs. In addition, intermediaries like Lepakshi, Crafts council of India, South Indian Producers Association etc., purchase the products for retailing. These intermediaries could be classified into:

• Govt. run retailers like Lepakshi, Cauvery etc.
• Private run retailers like Tribes etc.
• NGO run retailers like Sabha/CRY shop etc.
• National level exporters like SIPA, Indus tree, etc.
• International exporters like OXFAM etc.

The govt. run and some private retailers place the products on display. Only after the product is sold the payment is made. Those concerned with the living conditions of the artisans purchase the product upfront and place it on display. CRY/Sabha/OXFAM etc. operate like this.

Additional links:

• www.caatrading.org.au
• www.oxfam.org.uk/fair_trade.html
• www.banascraft.org