Commercialization of local crafts

Abstract

Inspite of having high demand of both utilitarian and traditional crafts in domestic and international markets traditional craftsmen are still exploited by middlemen and most of them live below the poverty line. There is participation and support from both the private and public organizations but the level of economic and social awareness still remains below par amongst the craftsmen. It is interesting to find out what role the for-profit organizations which try to establish the link between rural craftsmen and urban markets can play in this domain. Also it would be interesting to know why commercial enterprises are not rushing into this space. The project work also tries to find out the nature of inclusivity of a business in the handicrafts industry. A framework to measure the degree of inclusivity of such businesses is essential to understand the real social impact caused by these companies. The objectives of the study were to: 1) Study the Indian Handicrafts market landscape. 2) Understand Inclusivity of a Business 3) Develop a framework to measure degree of inclusiveness. 4) Evaluate key players on the framework to understand the unique working models of key players.