Arati Carroll

Weaving cooperatives in Andhra Pradesh have found a friend in Dastkar, an organisation that is employing innovative marketing strategies to reinvigorate the handloom heritage

As the state transport bus lurches towards the village of Pasalapudi in Andhra Pradesh, you expect to be confronted by the desperate poverty of the weavers here, something media reports have often evoked. But the people in this community, including 150 families engaged in handloom production, defy stereotyping.

The working day begins at 6 am. Under a canopy of trees, the weavers stretch out brightly coloured yarn across wooden structures. The yarn is brushed, separated into individual threads and wound. Then every member of the family — as in other such communities, entire households rather than individuals work as weavers in Pasalapudi — take turns at the wooden looms.

The bustle of activity around the village stands testimony to the economic well-being of this community. While most weaving cooperatives in the state are grappling with diminishing livelihoods, Pasalapudi's residents are able to consistently sell their products. That they have managed to hold out against the odds, and even turn their fortunes around, is in large measure thanks to the help they have received from a non-governmental organisation called Dastkar.

The Andhra chapter of Dastkar, set up in 1989, works in association with weaving cooperatives in the state to make the handloom industry a productive economic sector and to ensure fair incomes to weaver families. The objective is to establish efficient and innovative marketing systems that can ensure the financial security of the weaving community.

Governments have long turned their back on the handloom industry, which has been dwarfed and undermined by high-output power looms. "Earlier, lungis, towels, and some saris with borders were products reserved for the handloom sector," explains Durga Prasad, a production manager with Dastkar who has to contend with the daunting issue of competition on a daily basis. "Today, power looms churn out cheap imitations and, in the absence of government intervention, these are easily sold."

Handlooms, contrary to popular belief, can also be produced in large quantities. If it receives a fraction of the support extended to other industries, handloom has the potential to be the powerhouse of rural resurgence. Dastkar's objective is to broaden the market base for quality handloom products and put them within the reach of middle-class people.

An offshoot of the Delhi-based Dastkar, the Andhra edition established itself as a separate entity in 1995. It has a subsidiary trust — Dastkar Andhra Marketing Association (DAMA) — that is involved in the marketing efforts for the six cooperative societies currently working under the organisation's umbrella.

Dastkar Andhra develops marketing channels appropriate to the large-scale, low-capital domestic cotton textile sector. Its model includes establishing credibility with producers and setting up systems for knowledge management and supply chain management. Funding from the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust has come at a critical stage for this exploratory marketing venture, which is in its final six-month stretch.

The organisation has been on its toes tracking consumer preferences and consolidating the handloom client base. It has gauged the procurement cycle of the retailers so that it can match these with those of producers. The DAMA design studio works specifically at product development that responds to evolving market preferences. It trains weavers in new techniques and takes care not to force producers into high-technology, niche designing, while it experiments with sustainable methods. DAMA has not only assisted weavers with dyeing standardisation but has also revamped the coding and sampling of fabric swatches to simplify access and tracking.

At Pulagurtha, the community involved with Dastkar Andhra is experimenting. This is evident in the rich hues and designs of cloth in its small but well-stocked showroom. This community has succeeded at reaching out to the domestic market: the village itself. The success of the cooperative in the local market means that it relies on Dastkar Andhra to sell only half of its total produce.

This success of the organisation's marketing models can be attributed to the fact that they are tailored to meet the needs of individual societies. DAMA functions with the belief that every product has an appropriate marketing channel. Today, big retail players like Fabindia, Anokhi and Shopper's Stop figure among its key buyers, and total sales for the last financial year have gone past the Rs 1-crore mark. "We ask the weaver how much he wants to give us," says Uzramma, the person who set this mission rolling. "Once we take on his produce, we also take on the responsibility to sell all of it. He doesn't suffer from any lack of sales."

Now the DAMA archetype is ready to be replicated within other cooperatives. The next step will be to use the learning from the success of the retailer-servicing model and implement it another marketing intervention: the expansion of the selling-from-home network. Dastkar Andhra also serves as a marketing consultant to weaving societies outside the state, while imparting natural dyeing training in India and abroad.

Ms Uzramma is keen to ensure that the work the organisation carries out is not restricted to just a small percentage of the entire weaving industry. "While part of the work we do is connected with the livelihood of the weaver, the other part is about policy recommendations for the benefit of the entire industry," she says. "Ultimately, we want to hand power back to the weaver. They should be able to choose where their product goes — and not constantly have to run after traders."

Dastkar Andhra's most powerful legacy will, no doubt, be the confidence it has instilled in a community that was being buffeted by the winds of unwelcome change. The future of handloom and the people who weave it is far from bleak.

Uploaded on March 2005