Kashmiri handicrafts important for J&K economy

08 Oct '11

2 min read

Kashmiri handicrafts are important for the economy of the Indian State of Jammu & Kashmir, Chief Secretary Madhav Lal has said.

During a visit to the Indian Institute of Carpet Technology (IICT) at Nowshera, Mr. Madhav Lal stressed on the need to expand the market for Kashmiri handicrafts. He said the design and development of handicrafts can be further improved through the use of modern technology. He added that the old heritage needs to be promoted along with new trends.

The Chief Secretary was shown new designing techniques developed by IICT for various Kashmiri handicrafts. He showed keen interest in the new loom designed by the IICT, which weavers are finding suitable to work with.

Mr. Lal said the handicrafts sector offers plenty of opportunities to the educated youth to earn their livelihood. He asked the State handicrafts department to increase its efforts to attract the educated youth towards employment opportunities and to conduct skill-based training programmes and workshops to support new generation of artisans.

Zubair Ahmad Mir, Director IICT, said the institute is developing computerized designed script and carpet design with the help of software and as per market requirements, the services are provided on nominal charges.

In addition, he said, the institute is trying to preserve the rich heritage of Kashmiri handicrafts by digitizing the old traditional carpet design currently available in the form of manually written script.

IICT runs several skill upgradation and training programmes such as weaving on new modern loom, use of dyeing technology, computer-aided carpet designing and handling of raw materials used in the handicrafts sector.

The Chief Secretary also paid a visit to Craft Development Institute, which conducts training programmes for stitching of women's garments, computer-aided designing and other craft related activities.

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