What comes to your mind when you think of rural economies in states like Assam? Agriculture? Of course. Handloom? Absolutely. And more often than not, it is in that order: you are far more likely to see people who work in the agricultural sector full-time while also keeping handloom weaving for additional income.
Nestled within homes, handloom weaving isn’t just a trend; it’s a way of life passed down through generations.
You also need to dig deep to understand that at least in rural Assam, handloom and the love for fabric is hardly something that has ‘come from outside’. For many, it might be trendy to wear something ethnic; in villages, however, it is part of a culture that has evolved within the community over the years. This is where the Centre for Education and Communication, a resource centre dedicated to research, campaign and support on key concepts, ideas and policies that enhance dignified and sustainable livelihood options of workers, in particular informal workers, and small producers, comes into the picture.
Centre for Education and Communication, established in 1982, is now in its fifth decade of existence, working consistently to ensure economic justice based on universal social security, decent working conditions, fair wages, occupational health and safety for all workers, and fair prices with upward mobility for small producers, across different stages of the respective value chains.
Handloom and its role in the rural economy can be seen as both ‘traditional’ as well as complex, where the women go for farming and weaving simultaneously, along with other livelihood activities such as livestock for sustainable household income. “Handloom entrepreneurship among rural women at village level stems primarily from catering to the community demands of products which are mostly traditional and used for daily life consumption”. While the local market provides the base for weavers, they also continue to navigate their outreach into the expanse of urban markets and conscious consumers, at national and international levels. This is where the women aspire to upskill themselves with evolving market needs to grow and thrive as entrepreneurs, marking their identities as catalysts to rural development and creating opportunities for many other women around them.
Explaining the intricate network, CEC points out: “Rural women also depend on local agents to sell their products in local markets as well as in nearby towns and cities. Rural weavers use the ‘Aadhi’ system which is an age-old traditional system being passed down from generations before. As per this locally evolved system, they receive yarn from the consumers, weave products by using such yarn, hand over half of the products to the concerned consumer, and retain the remaining half for self-consumption, or sale within their village-level network. While the rural women have accepted the system for years, they aspire to move beyond the traditional methods and explore the opportunities for fulfilling direct orders from consumers or selling in the market (outside the local level) in exchange for direct & timely payments.
“Moreover, handloom enterprises exist at an individual level which are at the seed stage and found to be informal and fragmented. Women do network with each other to fulfil and take up new orders from within the village/local market which is limited only to the local ecosystem,” CEC added.
Small steps towards big impact
Centre for Education and Communication (CEC) launched a 4-year initiative in Assam-“Building Sustainable Rural Women Entrepreneurs in Handloom Value Chain”, as part of the Udyamini- Rural Women Entrepreneurs Collaborative. Through this initiative, CEC seeks to enhance the capabilities of Rural Women Entrepreneurs (RWEs) in the handloom value chain through a hands-on approach, providing tailored guidance and assistance at the village level across different stages of their business such as introducing value-added production and exposure to market and financial linkages. These would be further supported by imparting stage-wise business management skills, digital skills and introduction to clean technology solutions for enhanced productivity.
A total of 312 handloom rural women weavers were surveyed for a baseline assessment using both quantitative and qualitative techniques, and the findings are both familiar and surprising, but regardless, they go a long way in shaping the initiative.
Some of the interesting highlights tell us:
- Handloom as an income-generating activity for the household is taken up by 64 % of rural women, of which 27% of women reported Handloom activities as the second largest income-generating source for their household.
- Since handloom is a passed down knowledge from generations before, the families do not have consistent access to programs to upgrade their skills as only 13 % of the women have received training through government initiatives or local CSOs to enhance their skills.
- In the current project implementation district of Kamrup Rural, the weavers do not have access to good quality yarn due to which their participation in markets outside the local community remains limited. At present 90 % out of 312 respondents are engaged in selling their products at the local level while only 49 % out of 312 respondents sell in nearby towns. To increase the percentage, quality yarn and design intervention was highlighted by women as an immediate need.
- While rural weavers have access to smartphones, only 10 % of them use digital platforms (WhatsApp & Facebook) to sell and promote their products. With proper support and training, the number of women using digital technology for business expansion can rise.
- 100 % of the rural weavers in the areas studied are part of SHG groups and 100 % of them have accessed financial support through SHG loans at some point. While this holds strong linkage potential for women to meet their working capital needs, such as for procuring yarn, tool kits, etc., and seek skill advancement support, the linkages remain to be contextualised within the framework of their handloom businesses, supported by a proper business plan.
- 100 % of the women take part in making decisions at the household level primarily concerning domestic chores. Less than 1 % of the women were part of Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRI). It was also observed that in the village where a woman was a member of PRI, they felt empowered to support issues such as enabling access to government schemes and welfare support for their community members.
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CEC elaborates further that the idea is to now take the baseline findings and use the same for effective implementation of the program. To begin with, the districts where the program is being implemented are Kamrup (Rural) and Goalpara.
The number of RWEs being onboarded for the program out of the total targeted 1000, is based on village-wise preliminary visits, assessment study and selection of RWEs in each district as per the parameters set under the program for enabling rural women weavers’ entrepreneurship in the concerned geographies.
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