CONTENTS

Cluster ............................................................................................................. 1

Bihar ................................................................................................................ 3

Art and Craft .................................................................................................... 4

Metal Craft across India .................................................................................. 4

About Pareo metal ware .................................................................................. 9

Product line.................................................................................................... 12

Products assortment of Pareo products ......................................................... 13

Process of making metal utensils at Pareo craft cluster - .............................. 14

Artisan’s Detail.............................................................................................. 20

Working Environment ............................................................................... 28

Credit facilities........................................................................................... 29

Costing of Products.................................................................................... 30

Pareo Market Survey ................................................................................. 31

Patna Market Survey.................................................................................. 33

Government initiatives............................................................................... 34

Supply Chain Management of Metal Craft Cluster ................................... 36

Classifying 4P’s of Marketing Mix ........................................................... 37

Marketing and Various Channel of Distribution at Pareo ......................... 38

Case Studies of Artisans at Pareo .............................................................. 40

Business challenges faced by artisans: ...................................................... 44

Marketing strategies for Patna market ....................................................... 46

SWOT analysis of Pareo Cluster ............................................................... 47

Concerning Issues ...................................................................................... 49

 Developing Pareo Cluster .......................................................................... 50

Future of Pareo Metal Ware ...................................................................... 51

Conclusion ................................................................................................. 53

References.................................................................................................. 54

Annexure I – Transportation Cost table

 List of Figures

Figure 1: Metal craft of Jammu and Kashmir (Left) and Moradabad (Right) ........ 5

Figure 2: Metal craft products at Moradabad ......................................................... 6

Figure 3: Bronze scripture of Palitana, Gujrat (Left); Brass engraving in Jaipur,

Rajasthan (Right) .................................................................................................... 7

Figure 4: Metal ware Products of Madhya Pracdesh(Top most),Andhra (Middle)

Tamil Nadu and Kerala(Down) .............................................................................. 8

Figure 5: Railway route from Pareo to Patna ....................................................... 10

Figure 6: Roadways route from Pareo to Patna .................................................... 11

Figure 7: Map showing the location of Pareo, nearest river and manufacturing unit
of Pareo ................................................................................................................. 11

Figure 8: Product list of brass and bronze utensils at Pareo ................................. 12

Figure 9: Brass and Bronze utensils at Pareo ....................................................... 14

Figure 10: Process flow of production.................................................................. 15

Figure 11: Making of Raw material...................................................................... 15

Figure 12: Casting (Top); heating (middle); pancakes (bottom) .......................... 16

Figure 13: Rolling (Top); Rolled sheet (bottom); Beaten sheets (down) ............. 17

Figure 14: Scrapping (Top); Cleaning (down) ..................................................... 18

Figure 15: Tools used for Production ................................................................... 19

Figure 16: Artisans working at Pareo ................................................................... 21

Figure 17: Demographic of the artisans: Age (top); Gender (middle); Education
(bottom) ................................................................................................................ 23

Figure 18: Formal training (Above) and government support to the artisans of metal
ware craft (Below) ................................................................................................ 24
Figure 19: Distribution of artisans who picked craft seeing others (Above) &
Artisan’s willingness to promote this art to next generation (Below) .................. 25

Figure 20: Distribution of Artisans with knowledge of English (left); Artisans using
smartphones (right) ............................................................................................... 26

Figure 21: Recognition of Pareo products worldwide (As per survey) ................ 27

Figure 22: Labour working on machines .............................................................. 28

Figure 23: Working Environment at Pareo Cluster .............................................. 29

Figure 24: CFC board at Pareo ............................................................................. 35

Figure 25: Supply Chain at Pareo ......................................................................... 36

Figure 26: Marketing Channel (B2C) ................................................................... 38

Figure 27: Marketing Channel (B2B) ................................................................... 39

Figure 28: Family of Artisan Pintu Kumar ........................................................... 40

Figure 29: Smt. Sanju Devi .................................................................................. 42

 List of Tables

Table 1: Cost of Pareo Products on weight basis ................................................. 31

Table 2: Transportation cost ................................................................................. 56

 Executive Summary

India is a country with rich cultural and craft heritage. In order to maintain this
craft richness, cluster is of eminent importance. Cluster brings artisans dealing with
similar craft under one roof and helps them in their economic and social growth.
Bihar has its own cultural significance in terms of craft ranging from Madhubani
paintings, sikki art, bamboo craft and Bhagalpur silk to stone carving, wood
carving and metal craft. Pareo metal ware craft is one of the major craft cluster that
involves in the production of brass and bronze metal utensils.

Considering the importance of this craft cluster, three days visit to Pareo village
followed by market survey in Patna was conducted by the students of Fashion
Management Studies department of NIFT, Patna college. The visit was aimed to
observe and understand the entire production process of metal utensils and access
the cluster in terms of production feasibility, marketing, retailing and supply chain
activities. A survey was conducted in order to gain an insight into artisan socio-
economic status, demography, work culture, business management, government
support and generate a holistic view of the cluster in purview of artisans. Another
dimension of the visit was to interact with few of the artisans on one to one level
and learn about their experiences related with the craft. Overall, the report aims at
evaluation of these parameters, identify the issues in the craft practicing and
provide suggestion for the growth of cluster and artisans for a profitable and
sustainable future.
 Cluster
A cluster can be defined as a geographical concentration of small and medium scale
enterprises (SMEs) that are engaged in the same or in highly related business
sectors. Thus, geographical entities where textile SMEs is located in India fulfil the
definition of the cluster.

Cluster helps cities and countries in developing their economies. Strong domestic
clusters and clusters leading centers of their industry will attract investors both
from and outside the country. Also, these investments will help in enhancing the
leadership of the cluster and contributes to its upgrading. (Reference for business).

Industrial clusters are increasingly recognized as an effective means of industrial

development and promotion of small and medium-sized enterprises. The Cluster
approach is adopted as a key strategy of enhancing productivity by the Ministry of
MSME. The issue of effective Cluster management has gained immense popularity
amongst policymakers as a very important tool of intervention. Recognizing this,
Clustering and Aggregation is one of the identified areas for focus in the National
Manufacturing Plan (NMP).

Multiple bodies and central ministries run the development program for clusters.
The schemes benefit by sharing stored practical and theoretical knowledge related
to cluster management and cluster development. The Manufacturing chapter in the
12th Five Year Plan document suggests the formation of a ‘Central Cluster Cell’
(renamed as the Cluster Stimulation Cell) with the objective of maintaining cluster
information, performance evaluation and identification and facilitation of sharing
of best practices among the cluster participants.

For making relevant and impactful involvement in the cluster, the government
needs information on the units of clusters. A study by UNIDO was done over 6,000
clusters in various segments. A body is formed to represent the interest of a
particular cluster group to the government for promoting the profitability and
productivity of their members as each cluster has many manufacturing and service
units and very few of them are organized and have cluster associations. So, it was
mandatory to install a mechanism for gathering reliable data on Clusters and their
units. These data should be collected on the performance parameters of individual

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units as well as competitiveness at the cluster level. The CSC cell will play an
important role in creating and recording useful information and practices on better
cluster management. However, for the CSC to do its work, data is required on
Cluster unit performance. Keeping this in mind a framework has been developed to
gather inputs on these parameters.

It is needed to improve the manufacturing capability of MSMEs since today's MSME

will lead to the economic growth of the country tomorrow. Also, the cluster approach
will help to increase the productivity of these enterprises

Challenges faced by MSMEs:

 Most critical problem is to get the right amount of credits on time due to
the high-risk perception of banks about this sector.
 Also, the low level of technology and lack of access to modern technology
create an obstacle to meet the global market.
 Procurement of raw material is done from local markets and in smaller
quantity due to financial constraints.
 Unavailability of proper infrastructure facilities like power, water, roads,
etc is also a big challenge faced by MSMEs.

Benefits of cluster approach:

 Cluster approach helps enterprises in promoting their common interest,

encourage them for innovations, develop worker skills, and address issues
that affect productivity.
 Provide them a convenient way to reach the suppliers of raw material,
machinery, etc.
 Policies of cluster approach will give them a better way to access their final
customer.
 Policies enabling collective action allow enterprises better access to final
customers
 A cluster allows companies to operate more productively in sourcing
inputs; accessing information, and learning and adopting technology

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  Member of the cluster gets access to large market, technical and
competitive information accumulated within a cluster. In addition, personal
relationships and community ties foster trust and facilitate the flow of
information. These conditions make information more transferable
 It will also help in forming a new business.

Bihar
Bihar is in the northern part of India. With geographical size 38,202 sq mi (98,940
km2), it is the 12th largest state by area and 3rd largest by population sharing its
boundaries with Uttar Pradesh, Nepal, West Bengal, and Jharkhand. The state has
certain advantages of its location because of its propinquity to the market of eastern
and northern India, access to the ports of Kolkata and Haldia and also in sourcing
raw material and minerals from the neighbouring states. Bihar is also an ideal
destination for industries due to its large base of cost-effective labours. (IBEF,
2019)

Bihar, the land of Buddhism and Jainism is rich in culture and tradition from
ancient times. People of Bihar celebrate a range of festival Holi, Sarasvati Puja,
Dussehra, Diwali, Bhaiya Dooj and Chath. Chath is one of the most important
festivals of Bihar. Chath is a four day festival of worshiping Sun god.

Language

Official language in Bihar is Hindi and Urdu. In addition to this there are other
languages that are frequently spoken in Bihar that include Angika, Bhojpuri,
Maithili and Bajika.

Geography and Climate

Bihar has cold weather in winter in the month of December and January with the
temperature (lowest) ranged from 0–10 °C or 32–50 °F and weather is hot in
summer with an average temperature around 35–40 °C or 95–104 °F in the month

of June and July. Bihar has a very fertile plain and is the strongest agricultural state
with 80% of its population employed in agricultural manufacturing. (IBEF, 2019).
It is drained by the Ganges River.(Khanna, 2013)

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 Art and Craft
Bihar has a rich heritage of art and craft which has been passed from generation to
generation with some variations. The rich heritage of Bihar can be seen through
the fact that it is the home for India's first paintings which include madhubani
paintings, miniature painting done on paper and leaves, wall decorations,
patchwork, applique work, and local handicrafts.

Mithila in Bihar is famous for madhubani paintings. The miniature paintings using
leaves and paper, depicting the life of Buddha and Mahavira are sold in Bodh Gaya
which is famous among pilgrims and tourists of Bodh Gaya.(Bihar Foundation,
2018) (Upendra Mharathi Shilp Anusandhan Sansthan, 2015).Bihar is also famous
for the following crafts:

 Stone pottery,
 White metal statuettes,
 Bamboo artifacts,
 Sikki Craft,
 Brass and bronze metal craft,
 Lac bangle making,
 Madhubani Paintings, etc.

Metal Craft across India

Metal craft is the art of executing artistic designs and making useful materials
from metals. In India, metal work is since 3000B.C. Metals like iron, copper,
silver, and alloys like bronze, bell metal, white metal, etc are used by artisans to
make a variety of products such as pots, pans, utensils, photo frames, mythological
figures, and animals, etc. Also, products like doorknobs, taps, key chains, boxes,
etc are made, using different metals which are appreciated by people all over the
world.

A variety of metalwork can be seen from different parts of the country. Some of it
is discussed below.

4
Ladakh region of Kashmir

 Famous for - traditional vessels made out of iron and brass

 Products - bowls, samovars, plates, and trays.
 Specialty-Intricate floral and calligraphic patterns known as ‘naqauasi is
done to enhance the look of the utensil.

Moradabad in Uttar Pradesh

 Famous for - Range of brass items

 Products- household items like pots, trays, bowls and decorative pieces,
electroplated brass and copper items

Figure 1: Metal craft of Jammu and Kashmir (Left) and Moradabad (Right)

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 Figure 2: Metal craft products at Moradabad

Palitana in Gujarat

 Palitana is a town, located on a distance of 50km from Bhavnagar. Palitana

is a pilgrimage center for Jain religion.
 Famous for - bronze sculptures which depict themes from Jain Region

Jaipur, Rajasthan

 Famous for- brass engraving and lacquering

 Product - photo frames, bowls, plates, boxes, etc.
 Specialty- Ethnic designs, floral patterns, hunting scenes are hammered on
the surface of the products.

Madhya Pradesh

 Famous for- ornate metal boxes, lamps of Sarguja, rice measure bowls and
animal figurines of Raigarh, sculptures of Bastar

Andhra Pradesh

 Famous for- Bidri ware

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  Product - Pots, hookahs, trays, bowls, etc

Figure 3: Bronze scripture of Palitana, Gujrat (Left); Brass engraving in Jaipur,

Rajasthan (Right)

Tamil Nadu &Kerala

 Famous for- Tamil Nadu is famous for decorated traditional lamps made of
brass, used in religious functions, Kerala is famous for bronze mirror
(India-craft)

Andhra, Orissa

 Famous for- Dokra metal

 Specialty - No two pieces of craft are alike.
 Products- Small figurines of horses, drummers, tribal deities and plaques,
made from brass scraps and the core of the object is filled with clay.

7
Figure 4: Metal ware Products of Madhya Pracdesh(Top most),Andhra (Middle)
Tamil Nadu and Kerala(Down)

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 About Pareo metal ware
Pareo is a village in Bihar from a distance of 40km west to Patna. Pareo is located
near the bank of Som River at 7.2km. Also with Ganga is at a distance of 87.6km,
Nali river at 76km, Dhardhan river at 48.7km and PunPun river at 31.6km.

On his way to Janakpur, Lord Rama halted here which gave this name as Padao.
Later name changed to Paereb and now it is called Paero or Pareb interchangeably.
The work of bell metal used to happen here in which high heat of the Son river was
used for moulding and casting purpose as per the myths of the village. Later it was
moulded in earthen wares and later beaten to make thali.

Metalwork has been done here for three hundred year and this has become a
tradition of making metal craft of the village and it passes from generation to
generation. In 1970, the work of Brass metal started here but it gained its popularity
only when Pareo metal ware cluster was approved by the government of Bihar in
2003 and was completed in 2008 under CFC initiative of government. Out of 27
clusters selected for development from all over India was selected which included
two clusters of Bihar i.e. Pareo and Munger. Although, the first rolling machine in
Pareo was established in 1965 by collective effort of the artisans. The artisans in
this craft cluster are both residents of the village and migrants from other states.
Majority of them are residents of Pareo. During 1975-76, the import of Nepal metal
products gave a tough competition to Pareo products as being more finished and
aesthetically appealing.

The village is now famous for its brass and copper utensils in Bihar which has
special significance and is widely used in festivals and weddings. The village has
both a manufacturing unit and retail stores. Villagers are involved in both
producing and selling of these products. Some of the manufacturing unit and retail
stores can be traced using google map. Pareo main market is Patna but they sell in
many states including Jharkhand, Bengal, etc. The Location of Pareo on the map
is shown in Figure 7.

Village- Pareo

Block- Bihta

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Subdivision – Danapur

District- Patna

Connectivity- Road and Railways

Routes to reach Pareo

Railways

Koelwar railway station is only 3.7km away from the village Pareo which is at 25
km distance from the Danapur railway station (railway route) and it will take 30-
40 minutes to reach the Koelwar railway station and by using public transport, one
can reach to Pareo in 10-15min. So, the total time taken by railway to reach Pareo
is approximately one hour. Route from Patna to Pareo in shown in Figure 5.

25 km 3.7 km

Danapur Koelwar
Railway Railway Pareo
Station Station

Figure 5: Railway route from Pareo to Patna

Roadways

The bus is the most convenient means of transport to reach Pareo as busses for
Pareo can be available from any bus stand and it will drop you directly to the
Koilwar bridge which is 20-30 meters from Pareo. From Mithapur bus stand, a
distance of Koilwar Bridge is 82km and from Danapur Bus stand, distance is 28.8
km which takes approximately 51 minutes to reach Pareo as shown in Error!
Reference source not found.

The connectivity of Pareo with the capital city and various modes of transportation

10
 82Km (NH22 (walking distance)
and NH31)

Mithapur Koilwar
Pareo
bus stand Bridge

Figure 6: Roadways route from Pareo to Patna

Figure 7: Map showing the location of Pareo, nearest river and manufacturing
unit of Pareo

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 Product line
The product line of Pareo includes utensils of metals like brass, bronze which are
made by mixing raw materials like copper, zinc, and tin. They source their raw
material from Bengal, U.P, Delhi, and Jharkhand. Also, they collect scraps of
materials and old utensils to make new utensils of bronze and copper.

Brass is made by mixing copper and zinc in 10:7 ratio which in every one kilogram
of copper seven hundred grams of zinc is mixed to form Brass metal which is
further processed for utensil making and copper is mixed with tin in 50:13 ratio
which is for every one kilogram of copper 26 gram of tin is mixed to form bronze.
The product varied in quality depending upon the composition of alloy mixed and
weight of the utensils.

Brass Bronze

• Kadhai • Thali
• kathoti • Lota
• Serving spoons • Bowl
• Parat • Plate
• Plate • Lota
• Tokna

Figure 8: Product list of brass and bronze utensils at Pareo

 Kadhai- Thick, circular and deep cooking pot

 Kathoti- Deep utensils used for beading flour
 Pot- Deep pot used for storing water
 Parat- Parat is a deep plate having extended sides used for multi-purpose
 Plate- Is is known as Thali in Pareo
 Tokna – It is a deep utensil used to store and boil liquid example milk.

12
  Katori- Bowl used for serving food.
 Lota- Deep utensil used for drinking water. Shown in Figure 9

Products assortment of Pareo products

These utensils are sold on a weight basis and the cost of brass utensils was Rs420
per kg and Kasa utensils are Rs800per kg.

Products of Brass Utensils

1-1.5 Rs420-
Kadhai
kg 630

Kathoti 2kg Rs840

Serving
.5 kg 210
spoons

Parat 2kg
840
Rs210-
Plate 0.5-1kg
420kg

Tokna 1kg Rs420

Products of Bronze (Kasa) Utensils

0.5-0.7 Rs400-
Thali
kg 560

0.5- Rs400-
Lota
0.7kg 560

0.3- Rs240-
Bowl
0.5kg 400

0.25-0.3 kg Rs200-
Plate
240

13
 Figure 9: Brass and Bronze utensils at Pareo

Process of making metal utensils at Pareo craft cluster -

Production process – It is a process of converting raw materials into finished
goods. The production process of metal utensils involves many steps that are
sourcing and melting of raw materials, casting, circle cutting, rolling, etc.
Generally, in making bell metal utensils approximately 4:1 ratio of copper and tin
is used which means 78% is copper and 22% is tin. After receiving the order, they
start their whole process of making utensils. Different units of workers are involved
in different works. Each process of making utensils need a group of 3 or 4 people
so that they can complete their work quickly or in the given timeline.

Flow chart of the production processes of Pareo is shown in Figure 10. The flow
chart streamlines the steps of production and points out about stages through which
the raw material passes in order to become final finished product. Each step has its
own importance and adds a value to the previous step of the process flow. It talks
about from sourcing the raw materials to converting it in the finished goods.

14
 Sourcing of Melting of Heating
Casting
Raw material raw material before rolling

Beating the Fillinf the

Rolling Circle cutting
sheets rough

Scrapping out Cleaning and Carving Finished

the burnt buffing desings product

Figure 10: Process flow of production

The production processes which are involved in making utensils at Pareo are
explained below -

Sourcing of Raw materials –The major raw materials which are used for
manufacturing the brass and bronze metal utensils are cracked utensils such as
glass, plates, bowls,lotas, glasses, etc. They get these materials from the local
market, local people, and from the
dealer who deals in the raw
materials. Other than cracked
utensils, workers of Pareo also uses
metal bricks as raw materials.

Melting of raw materials – The

raw materials are melted with the
help of crucibles at the temperature
of 1010 to 1050degrees Celsius.
The raw materials contain a lot of
impurities which is difficult to Figure 11: Making of Raw material
segregate. And because of this, the

15
manufacturers cannot verify the chemical composition of the different raw
materials. So, at the time of melting the metals, they add a little bit of Zinc.

Casting –After melting, casting

off those melted raw materials in
various sizes in the form of metal
pancakes are done. There are
different units involved in each
step. The units which are
involved in casting cast various
size of pancakes in the shape of
the metal unit.

The size and weight of the

pancakes depend upon the
utensils which are going to be
made from it. These metal cakes
are made by sand casting. The
manufacturers cast the cake on
order basis. After that, the rolling
machine unit brings these cakes
from the casting unit and brings it
to rolling machine to flatten it.

Heating before rolling –After

castin a pancake shape again
these metal pancakes are burnt in
a fire vent to make them softer
before rolling because it will
easier to flatten it. The
temperature for heating is 900 to
950 degrees Celsius. It also
Figure 12: Casting (Top); heating
(middle); pancakes (bottom)

16
depends on the final shape
and properties of the brass
stock.

Rolling - The next step is to

flatten the metal cake. A
rolling machine is used for
this purpose. The work is
done by the rolling unit.
After rolling, the rolling
sheets go for cutting.

Circle cutting – Once rolling

is done, circle cutting starts.
This process is done by
cutting machines and
hammers. This is done for
cutting the rough edges of the
rolled sheets. This process is
laborious and time -
consuming. Cutting the rolling sheet is a bit dangerous. The worker's hand can get
cut or he can get injured. So,
Figure 13: Rolling (Top); Rolled sheet
people take extra care of that.
(bottom); Beaten sheets (down)
A unit of circle cutting is
involved in this process

Beating the sheets – Once the

circle cutting is done, the
beating unit brings those
products to their own unit and
start beating it. Beating is
done to convert those
products in the desired shape

17
of the utensils. The beating process
is mainly used for making Thaal,
Parat, Plate, etc. This process is
used for those products which have
a flat surface.

Filling off the rough edges - Once

the product is made, the rough
edges of the product are cut
manually by using an iron filer
which is also known as Reti.

Scraping off the burnt layer –

After cutting the rough edges of the
product, the burnt part is removed
manually. To remove the burnt
layer, the worker uses a tool that is
a long iron rod with sharp edges
which is also known as KHONTA.

This process is done to make the

Figure 14: Scrapping (Top); Cleaning (down)

product shinier.

Cleaning and buffing - After giving

the desired shape to the products and
converting it into the utensils, it goes
for the acid pickling process. This
process is done for removing metal
surface scales and oxide
coating.(Kumar, 2011) The pickling process is a metal surface treatment used to
remove impurities, such as stains done with the help of the diluted sulphuric acid
solution. This process is done manually.

18
After the acid pickling process, the utensils are cleaned with water to give it a fresh
look.

Carving designs on the utensils - This process is done for giving the final
finishing to the product. It is done manually. The tool which is used for this process
is Dhenuka. One end of the tool is put over a small metallic cup andthe tool is held
by the hand of the craftsman.

After completion of all the processes, now the product is ready to sell.

Types of fuel used -

Coke and wood are used for making bell metal utensils. Coke is used for melting
the raw materials and wood is used for firing the reheating furnaces installed in a
rolling machine.

Tools Used:
 Hammer
 Two types of tongs are used,
one is smaller and the other
one is bigger
 Cutter– used for cutting the
circle
 Pittini – Used for beating
and polishing bell
 Chenni – Used for the
polishing bell
 Iron wedge
 Neheni – Knife - like
instrument used for
scratching the metal ware to
bring the shine

Figure 15: Tools used for Production

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 Artisan’s Detail
General

Indian crafts can be enumerated as one of the largest employing sectors in India.
Artisan is that who work with their hands to create unique, functional and
decorative items using traditional techniques and methods. They are masters of
their craft and create products with metals, woods, pottery, textiles, glass, and
natural fibres. The artisanal techniques are learned through decades by the artisans.
This knowledge and skills are passed down within families and communities. They
are basically hereditary. In economic terms, an artisan is a small producer of goods
who owns their products and makes a living from their trade.
But there exist lots of problems in the development of these artisan’s work. These
artisans belong to economically and socially weaker sections of the society in the
rural part of the country. In order to improve the weak situation of the artisans, it
is very important to educate artisans and to train them in various skills and crafts
so that they can improve their living conditions by flourishing in the handicraft
sector.
In Pareo Metal Ware, the artisans belong to the cities of Bihar like Bettiah, Siwan,
Bagaha, Aurangabad, Purnia and so on. They are working in Pareo for many years.
Most of the artisans in Pareo have opted for their families and community’s
business that is a metal craft as their source of income.
Socio-economic status according to the Artisans survey

Socio-economic status tells about the overall development of the business as well
as the economic welfare of the artisans. It also tells about the demographic details
including age, gender and educational qualification of the artisans. The socio-
economic status can be measured by taking certain variables:
 Demographic details of the artisans
 Experience of the Artisans at the metalware cluster
 Proper formal training and government support to the craft
 Choosing metal ware craft and promoting it to the next generation
 Relationship between English known and using smartphones
 Metal craftwork being recognized across the country and abroad
A survey was conducted by the Masters of Fashion Management students of NIFT-
Patna. 34 students of NIFT along with the faculty members went to Pareo, Patna
to understand the metal ware craft cluster. 103 responses were received from the
artisans working there. The socio-economic status of the artisans is based on the
survey.

20
 Figure 16: Artisans working at Pareo

Demographic detail of the Artisans:

The socio-economic status also includes the demographics of the people. Age
group, gender and educational qualifications of the artisans have been studied to
understand their socio-economic conditions.
In Figure 17, the age group, gender and educational qualifications of the artisans
are shown. The profession of each artisan remains the same that is a metal craft
product.
In the study, it has been observed that the maximum artisans at Pareo belong to the
age group of 30 to 55 who prefer to engage themselves in metal craft. 93.2% of the
artisans are male at Pareo. It has been observed, the metal craft cluster at Pareo is
male-centric.
From the survey, it can be concluded that 9.2% artisan educational level is above
class 10th. The maximum number of artisans do not have a primary level
qualification. This implies that education acts as a hindrance in the skill
development of the artisans.
Therefore, age is regarded as one of the most impactful factors in taking any
decision. The young generation of the artisans does not prefer to take up metal ware
work as their profession according to the artisans. The education of the artisans has
a considerable impact on their professional skills. Educations become one of the
major constraints for the overall development of the artisans at Pareo.

21
All the aforementioned factors have a tremendous influence on the conditions of
the artisans. They impact their socio-economic development as well.

22
 Figure 17: Demographic of the artisans: Age (top); Gender (middle); Education
(bottom)

Proper formal training and government support to the craft

The government takes several steps to support and boost the conditions of the
artisans and the craft. They are providing different schemes and policies so that
their products can compete with the machine-made products. They provide formal
training to the artisans.

As per the discussion with Mr. Tulsi Kumar, artisans went for training to
Moradabad but it proved to be of no use for the artisans.

It has been observed that only 14% participants received formal training and
majority have not received any formal training. They are deprived of technological
up gradation facilities during their work.

It has been observed that only 38.8% of artisans agree, the government provides
with appropriate support. A maximum number of artisans say that the government
does not provide them with supportive schemes and policies. This revealed a lot of
disappointment on their part. The maximum artisans depend upon their own
cooperatives. However, 40% of the respondents showed certain signs of some form
of government support for the further growth of metal craft at Pareo.

Formal training is provided by the government. According to the artisans, the

government is not providing them with this facility.

23
 Figure 18: Formal training (Above) and government support to the artisans of
metal ware craft (Below)

Choosing metal ware craft and promoting it to the next generation

The relationship between metal craft picked up by the artisans seeing others and
promoting their profession to other generation plays an important role to
understand the socio-economic conditions of the artisans.

It was observed that 46.6% of the artisans agree that they picked up this craft seeing
everyone. And it also observed that the present artisans do not want to pass this
craft business to their next generation.

24
A maximum number of artisans picked up this craft observing everyone else doing
it. Therefore, it has been concluded that willingness to pick up this craft business
was not the main factor. Rather they were influenced by society, family and
community. A maximum number of these artisans do not want to pass on this craft
business to the next generation. According to the artisans, profit is reducing; they
only earn a limited amount of money which hardly attain their basic needs.
Therefore, they are not willing to encourage their next generation to pick this craft
as their profession.

Figure 19: Distribution of artisans who picked craft seeing others (Above) &
Artisan’s willingness to promote this art to next generation (Below)

Impact of understanding English on their adaptability to technology

The impact of knowledge of English and their understanding of using smartphone

is associated with their ability to grow their business. Artisans with fair knowledge
of smartphones usage have shown fair advantage over those with no knowledge of
using smartphone.

25
It has been observed that only 32% of the artisans and their families know how to
read and write English. On the same note, the artisans with access to smartphones
and clear understanding of its usage was accounted to be approximately 52%.

Knowledge of English won’t impact their business as such, but it will give them a
fair advantage by aiding them to use smart phones in order to market their products
digitally and also perform business related activities like order booking, sample
display by means of smartphones. One of the biggest constraints of the artisans,
they are unable to use smartphones for their benefits. This gap in the technology
usage makes this cluster step back as compared to technically advance other
clusters like Moradabad. It also draws attention that digital marketing could have
been used as an important tool to increase the overall business of the artisans by
promoting and selling their products through social platforms in India and overseas
too. They can gain more exposure for their products on social media which has
become a major business market to promote and sell products.

Figure 20: Distribution of Artisans with knowledge of English (left); Artisans

using smartphones (right)

Metal craftwork being recognized across the country and abroad

One of the main factors to assess the socio-economic condition of the artisans of
the Pareo metalcraft is their work being recognized across the country and abroad.
Social acceptance of any business leads to growth and overall development.
Therefore, it becomes necessary to know that does metal craft work is being
recognized across the country and abroad.

26
42.22% of the artisans think that metal craft work is being recognized across the
country and abroad. This is the only positive response from the responses of the
artisans in the entire survey. It is very encouraging to get such a result.

Figure 21: Recognition of Pareo products worldwide (As per survey)

The percentage of people who disagree with the statement was accounted to be
39.2% which included the population of those who disagree and strongly disagree.
Around 18% of the artisans surveyed had netural view on the sttus of recognition
of Pareo Products in national and international market.

The no. of respondents who are in favour and those who are against the statement
shows negligible difference. Thus, it is difficult to conclude about the status of
recognition of the craft products in market.

The survey helped in understanding that the products produced at Pareo lacks
national recognition. In context to this, strategy needs to be drafted to make Pareo
products worth recognizing. This con be done by adoption of aggressive marketing
and selling strategies which will make the products visible to the consumers on a
national scale. Some of these strategies are discussed in later sections of the report.

Thus, it can be concluded that maximum artisans at Pareo belong to the age group

27
30 to 55 years. The young generation does not want to adopt this craft work. The
artisan educational level is below the primary level which did not reveal a very
favourable condition of the educational status of the artisans. Therefore, education
remains one of the constraints in improving their socio-economic condition.
English is among the official language for usage in the official document, this is a
necessary requirement in the capabilities of the artisans. They even are deprived of
knowing how to use smartphones. Artisans expressed their unwillingness to pass
this craft to the next generation. Overall, the artisans are working in this craft work
to earn their living.

Working Environment
“With means alright, the end must come”, a very famous saying by Swami
Vivekananda. According to this if the workers are working in a happy and cheerful
environment, the output produced will be positive and fruitful. Therefore, it is
required to have safe and healthy working conditions for the workers. This includes
lighting, proper safety at the workplace, temperature, working hours, cleanliness,
etc.

In Pareo Metal Ware, Patna it was found that artisans are not given proper
infrastructure to enhance their work. The metal craft work is more of strength
intensive. They collectively work for implementing the metal craft in the region.
They get the motivation to work as a team due to a sense of togetherness amongst
them.

Figure 22: Labour working on machines

28
 Figure 23: Working Environment at Pareo Cluster

Credit facilities
A credit facility refers to a type of loan provided by the government or another
body for business or corporate finance. It can be Short-term credit facilities or long-
term credit facilities.

In Pareo more than 50% of the artisans had a bank account. They have bank
accounts in the banks like Indian Overseas Bank, Punjab National bank and Canara
Bank. These banks provide artisans with an ACC (Artisans Credit Card Scheme).
The Artisan Credit Card (ACC) scheme has been introduced by the Union Ministry
of Textile- Office of Development Commissioner (Handicrafts) which means that
they provide financial assistance to artisans to meet their credit requirements for
investment and working capital. (Artisan credit card scheme, 2019)

The benefit of ACC is that they provide loans to attain the working capital needs
of the artisans and even provides loans for purchasing tools and equipment required
for carrying the manufacturing process. They provide loans of 2 lakhs to the
artisans. It even provides direct transfer of subsidies directly and other benefits too.

29
The rate of interest is as per prevailing guidelines of the Bank linked to MCLR
(Marginal Cost of Funds based Lending Rate) of this bank which subjects to
changes from time to time. (Canara MSME, 2019)

For Punjab National Bank, the MCLR, the rate of interest is 8.45% from 1st May
2019 for one-year tenures. (Pnbindia MCLR, 2019) Canara Bank MCLR for one-
year tenures is at 8.70%. These rates are effective from 7th May 2019. (Canara
Bank MCLR, 2019) MCLR rate for Indian Overseas Bank is at 8.65% for one year
from May 2019. (Indian Overseas Bank MCLR, 2019)

Another credit facility provided by the government named as Pradhan Mantri

Mudra Yojna, also known as Mudra Loan Yojana. The loan facilities provided
under this yojana is categorized as Shishu, Kishor, and Tarun. (Mudra Loan
Yojana, 2019)

Shishu loan is issued for those people who require fewer funds; the loan limit is up
to Rs. 50,000. Kishor loan is issued to those people who had already started their
business and need funds to improve their business. The loan limit is between Rs.
50,000 to Rs. 5 lakhs. Tarun loan issues highest loan amount under eligible
conditions. The loan limit is above Rs 5 lakhs and up to Rs. 10 lakhs.

The interest rate is not fixed, it depends upon the type of business and bank. This
Yojana is the refinancing agency.

These are a few of the credit facilities provided to the artisans of Pareo, Patna.

Costing of Products
The products produced at Pareo are charged on per kg basis. From the interaction
with the artisans, labours, retailers various cost heads were identified and a rough
cost sheet for the products was made. GST is charged at 12% by the retailers. Profit
at retailer’s end is around 2%, whereas artisans charges a direct profit of Rs. 10 per
kg. A rough cost sheet of the product on weight basis is shown in Table 1.

30
 Table 1: Cost of Pareo Products on weight basis

Costing of Brass Metal Products

Lower range of Upper range of Avg Cost per
Cost Heads Cost (per kg) cost (Per kg) kg (in Rs.)
Raw Material 279 300 290
Rolling of metal (Wood+
Labor+ Petrol) 9 10 10
Pressing 16 17 16
Cutting 3 3 3
Beating 13 14 14
Scrapping 7 7 7
Cleaning (Labor+
Chemicals) 14 15 14
Overheads 33 35 34
Transportation* 36 39 38
Profit 9 10 10
Total (in Rs.) 420 450 435
GST @ 12 % 50 54 52
Profit @ retail 8 9 9
MRP (in Rs.) 479 513 496
*: Transportation cost source: www. truckbhai.com (Refer Annexure I)

The price per kg of the product on ranges from INR 480 to INR 513. The average
price per kg accounts to INR 500. Business mode of cluster is B2B type which has
less scope or profit earning. Moreover, all the business is done in terms of cash
transactions. In terms of order from retailers or wholesalers, advance payment is
asked by artisans to secure the deal. The minimum quantity of buying is 15 kg. For
artisans, sales of upto INR 40 lacs no tax is applied. The profit on the product is
very low which makes business less profitable and sustainable. This may be the
reason that some of the artisans are preferring to opt iut of this business and pursue
some other business with more profits in order to sustain their family.

Pareo Market Survey

By doing a market survey of three days in Pareo with many people we found that-

Metal craft work is a traditional business carried on from 100 of years in Pareo.
The whole Village is involved in this work and it goes on passing through
generation to generation. Many artisans enjoy this craft and want to further expand

31
it and many consider it as a traditional family business and carry it because it is
their major or only source of earning. There is little profit in this work. Workers
hardly get any profit. The demand for the products is increasing by time as it’s not
just locally accepted but is also appreciated across various parts of the country.
Few factors that results in less profit are that these utensils are heavy as they are
made up of metal that's why people don't prefer it. Nowadays people prefer
lightweight utensils. The only increased market is during the wedding season
because people use these utensils in weddings also competition from other retailers
in the market is high and prices has to be kept fixed to meet market pricing of the
products.

The workers don’t get any Government support. Any scheme related to their safety
has not been introduced. They pay heavy GST on their items that’s why they think
that GST should be removed from it. They want support from the Government in
the form of capital, workshops, and training. They sell their products in the Patna
market as per kg.

Pareo cluster is sinking, their design level is low. There is a lack of innovation and
creativity. So to increase creativity, official training should be given to the workers.
Workshops related to it can also be done. The workers want to expand their market,
they want to work on a large scale so that they can earn profit and can have a better
lifestyle.

They have only offline markets. They don’t have any online source of selling. They
receive orders from the buyers of Patna mostly. All transaction related to it is done
in the cash form only. Sometimes they get advance also but sometimes they have
to do everything from their pocket and after sending the order they get their money.
Workers of Pareo are mostly local villagers but some of them are from Moradabad
and Mirzapur. They work for 8 to 12 hours a day and make pieces in bulk. They
make different kinds of products like Thali, Plates, Kathout, Glass, Lota, Thaal,
Kadahi, etc. The modes of transporting their products to the manufactures are truck
and tempo.

They think that after establishing the steel factory in Bokaro, the market of their
metal has been decreased. They treat the Bokaro steel factory as their main

32
competitor. Because after the steel factory came, people started preferring steel
over metal as it is light in weight and metal is heavy in weight.

Patna Market Survey

After visiting the shops of Patna for two days the information which we get about
the metal utensil market we found out many things which are described below -

The shops which we visited in Patna were in the Patna city and Ashok Rajpath.
The shops were many years old. They bring their products mostly from Pareo
because it is the nearest manufacturing unit of metal utensils to Patna and
sometimes they take products from Moradabad and Jaladhari also. Rough estimates
show that 25% utensils are brought from Pareo, 50% from Jaladhari and
Moradabad, 10% from Delhi and 15% from Mirzapur. They follow the advance
payment system. They place their orders on phone call, and rough stock turnover
period is 6 months. The lead time of receiving the order is 8 days but sometimes it
varies from 10-12 days. There is a huge difference between the products of Pareo
and Jaladhari. Products from Pareo are 75% pure at Rs.500 per kg and products
from Jaladhari are 100% pure at Rs.650 per kg. Any transaction regarding the order
is done in cash only. They pay 5% to 18% of the GST for the orders.

Though the market for metal utensils is increasing, but most of the time constant
sales don’t happen. Sometimes they get only 1 or 2 customers in a day and
sometimes the whole day they don’t get any customer. This is the reason retailers
earn normal or no profit. At the time of the wedding season and festive season their
sale increases because at that time people buy most of the metal utensils.

Medium of transportation when goods are purchased from Pareo basically includes
trucks, Orders are placed on call and also retailers visit Pareo market personally or
with the help of agents to place orders. Products are packed in Boras, Bags and
wooden crates. This was also found that orders from Pareo results in 0% wastage
but orders from Jaladhari and Moradabad results in nearly 2%-10% of wastage,
this is because of loss in transit due to distance.

33
 Government initiatives
The MSME, Government of India has adopted cluster development strategy to
enhance the competitiveness and productivity of these clusters by actively
participating in capacity building activities (MSE-CDP, 2019). The government of
India supports these clusters by targeting and addressing common issues like
enhancing the technology available, skills and quality of artisans, providing market
access for the products and also firm access to capital.

The major intervention of the government into Pareo Metal cluster was by means
of soft and hard interventions.

Soft Interventions: This led to creation of general awareness, counselling,

motivation and trust building, exposure visits, market development including
exports, participation in seminars, workshops and training programmes on
technology upgradation, etc. Other dimension of the intervention by the
government included technical assistance, capacity building. GOI granted 75% of
the sanctioned amount of the maximum project cost of Rs 25.00 lakh per cluster.
Under the Cluster Development Programme, Pareo cluster witnessed soft
intervention with satisfactory results.

Common Facility Centre (CFC)/Hard Interventions: This led to creation of

tangible “assets” as Common Facility Centers (CFCs) like Common
Production/Processing Centre (for balancing/correcting/improving production line
that cannot be undertaken by individual units). Other assurance from the
government is Design Centers, Testing Facilities, Training Centre, R&D Centers,
Marketing Display/Selling Centre, Common Logistics Centre, Common Raw
Material Bank/Sales Depot, etc. Creation of tangible “assets” like Testing Facility,
Design Centre, Production Centre, Effluent Treatment Plant, Training Centre,
R&D Centre, Raw Material Bank/Sales Depot, Product Display Centre,
Information Centre, any other need-based facility. Tangible assets like machinery
and equipment for critical processes, research and development, testing, etc. with
GoI grant upto 70% of the cost of project of maximum Rs 15.00 crore is granted
as per the hard intervention scheme of the government.

34
As a Hard Intervention Common Facility Centre (CFC) at the Cost of 1.0 Crore
was set up in the year 2008 with modern Plant and Machinery like Hot and Cold
Rolling, Circle Cutting, Press with Dies, Oil fired melting furnace and Spinning
mill. The Cluster was also selected as an Innovative Cluster keeping in view the
potential of the future development(Mishra, 2016)

Figure 24: CFC board at Pareo

Apart from above mentioned initiatives, government has facilitated the availing of
loan to the artisans by banks like Canara Bank and Punjab National Bank. This
happened due to intervention by Ministry of MSME under MSE-Cluster
Development Programme. Although government has never been appreciative of
the hard work of the artisans. In spite of this over the time some product
diversification has taken place and also productivity of individual units have
increased at Pareo, so more working capital is required to sustain the daily activities
at the cluster which government has to cater to.

35
 Supply Chain Management of Metal Craft Cluster
A Supply chain is an economic system that can be described as a sequence of
interrelated business activities starting from input to processing, production,
marketing and distribution and then selling to final consumer. In a supply chain,
the different business functions are linked by a chain of business transactions in
which the product is passed on from manufacturers to end
consumers.(definition/supply-chain-management-SCM)

Supply chain at Pareo is streamlined which is shown in Figure 25. It starts with
sourcing of raw material, passing through production of the metal products,
followed by distribution of the products to the markets where they are either sold
to wholesalers or directly retailers. They prefer not to lay the products at
warehouse as it might increase the product cost which is not intended. Apart from
this another insight into the cluster’s supply chain is that no middleman is involved
at any stage of the supply chain. The artisans have a direct contact with the
wholesaler and retailers.

Sourcing Raw Production

Warehousing at
Material Pareo

Wholesalers Retailers

Figure 25: Supply Chain at Pareo

Sourcing Raw Material: Raw materials which is majorly Copper are sourced from
Bengal, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi. Basically, they source spare parts of
vehicles, or broken utensil from scrap sellers. Sourced products are brought to
Pareo by means of roadways or railways whichever is convenient as per the weight
and volume specifications.

36
Production: The raw material is converted into finished products by artisans and
the they are the manufacturer.

Warehousing: The products are produced mostly on orders but sometimes excess
of product are produced which are stored at a warehouse in Pareo itself. The
products are stored in godown generally for a period of 7 days.

Wholesaler: Once the products are ready, they are sent to the wholesaler who
stocks the product and then sells to the retailers or directly to the customers. The
profit margin is very meagre.

Retailer: Pareo products can be directly supplied to the retailers as well or via
wholesalers. There is no intermediary of any type in direct retail supplying that
helps in cutting cost for retailers and artisans as well. But as the amount of product
required by retailers is lower than that by wholesaler, the margin earned by artisans
can be increased by few rupees.

Consumer: Consumer as usual is the person who bears all the charges at the end.
In context to the Pareo products, consumer prefer to buy these products mainly
during festivals or wedding seasons.

Classifying 4P’s of Marketing Mix

Marketing mix is the process of getting the right combination of Place, Price,
Product & Promotion in the business. The 4P’s model of marketing can be applied
to the products that the cluster offers. These P’s are Product, Price, Place and
Promotion. Each of the 4P’s is discussed in brief with respect to the cluster
products.

Product: Colour, Packaging, Service and Image are the basic tangible and
intangible features of the product. In Metal craft, there are various products that
are made by artisans which include Thali, Lota, Paraat, etc. These are designed and
produced by artisans. Generally, artisans use conventional ideas. But the designing
should be done according to today’s consumer needs and demands. In this sector
product line should develop immense creativity and art.

37
Price: The only monetary value is price that a seller gets in exchange of the goods.
The artisans involved in producing Metal products are finding it difficult to
estimate the exact production cost due to lack of education as well as awareness.
So by their experience they accumulate the knowledge of pricing the different
products selling in the market. These metal products are very attractive and it has
kept a traditional value in the market.

Promotion: The artisans who produce the metal craft are not aware about
promotions and do not take much initiative individually. They depend on MSMEs
and other state bodies for promotion of their art. Promotion should be mainly done
by participating in local fairs and indirectly through tourism advertisements.

Place: The distribution channel for these metal products is direct or indirect. Some
Retailers directly sell their products to customers. Sometimes they also follow
indirect channel which includes dealers which sell through outlets.

Marketing and Various Channel of Distribution at Pareo

Marketing channel refers to the entire ecosystem required for getting products from
the point of production to the point of consumption whereas, Distribution channel
refers to the chain of intermediaries through which the product passes until it
reaches the end consumer. In Figure 26 it refers to the Business to Consumer
market

Distributor Retailer Consumer

Manufacturer Retailer Consumer

Consumer

Figure 26: Marketing Channel (B2C)

38
Depending on the nature of the product and the market, many intermediaries may
be involved. For example, the manufacturer of metal ware products such as metal
utensils. It would be highly impractical for the manufacturer to sell it to the final
consumer; some intermediaries are involved. In this case Transporter, Wholesaler,
Retailer and Consumer. It is the traditional distribution channel but many variations
exist.

For example, there are ‘Distributors’ who would take product directly from the
manufacturer, and then use their distribution network to supply the retailers. So the
channel would resemble in the Figure 26.

For very large ‘Retailers’ who have relatively few stores consumer could be
supplied directly from the manufacturer to the retailer as referred in Figure 26.

For someone manufacturing an item on a small scale from their home, the simplest
form of distribution as shown in Figure 26 from manufacturer to the consumer.

There is also B2B(Business to Business) sector which caters for organisations as

customers. For example, the scrap utensil or raw materials required in the
manufacture of the metal product would come straight from the scrap seller or
supplier of the the scrap utensils or spare parts of vehicles, since it would be a bulk
order. The channel could then be expanded as mentioned in Figure 27.

The key channel for the Pareo cluster is business to business selling. Most of their
products is sold directly to retailers or wholesalers. This helps them in selling large
amount of products in a short time.

Metal
Raw
utensil Wholesale
material Retailer Consumer
manufactu r
supplier
rer

Figure 27: Marketing Channel (B2B)

39
 Case Studies of Artisans at Pareo
Case Study- 1: Artisan Pintu Kumar

Artisan Name: Pintu Kumar

Age: 39 years old

Family: Mother, wife, 4 children

Contact No.: +91 9631176915

Figure 28: Family of Artisan Pintu Kumar

Pintu is another artisan with whom we got a chance to interact with. Pintu has been
in the profession of making these utensils since his young days. He makes utensils
like kathauti, parat, plate, spoon and glass from the metal by the conventional
process of production. On an average his monthly production is 10 kg of utensils
which include all the above product types.

In his younger days, he faced a lot of issues with respect to poor government
management ad lack of opportunities for such artisans. He felt the lack of support
from Bihar government as he had faced multiple situations where he was illegally

40
asked for extortions and at many situations his hard earned was snatched from him
by officials. But his persistence to run the generation old business and his skills
made him stick to the metal ware craft and run the business.

In 2014, his wife was diagnosed with a chronic heart disease which exhausted his
entire savings and current earnings. He worked hard to get her operated.
Meanwhile his daughter too got diagnosed with a chronic disease. The economic
pressure rose for him. Business was low during that time that made conditions more
hostile for him and his family.

The health conditions of the family defocused him from his business which led to
decline of his business and sales of his product eventually. Unlike before, the craft
is not that fruitful for him anymore. The advent of technology nowadays is another
factor as per him that has impacted the business. He tried to improve the scale of
his production but for that he needed capital which was not accredited to him.
Moreover, loan facilities available comes with a very high interest rate that will
consume most of the earnings from the business. The interest rate he was offered
by Canara Bank was as high as 12%. The business is not profitable at all for him.

Pintu has lost faith on craft business now and is planning to move to some other
profession.

Case Study 2: Smt. Sanju Devi

Metal craft is an area especially dominated by men due to the hard-core process
of manufacturing; therefore, very a smaller number of women becomes part of
any of the activity involved in the manufacturing or selling process of metal craft.
Another reason could be that they have their own household duties to be fulfilled
while men of the family are working hard for this craft.

Smt Sanju Devi is one of the exceptions in Pareo who is working day and night to
support the male members of the family. 38 years old Sanju Devi Ji, owns a retail
shop in Pareo where various metal utensils are sold. Maximum of these utensils
are manufactured by her husband and sons and rest are bought from other
manufacturers for selling. While the male members of the family are busy with
hard core manufacturing of metal utensils, she takes care of the entire business of

41
selling and earning profit. She developed this skill of business at her parent’s home,
where she assisted her father for the same work and after marriage continued to
work for her family.

Being a business woman, not only she understands the technical and business-
related things in reference to metal craft such as credit facilities from bank, supply
chain process of entire metal manufacturing and selling, cost related mathematics
to ensure profits etc; but also, she has an in-depth knowledge of government
schemes and incentives for artisans. Unlike many of the artisans in Pareo, she
praises the support given by Bihar Government and avails full benefit of
opportunities given by Jeevika. Where she gets travel and staying expenses to put
stalls in various cities and enjoys the entire profit of doing business there.

She is an active member of Jeevika, with the help of which she actively put stalls
in Gandhi Maidan, Patna; Saras Mela, Pragati Maidan, Delhi; and other parts of
country including West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh and Orissa. “I like going to Delhi
and other places because like what happens in a market, I initially observe the
preferences of customers, then if I don’t have those items, I purchase them from
market and bring those items to stall, I do good business there.” said Sanju Devi
Ji. Sanju Devi Ji doesn’t find language as a barrier in communicating with people

Figure 29: Smt. Sanju Devi

42
across different parts of the country; she can easily understand Hindi and English
which helps her to do business on such a large scale.

Sharing her experience, she said that while putting stall in Orissa, language became
a small problem initially because people speak Oriya, but within a day or two she
managed with the language and did a good business there too.

Working 8-9 hours in shop, at night she assists other members in doing stickering
and decorative works on the utensils to make them fully ready to be sold in the
shop. She has a great level of dedication as well as enthusiasm for the work that
even she would like to get higher and professional trainings on business if
government provide them with so. As she understands the increasing demand and
recognition of metal craft in the country, she wishes to make something best so that
her business spread in other parts of the country as well.

Such spirit and positivity which is required in carrying any business, especially
when it comes to craft, can be best learned by Sanju Devi Ji, who sets an example
of how women can equally handle household affairs and business and can support
the family for continuous progress and touch new business heights

Case Study 3: Mr. Ved Prakash

Ved Prakash is owner of a small-scale sector at Pareo, aged 30-35 where beating
and polishing of utensils is done. He wanted to complete his studies and get
employment in government sector but lack of credibility and a feeling to take
forward his old family tradition didn’t alow him to do so.

Before 2008, he along with his father and brother owned this unit sector. In 2005,
he was doing 10th standard from Bihar board when a dispute occurs in his family.
His brother wanted to change his family business as he was not satisfied with the
profit and standard of living he was getting there and he needed input to invest in
his new business but Ved’s father was very emotionally attached with the business
and this was the only thing in which he was master so he didn’t want to change
rather he wanted his sons to invest in the business and take it to another level which
led to the partition of property and his brother started some other business.

43
Ved Prakash at that time was very new in the business as he had seen the process
but hasn’t practically performed it. He tried to control the business but due to lack
of practical knowledge and managerial skills he faces loss initially as many times
he has to send the utensils to reformation which increases his labor charges. Also
at the time of selling products he got fooled by the buyer.

Then Ved took a mature decision and he stated working in other manufacturing
units of the village to get practical learning’s of all the process of manufacturing
brass and bronze utensils. Meanwhile he also sit in his unit with his father to know
how his father manage the unit.

In 2008, he finally joins his father completely and he gave retirement to his father
from his never ending job. But still whenever he has to take any new decisions he
consults and took suggestions from his father. Now, after 10 years of working in
this sector he is handling his business. He is connected to the dealers of states
Jharkhand, Bengal also he sells his product to Nepal.

During his bad times, he thought of changing the business of bronze metal utensils
he got profit of only 10% in the business and work is more comparative to that,
season for these products are very limited so rest of the year he found difficulty in
selling the products though sales in theses wedding and religious season is quite
satisfying for him.

Ved Prakash in future wanted to take his business to a height. Also he wished to
have his own integrated business in which full process of manufacturing will be
held in his own factory. He is not ready to force his tradition to his children in
future but he will definitely teach them to pass this tradition to his next generation.

Business challenges faced by artisans:

Any business cannot exist without external and internal challenges. Pareo cluster
too faces a lot of challenges in terms of financing, marketing, health and weather
fluctuations. The key challenges identified are discussed below in brief.

 Capital: Finance is the most important thing to run any business smoothly and
to expand the business further, in Pareo many artisans feel that they have

44
 insufficient funds to meet daily expenses or to expand the business, they require
huge capital amount which they personally don’t have and taking loans from
banks or other financial institutions will increase their debts.
 Technology: Though many artisans in Pareo work with advance technology
machines, many are still dependent on manual or semi automatic machines
which increase the time taken to complete the orders and also involve extra
energy and efforts. Also, not every artisan uses smart phones, due to which they
restrict themselves to a particular zone, while a huge market is waiting outside
which can be tapped through social media.
 Training and development: All the artisans in cluster have learned the craft as
a part of their traditional family business, very few or none have received any
formal or professional training, receiving formal training can bring
advancement in their work, their business patterns and may result in saving
time, cost and energy.
 Limited production area: Another limiting factor for Pareo success is limitation
of production area. Due to this they are unable to extend their production
volume and also the range of products they offer is restricted.
 Poor weather conditions: The market demand of Pareo products take a dip
during rainy season as the moisture increases and the drying of the molten
metal takes more time. This leads to lowered production rate. Also, the supply
of products from Pareo to outer market becomes a bottleneck for the artisans.
 Awareness: Government bring certain policies and schemes for artisans, but
not all are aware about the same, lack of internet using facility and ability,
distance from mass media could the possible reasons for the same.
 Lack of motivation: Motivation drives people to work, but artisans lack
motivation because of low profits and high competition, which further leads to
disinterest in business and due to which many of them do not agree to pass this
craft to next generation. In order to make business sustainable it is of prime
importance to make artisans aware of the skills they possess and motivate them
to adopt new technologies of production and selling.

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Marketing strategies for Patna market

 They can give an advertisement about their shop and their products in the
local newspaper. Through this people will get know about their product and
will be able to connect with them.
 They can also promote themselves on social media as there are various
platforms like Facebook and Instagram. A page can be made where they
can upload photos of their products. By doing this they will be able to
connect with most of the people as social media is a big platform for
marketing. They will easily get many customers there. As there is no
charges for marketing, this is the plus point.
 The right place should be used for establishing the shop because the place
plays a very important role in sales. The shop should be in the crowded
place where marital things are sold because metal utensils are demanded in
the wedding season and if people are going to do wedding shopping, then
a shop of metal utensils near to them will definitely attract them to buy their
products.
 They can offer a discount to their customers to keep them happy and to
maintain a good relation with them.
 They can market themselves through their customers by building a friendly
relation with them. If the customer is happy then they will pass the
information about the shop in their contact list and thus they will get more
customers.
 A brochure can also be made and distributed with the newspaper with
containing information about their shop, their various products and most
importantly the discount which they are offering.
 They can follow the formula BUY ONE GET ONE at the time of weddings
and festivals to attract more customers and to increase their sales.
 They can also offer seasonal sales as people are more attracted to it.
 An advertisement on TV can be given. People do watch TV and the ad can
increase curiosity in people to know more about the shop.

46
  Radio can also be used as a medium of marketing. Not everybody has time
to watch TV but people listen to the radio every day. So there will be no
chance of ignoring the ad.
 Hoardings can also help in marketing. People going on the road normally
see the hoardings and search for the shop so this will help the marketers to
market themselves.
 A WhatsApp group can also be made with a certain amount of people where
they will market their products. People forward the WhatsApp message
very easily. So in no time, the products will be famous.

SWOT analysis of Pareo Cluster

SWOT Analysis: To run any business in the long run and In a highly competitive
market, swot analysis is required to be done to ensure the stability of the business
and attain long term revenues and gains. A SWOT analysis includes a check on the
strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of any business in the market. The
survey conducted in Pareo and the interaction with various artisans gave us the
insight to build a SWOT of metal craft business in Pareo.

Strengths: Pareo metal craft is a traditional business carried on by generations, it

has multiple areas of strengths:

 Expertise in manufacturing of different metal utensils and training done

under the guidance of family members which enable the artisans to make
high-quality products.
 Unity and proper networking in the cluster, which helps all the artisans to
get their work done on time and with great efficiency.
 A localized platform for the entire manufacturing process, this saves the
cost of transport and time taken.
 Availability of labour at cheap rates.
 Acceptance and recognition in various cities across India thus artisans get
a large market to sell their products.
 Government schemes and initiatives (CSC) to improve the production
process and to provide them with the market for selling.

47
Weaknesses: Every business lacks certain skills which hamper the growth and
expansion of the business, in Pareo metal craft following weaknesses were
observed:

 Lack of capital is weakening the growth prospects because artisans do not

have a sufficient amount of capital funds and due to this, they cannot invest
in advanced technology machines and equipment.
 Artisans have not received any formal training and this affects their
working patterns and style.
 Lack of education and improper command on language and technical
devices such as smartphones also is a big weakness because this acts as a
barrier in their growth and expansion in terms of marketing and business.
 Unawareness about credit facilities and government schemes is another
weakness that restricts the artisans to avail maximum benefits to carry on
this craft.
 Artisans lack motivation and enthusiasm for working, thus many only
consider it as a source of earning and they don't think about its expansion
and development.

Opportunities: Market provides any business with several opportunities which

need to be tapped by artisans to reach new heights of business.

 Government schemes and policies are present to help artisans, only these
opportunities should be recognized by them to get assistance in
manufacturing and selling of metal utensils.
 The government provides formal training opportunities to the artisans time
to time, artisans who will avail these will be able to give a professional
touch to their work.
 In Bihar, the Pareo metal craft cluster is the only of its type this provides
artisans with a huge market base an opportunity to expand their business
by maintaining their existing clients.
 Digital marketing is another platform which leads to business expansion, if
artisans learn and opt for this opportunity, they can portray their work to a
larger group of people in no time and least cost possible.

48
Threats: Threats to Pareo are majorily their competitors in diffefrent areas. Other
major threats are as follow:

 Lower returns and labor-intensive processes are the reasons due to which
many are opting out of this business, the evident fact is that many artisans
don't want to pass this craft to their next generation.
 The market is updating very fast and frequently and the artisans follow old
techniques and styles of production which becomes a threat for timely
completion of orders.
 Also, new customers demand new designs and variations in products, so
meeting these demands is a threat because a customer can easily shift from
one retailer to another.
 High competition from metal craft clusters of Moradabad, Jalandhari and
Mirzapur which sometimes get preference in the retail market of Patna over
the metal utensils of Pareo.

Concerning Issues
A multitude of issues exists in the cluster ranging from cluster level to national
level. The cluster inspite of having immense potential to grow nationally is not able
to do so. The key issues arises from the competitors, consumer’s behaviour towards
the product and artisan’s attitude towards the craft itself. Key issues are discussed
in brief below.

Cluster

 Due to lack of proper facilities more and more artisans are opting out and
pursuing new business opportunities.
 Artisans peer group is not able to exercise their right appropriately.
 Cluster lacks the support of organisation that can help them in growing their
business
 The variety of products are very limited.
 Lack of focus in design of products.

49
National

 Products from other cluster are a threat to the artisans.

 Artisans are unaware of the new marketing and consumption trends of the
market.
 The shift in lifestyle of the urban population has reduced the consumption
of such products in daily life except during festivals and weddings.
 The artisans are not appropriately licensed due to which availing loan is
very difficult.
 Technical support available from IIT, Bihta is limited.

Developing Pareo Cluster

Suggestions for the benefits realized from more collaboration in the supply chain
include:

Cooperation Increases Share of resources: The relationship over time gets

deeper and hence helps in making business more profitable.

By word of mouth: Quality always speaks for a product. Better product will
always make a publicity through the customers.

Innovation through Long-Term Collaboration: Understanding the barriers and

the pains of customers because of the supply chain system and collaborating with
other supply chain partners will surely help the customers.

With context to cluster, artisans need to learn new technologies in operation and
production of products. Artisans should work with roper protective equipment.
Carving designs can be improved by means of employing better machines. The
finish of the products can be enhanced by using less of scrap metal and more of
fresh raw material. Proper and planned marketing of the products needs to be done
in order to increase their sales and demand that can lead to increased production.
People in Pareo only know this work so they are forced to do this work whether
they like it or not, so they should be given opportunities to learn new work, this
will make them less dependable on this work for fulfilling their needs.

50
Proposed Product range

In order to reach a bigger consumer group and thus increase profitability of the
business, artisans need to increase the range of products they offer to the market.
The products need to be more of hollow type that uses less of metal but at the same
time sold for higher prices in the market. Smaller products comes with low cost of
production but are of more value as per consumer. Some of the proposed products
are as follow

Daily use Products: Pots/ urns

Home accessories: Wall hangings, mural, sculptures, frames, decorative boxes,

vases, lamp base, wall hooks, etc.

Religious products: Oil lamp, idols, bells and other miscellaneous products.

Office use products: Book ends, pen stand, paper weight and card holder.

Future of Pareo Metal Ware

The future of the Pareo metal craft remains unpredictable. As it cannot be analysed
that metal craftwork would grow or would decline in the coming days. The growth
of the craft is limited as the number of the product lines is limited. The machine-
made products are giving tough competition. According to the artisans, this has
even led to a decline in the demand for products. The only demand for these
products is during marriage seasons or sometimes in festive ones. As in marriages,
it is a custom to buy metal products. Therefore, the demand for the metal work
products is limited to that only.

Even the businessmen are unable to see any signs of improvement in this business.
They want their upcoming generation to pick up another profession. They are
encouraging them to study and make a career in another field as the profit is
reducing. Sales of metal products are declining day by day. Even if they raise their
prices then Pareo is going to good competition from Moradabad and other places.

In order to prevent artisans from opting out this craft, various strategies needs to
be formulated so that artisans can realize the true worth of the craft products which
are discussed below.

51
Future Vision for cluster

Initial phase: It relates to the developments that needs to be done within 1 year of
time. It includes following: (Kumar, Need Assessment Survey, Serthebari Bell
Metal Cluster, Assam, 2011)

 NIFT- Pareo MSME design collaboration: As the range of products

produced in Pareo is very limited, they need to expand the range by help of
NIFT-Pareo collaboration.
 Personal development: Workshops and trainings to develop skills and
design abilities.
 Awareness schemes: The artisans should be asked to attend awareness
programmes to update them for market demands.

Intermediate Phase: It relates to the development that needs to be done from 1st to
3rd year. It includes following:

 Capital Investment by government.

 Better productivity: Increase in production of products should be aimed
along with making production process simpler. This will lead to increased
profitability that will bring capital for further investments.
 Quality Control: Quality check of all raw materials in order to serve high
profile market that will be targeted if product range is increased.
 Involvement of NGOs and Non-profit organizations in order to boost the
sales by enhancing visibility of the products by means of their help.
 Export of products: The artisans once increase the product range can export
the products. As quality is will be maintained in this phase, export will be
easier to do and more profitable for cluster and country’s economy.

Final Phase: It is the last phase that will start from 3rd year and will continue till 5th
year. It incudes

 Sustained growth: They need to achieve a sustainable model of business

that helps them expand their business. This will improve the life of artisans

52
 financially to make them stay in this profession and keep producing quality
products with interest and happiness.

Conclusion
The cluster visit to Pareo helped us in understanding the status of metal ware craft
cluster in Pareo. It gave us a deeper insight of how metal craft products have been
manufactured by the artisans. Moreover, the cluster visit helped us in getting a brief
outlook of artisan’s lifestyle, their work area and niche. The survey conducted
during the visit gave an insight of how artisans manage their economic status by
means of practicing the cluster, the level of awareness they have about the existing
technologies like social media marketing and digital marketing. Also, by means of
the survey we get to know about the views of artisan regarding government
schemes and policies for them. The business activity happening at the cluster
helped the group to understand the management of the daily working operations.
The new business approach has been adopted by the artisans as they receive orders
on WhatsApp and send sample pics by the same means to the prospective buyers.
The entire supply chain was understood starting from the sourcing of raw material
till the selling of the product in the market. Other observations included the
coordination of various production activities on day to day basis and how the
cluster works in harmony to produce fine quality products that are accepted and
recognized on a national scale. If provided with opportunities like capital,
technology and land, the cluster will grow and reach a sustainable level in near
future.

53
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 Annexure I

Table 2: Transportation cost

56