d)   Flat material hand mat weaving and product fabrication: in the case of screwpine mats, bamboo mats, coconut palm mats, North Eastern grass mats, standardized dyeing, product development, cluster development are the need of the hour. Design development needs to be done keeping in mind the practical problems related to production such as geographic proximity of raw material processors to producers. R & D needs to focus on:

• Raw material diversification
• Dyeing training
• Skill development training programmes

3. Cluster / cooperative development

This could be done through existing NGOs in the relevant districts. Two natural fibre consultants in each state could coordinate with the main natural fibre project develop these NGOs.

• In each state cluster groups need to be worked with in detail, taking one skill at a time, for example, palm leaf basketry skills in Tamil Nadu, rope fabrication skills in Kerala, rope fabrication on metal frames in Orissa bamboo basketry in West Bengal, screwpine mat weaving and product fabrication in Kerala, such that in each state, all skills are gradually covered.
• Cluster upgradation and diversification also needs to be done.
• Bulk production, a prerequisite for export, needs to be built into any system of development adopted for natural fibres.

4. Research on materials:

Agricultural availability and Planting Programmes

Identification of new raw materials and data on their agricultural availability is essential. Raw material growth programmes may be initiated with Wasteland Boards and Watershed Development Agencies in each state. The growth of raw materials can be done in specific ways to improve production; for example, in Philippines and Thailand, water hyacinth leaves are grown longer in a controlled fashion, whereas in India, they spread out and are not long enough. Other aspects that could be looked into are listed below:

• Different varieties of banana trees grown in South East Asian countries, yield different types of fibres.
• The possibility of growing Abaca in India needs to be explored.
• Talipot palm (which givesrise to raffia) is grown to some extent in Kerala, its expansion could be considered.
• An estimate is required of the volume of raw material required for spinning of banana fibre, sisal, pineapple, gongura, etc.
• The use of new material such as inner pith of Korai, hitherto unused, but available in abundance in India, could be investigated.

A compilation of all such data into a directory of materials would be very useful in the future.