Source: World Bank
"Handmade in India: Preliminary Analysis of Crafts Producers and Crafts Production in India; Issues, Initiatives, Interventions" is the title of a report that the authors of this chapter were commissioned to prepare by the Policy Sciences Center, Inc., under the direction of Frank W. Penna, in 1999. The study and the report were funded by the Development Grant Facility of the World Bank, and were expected to provide an analysis of the crafts sector in India that would be of use to the World Bank in planning future loan programs. The completed report was presented at a Bank workshop in Washington, D.C., in January 2001.Much of the information in the current chapter is quoted from the report or based on it. The full report and transcripts of the workshop sessions are available at lnweb18.worldbank.org/essd/essd.nsf/Culture/CW-Agenda.
In a world that is becoming increasingly mechanized, increasingly homogenized, and almost completely exposed to the scrutiny of the Internet, it is logical to assume that the unique, the individual, and the culturally resonant will acquire ever more appeal and luster. A recent United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) symposium, in fact, has concluded that "the industries of the imagination, content, knowledge, innovation and creation clearly are the industries of the future they are also important contributory factors to employment and economic growth" (UNESCO 1999). Try telling it to the weavers of Andhra Pradesh. In just one recent month, four skilled and talented traditional artisans in this southern Indian state died from starvation, and two more committed suicide (Gopinath Reddy 2002). They joined the several score more who have taken their own lives in recent years and the uncounted thousands who have not yet been driven to this act of ultimate despair, but whose lives nevertheless have been devastated by financial ruin and by the hopelessness of a world in which their skills and their knowledge, once prized and respected, have become superfluous.
Their stories are harsh and tragic. "My husband begged master weavers for work," says one widow. "But they could not help us. He committed suicide." Another weaver gave up when the last in a long string of creditors demanded payment. "It was the last straw, "comments one of his neighbors." He collapsed, leaving his wife and children destitute. "Still another hung himself the day after a major festival, during which his family could not eat (Gopinath Reddy 2002).
Read Full Article
Responsibility:
Fibre2fashion.com does not warrant or assume any legal liability or responsibility for the excellence, accurateness, completeness, legitimacy, reliability or value of any information, product or service represented on Fibre2fashion.com. The information provided on this website is for educational or information purposes only. Anyone using the information on Fibre2fashion.com, does so at his or her own risk, and by using such information agrees to indemnify Fibre2fashion.com, and its content contributors from any and all responsibility, loss, damage, costs and expenses (including legal fees and expenses), resulting from such use.
No Endorsement:
Fibre2fashion.com does not endorse or recommend any article on this site or any product, service or information found within said articles. The views and opinions of the authors who have submitted articles to Fibre2fashion.com belong to them alone and do not reflect the views of Fibre2fashion.com.
If you wish to reuse this content on web, print or any other form, please seek for an official permission by writing to us on editorial@fibre2fashion.com
Subscribe today and get the latest information on Textiles, Fashion, Apparel.