The Gujarat State Handloom and Handicrafts Development Corporation Limited (GSHHDC) has planned to impart training to above 200 tribals in areas where the handloom and handicraft crafts are not practiced, like Narmada and Navsari districts region of the state to double its growth in handloom sector.
The state-owned corporation, alarmed by the shrinking number of skilled artisans in the state, has started conducting training programs across the state. As the market for handlooms has started witnessing growth, it needs more quantity of products and skills.
This forced GSHHDC to take measures to improve skills in weaving crafts in non-traditional handloom areas such as, tribal regions of Narmada and Navsari," said Mr. SK Chaturvedi, Managing Director of GSHHDC.
The corporation is engaged in supporting handicrafts and handloom artisans and marketing the products, procured from the artisans, under the name 'Garvi Gurjari', as well as in providing them raw materials and subsidies to buy or upgrade tools and machines.
At present, GSHHDC runs around 22 Garvi Gujarat emporiums in cities including New Delhi, Kolkata, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai.
Since Corporation's inception in the year 1973, it had seen noticeable sales growth for the first time in the recent past. In the year 2006-07, GSHHDC posted a turnover of Rs. 106 million, recording a 40 percent growth compared to the overall sales of Rs. 75 million during 2005-06.
There are around six procurement centers of Corporation in Gujarat at Sankheda, Palanpur, Patan, Gandhinagar, Bhuj and Ahmedabad and around 19 showrooms in the cities, including Ahmedabad, Kolkata, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Mumbai.
Fibre2fashion News Desk - India