Shubha Khandekar

By weaving new designs and corporate learnings into an age-old tradition, Dastkar Andhra has successfully infused new life into weavers' communities and empowered them to have a stronger standing in modern markets

A deceptively simple-looking handloom has been the cause of a social and community revolution in Andhra Pradesh. In the last 18 years, the weavers’ community in Pasalapudi, Andhra Pradesh, has managed to turn its fortunes around — growing from a trade labouring with substandard, out-moded technology to a market-driven and internationally recognised business model.

The chief catalyst of this process has been the Dastkar Andhra Marketing Association (DAMA), the marketing wing of Dastkar Andhra, which has struggled to weave this spectacular success across weavers’ communities in Andhra by infusing marketing and design innovations into the warp and weft of an age-old trade. The annual sales of DAMA in 2005-06 crossed Rs1.3 crore.

DAMA’s primary objective since 1995 has been to ensure growth and equitable returns to the traditional handloom weaver. The handloom sector in India has always been spread across a large base of producers with diverse skill sets. While the high-skill weavers get remunerative wages, it is not always true for the medium and low-skilled weavers, who turn to the cooperative for a living. DAMA has chosen to work with cooperatives in order to strengthen these institutions and also because these are equitable structures which can potentially reward weavers fairly.

In 2001 DAMA began to hold exhibitions at which weavers’ cooperatives were invited to sell their products. Based on the degree of response, DAMA forged alliances with cooperatives in Ponduru, Rajavolu, Pulagurtha and
Pasalapudi, and with an independent weavers’ group in Chinnur. At present DAMA is working with about 15 cooperatives across eight districts in Andhra Pradesh.

A modern approach to tradition
The biggest challenge that DAMA faced was the perception of handloom
products in India: the entire sector was considered a subsidised industry with little market potential as fabrics and designs were considered unfashionable. DAMA’s first task therefore was to evolve a strong business revenue model that would drive the subsequent marketing strategy.

The result-oriented business model that finally evolved consisted of viable business revenues, high volumes and low margins, market recognisable products, market information channels, flexibility and quick response to
market changes, multi-market segments, multi-distribution channels and multi-scale models.

A business revenue model with low margins made it possible to sell high volumes, thus reaching wider masses, particularly in the middle income market. With this game plan, DAMA was able to create economic viability
in the handloom sector as well as change the popular image of handloom products as elitist and traditional.

In the beginning, DAMA faced challenges at both the producer level as well as the market end. The design of the model demanded a commitment on the part of DAMA to take up a certain amount of production from each producer group, which ensured work through the year for each loom and weaver of that group. The marketing strategy called for intensive perception changes in both the retailer and the consumer so that the social significance of the handloom process could be integrated into the value of the handloom product in a marketplace already overloaded with power looms and foreign goods.

The different marketing channels that DAMA has so far exploited successfully are retailer servicing, exhibitions, household (not door-to-door, but a woman entrepreneur selling from her home) sales networks (as a source of income generation for women), local marketing and exports. Exhibitions are held in different cities, for instance, an annual exhibition in Pune for the past five years has been a successful experiment resulting in a loyal base of customers in Pune.

DAMA has set up internal systems that seek to link the diverse departments of production, stockroom and marketing and ensure the smooth flow of information from one end to the other. Obtaining pre-orders from retail customers has been an important marketing strategy.

Amidst the producers, DAMA has had to tackle the problems of obsolescence of design and technology and ignorance of market dynamics. Although handloom products are time and labour intensive, DAMA turned the problem inside out to create a major ‘unique selling
proposition’ — handloom products are customisable to retail and consumer demands; handlooms present the potential to change designs frequently; and weaving is decentralised and differs from region to region, making for richer variety.

Thus DAMA has been able to maintain the unique cultural identity of woven handloom products and the artistic trends and traditions rooted in the life and practices of the community. Easy to state, but preserving artistic and cultural identity while providing access to retail markets has implied walking the tightrope between market growth and producer equity.

The design difference
In order to enable the weaver to address the demands of the market, DAMA set up a design studio to ensure product innovation. DAMA’s major learning has been in articulating the requirements of different market segments and matching them to production capabilities. The design studio works closely with the marketing team to understand consumer and retail preferences on design, aesthetics and quality.

Distant markets have different aesthetic and quality parameters and this feedback is crucial for weavers whose growth lies in the ability to create as per consumer wants. DAMA has evolved a coding procedure for sampling that helps both retailer and producer to ensure continuity in stock procurement. The lack of systems for ready referencing between producer and market had earlier made it difficult for distant retailers to communicate effectively.

DAMA has introduced the practice of coding and sampling with all producer groups to ensure consistency in quality of production, colour and weaving.

All of DAMA’s efforts have thus been in the direction of including the weaver in the marketing loop. An important component of this effort has been the training of the weavers. Training needs are assessed on the field and insights on market dynamics and quality parameters are regularly imparted to the weavers. Innovative training programmes developed by DAMA include sessions on dyeing and weaving for new entrants into the field.

R&D efforts have been focused on the use of natural dyes, transfer of technology and documentation. The dye house at the National Institute of Rural Development campus in Hyderabad serves multiple functions: as a dye production centre, as a lab for experimentation and as a training centre for groups. The DAMA team also holds field training sessions with artisan groups in different locales, taking into account the local conditions and resources. In the last few years, DAMA’s efforts have succeeded in reviving one indigo vat at Uravakonda in Andhra Pradesh and setting up a new indigo vat in Sagar district in Karnataka.

Years of consistent, intensive work in multiple areas pertaining to the handloom sector have equipped DAMA with the know-how to venture into the international arena. In November 2006 DAMA collaborated with
Crafts Council and UNESCO for an international symposium on natural dyes. DAMA also took up a project to document technology transfer practices in Gadwal and Narayanpet with new weaver entrepreneurs.

Apart from the fieldwork related to handloom products, DAMA also has a very active policy research and advocacy wing. It plays a significant role in initiating dialogue between policy makers, weavers, cooperative societies,
academicians, civil society groups and groups working in crafts and handlooms. These efforts are directed towards preparing cooperatives for a better negotiating position with the market and the state, and in turn, allowing them to have a say in the policy shaping process of the administration.

With wholehearted support from the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust, DAMA is thus firmly placed on a path strewn with bright hues and innovative designs that will lead eventually to a future where the weaver is valued as highly in society as the consumer.

Uploaded on July 4, 2007