Purchase products made by artisans rather than donating money to them: Tata Trusts urges people
The COVID-19 pandemic has hit the heart of the handloom sector and it is "suffering terribly" under the countrywide lockdown, the Trusts, which own a majority stake in the diversified, over USD 100-billion conglomerate Tata Sons, said.
The country has been under a lockdown since March 25, which is set to continue at least till May 3. It has stopped a bulk of the economic activity and is all set to impact all the sectors of the economy.
"Our artisans are enterprising and resilient and we need to stand by them in these trying times. None of us has ever witnessed a situation like the ongoing one, more so our brothers and sisters in the interior of India," head of craft at the trusts, Sharda Gautam, said.
"They do not need our charity. They need our reaffirmation in their art and craft and we can demonstrate this by continuing to purchase from them," she added.
In a statement, the Trusts, which runs an initiative called 'Antaran' for the crafts sector, said the largedly self-employed craftsmen are suffering a brunt of the pandemic as they are dependent on seasonal retail sales and direct orders.
As their activity is informal, the small artisans and producer groups lack access to financial assistance and cannot rely on financial institutions to tide them through such a crisis.
A lack of credit from raw material suppliers aggravates the challenges, it said, adding that although the Indian government is supplying free food rations most of the artisans, especially daily wagers are finding it extremely difficult to feed their families and cater to other emergencies.
Antaran is focusing on four handloom clusters in Assam (Kamrup cotton and Eri silk), Nagaland (Dimapur and Phek, backstrap loom textiles), Andhra Pradesh (Venkatgiri - fine cotton and silk weave embellished with Jamdani, Zari) and Odisha (Maniabandha weft Ikat in fine cotton, silk & Gopalpur weaves in Ghicha and Tussar), it said.
The team is trying to make the most of the lockdown and encouraging the "artisan entrepreneurs" to rethink a new direction and interpretation for the weaves of their clusters, it said, adding they are showing keen interest in the same.
In order to become independent brand owners, the artisans are also consolidating their business, improving their product catalogue, re-organizing inventory of raw material and finished products, it said. AA MKJMKJ