CRAFT CLUSTERS - INITIATIVE BY NIFT

CRAFT CLUSTERS OF INDIA

India is renowned for its handicrafts which are a reflection of India’s tradition, culture and a
rich varied heritage. Handicrafts, mainly rural based, having reached in backward and in-
accessible area. Handicrafts have big potential as they hold the key for sustaining not only the
existing set of millions of artisans spread over length and breadth of the country, but also for
an increasingly large number of new entrants in the crafts activity, but this sector has suffered
due to the very nature of being unorganized with additional constraints like lack of education,
capital, poor exposure to new technologies, absence of market intelligence and poor
institutional framework. Indian crafts are facing its most critical test of survival due to the
massive change that is happening in the National infrastructure leading to huge displacements
of population and loss of traditional occupations and unrelenting urbanization development.

OBJECTIVES

Handicrafts constitute an important segment of the decentralized/unorganized sector of our

economy. It is mainly rural based, having reach in backward and inaccessible areas.
Originally, started as a part time activity in rural areas, it has now transformed into a
flourishing economic activity due to significant market demand over the years. Handicrafts
have big potential as they hold the key for sustaining not only the existing set of millions of
artisans spread over length and breadth of the country, but also for an increasingly large
number of new entrants in the crafts activity. Presently, handicraft sector is contributing
substantially in employment generation and export but this sector has suffered due to the very
nature of being unorganized with additional constraints like lack of education, capital, poor
exposure to new technologies, absence of market intelligence and poor institutional
framework.

NIFT’S INITIATIVE

Concern for social and human values is one of the most important factors in NIFT vision,
crafted over time. NIFT has been instrumental in implementing various projects for
empowerment and inclusion of people at all levels NIFT. With active support from the
Ministry of Kura' Development, Office of Development Commissioner (handicrafts
handlooms) and National Centre for Jute Development is developing and implementing a
craft cluster initiative towards the overall progress of craft, the cottage industry and
vocational activities. The intention of the project is to involve NIFTs professional capabilities
in the areas of design, technology, marketing and management along with external expertise,
and synergise all developmental activities by various government and nongovernment
agencies. Every year students visit a craft cluster and put their design skills to use to make the
craft more appealing to the contemporary audience.
 1. CRAFT CLUSTER VISIT | NARSAPUR CLUSTER VISIT (CROCHET LACE)

INTRODUCTION

Narsapur hand Crochet Lace Cluster is a traditional cluster with a history of more than 160
years. It is believed that Scottish Couple Mr. and Mrs. Macrae started this cluster in 1844 and
taught this craft to the local women. Ever since this craft has seen mushroom growth. This
traditional craft and has been practised in India for the last three to four centuries. The oldest
centre, Jamnagar in Gujarat, has involved the womenfolk in this craft since the time of the
Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb, but this craft also provides a major livelihood in the delta of the
Godavari River. The cluster is 168-year-old. It all started by a Scottish lady by name Macrae
who came here on missionaries of Charity work in the year 1844 and taught the housewives
the art of lace work by needles and since that time it spread in the district and women took up
the activity as a source of income. Most of the women do the lacing in their respective
houses. Traditionally the families are doing it since generations. In some place’s women
gather at a common place in the village and do it together. This forms the primary livelihood
for poor rural folk in Narsapur area of East Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh. Many lace
businessmen with business deals with Australia, UK and US have origins in Narsapur.

A WINDOW TO THEIR WORLD 

The Lace Artisans are 100 percent Women and mainly belong to the Kapu community (85
percent share) balance includes Khamma, Christians etc. The craft is dominated and Practiced
mainly by the Kapu community as they are orthodox and do not let their women to go outside
for work. Most of the Artisans belong to good families but their family being an orthodox
doesn't allow them to be a professional crochet Artisan. The women work on a part time
basis, generally 6-7 hours per day either from their residences or common village level
Production Centre in a group. Mostly the Common Production Centre is at the residence of
the Artisan Society President. Majority of the Lace Artisans have not obtained any formal
training and follow traditional designs and lace products. The lace Artisans execute work
provided by the Exporters and Lace Park and rarely are engaged in direct marketing f Lace
products. The raw materials yarn, fabric, accessories are provided to the Artisans along with
the Design pattern/ Sample by exporters/ Lace Park and the Artisans are paid conversion
charges, paid mostly based on ½ kg yarn conversion for lace item.
 
LACE PARK FACILITIES

R&D AND DESIGN DEVELOPMENT WING

R&D and Design Development Wing of lace park have been established with a NIFT
graduate as its head to cater the requirements of modern world and to bring diversification
in the existing product range. A design development wing has been established with 20
residents, highly skilled artisans. This team is called Core team. The village girls usually
knew the art but lacked the professional skills of doing it. So far more than 600 new designs
in the field of home furnishing, Accessories, Kids Wear, Women's Wear and several other
designs meeting the latest world of fashion have been explored and taken for mass
production.
SKILLED UPGRADATION PROGRAMMES

A separate training wing has been established, wherein at any point of time 260 Artisans
upgrade their skill sets. To cater the diversified product requirement, a separate fashion
technology wing has also been established which imparts skill up gradation
to Artisans in techniques like stitching, embroidery, picoting, etc. The skill upgradation
training has been given at Lace Park with the help of highly skilled trainers along with
National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT). 

SOCIAL WELFARE ACTIVITIES FOR ARTISANS

Lace park also carries out Social Welfare activities for the Artisans like organizing Eye
Camps in association with SCOJO foundation; Adult education awareness camps with Sri
Y.N. College, Narasapur; health insurance of artisans, issuing photo identity card etc.

MARKETING EFFORTS

Crochet Lace has got good demand both at domestic and international markets, so efforts
have been taken to tap the potential domestic markets which is untapped so far.
 A separate marketing team has been established to tap the opportunities.
 Organizing and participating in both the domestic and international markets Tied up
with Lepakshi for exhibiting the products both at Hyderabad and Delhi outlets. 
 Tied up with IKEA Sweden and Delhi, Noida, Tirupur, Karur and Tamil Nadu based
exporting agencies for international marketing. 
 Established retail outlets at Dun, and Narsapuram .
 Registration of Lace Park with various agencies viz. Ex Export Promotion Council for
handicrafts, TEXPROCIL, Export & Export Code, Ministry of Commerce etc. is
under process. 
 Efforts have been taken to build a Website Developed brochure and catalogue for
publicity. So far (year 2010-11) sales worth Rs. 2,72,16,366/- has been achieved
which clearly indicates the potential of making K5. 3Crore annual sale turnover.
 Advertising through portals like trdeindia.com.

DESIGN INTERVENTION

DESIGN PROCESS

NIFT wanted to design a crochet product that would sell in the market and has not yet been
explored.

STEP 1
They went to take a look at artisan’s work, to Ravarpeta which was hardly a kilometre away
from lace park. They studied the kind of designs they’ve created so far, so as to know their
capabilities and skill levels and design our products accordingly.

STEP 2
CONCEPTUALIZATION OF FINAL PRODUCT
They started with the sketching of the different ideas that came into our minds. Different
designs that were thought of are:

1. A crocheted top and a skirt

The top has two woven panels and a crocheted panel in the front and has a tie back
with crocheted strings.
Drawbacks: Product was not new; it is already available in the market material
required couldn’t be sourced.

2. Curtain with curtain holders

The curtains have both woven and crochet pieces with a combination of 20 percent
crochet. Curtain holders have to be made with crochet only.
Drawbacks: The timeline associated with the project was not enough to get the
crochet work completed 

3. A Lampshade and wall hanging 

The shade of lame has a wired frame, on top of which crochet panel has to be
attached. Wall hanging is a piece matching with the design of lamp shade.
Drawbacks: The wire frame required for the lamp shade couldn't have been possibly
sourced in such a short time period. crocheted wall hangings have already been
explored. 

4. Crochet cushions and an off-shoulder crochet top

Both the products have a combination of crochet and woven panels. 
Drawbacks: Both the products are widely available in the market.

5. A crocheted bed sheet & crochet toys bedsheet has large panels of crochet
Drawback: Bedsheet being too big wasn't possible to be made in the given time &
toys have already been explored.

STEP 3
SELECTION OF A THEME: MAUVE
They selected a theme for their design for a direction to work upon. The theme which they
selected is MAUVE: A Pink trying to be Purple.
They selected this theme because the crochet craft is women oriented and here the purple
represents the sense of femininity that this craft has into it. The line 'Pink trying  to be purple,
represents here the struggle, the hard work , these women have been putting into this art to
improve their livelihoods, to survive and not to lag behind in society.
 
COLOUR PALETTE
Inspired from this theme they decided to take the colour palette moving around mauve
shades. The crochet panels in their product are made out of ink and mauve shades. they
decided to give the cushions a round shape because round shape has not been explored by the
brand so far. A base of Rexine has been given to cushions to avoid wear and tear during
usage. A zipper is also given at the base to stuff the cotton or to wash when required. 

STEP 4
Sourcing of raw materials and instructing the artisans with the kind of designs they were
supposed to make. They gave the artisans the raw material required i.e. yarns, crochet hooks
etc. and gave them the sketch of the product which they made.
Artisans worked for 8-9 hours per day and the artisans being very experienced and skilled,
completed the work in a week's time. 

STEP 5 
Next step was stitching the side panels for the floor cushions. The side panels were stitched
by the tailor provided by lace park. It was completed in a day. Then they went on to the
stitching of the bottom part that was of rexine and putting a zipper in it. This part was done in
a day's time. Then they gave the cushions for muffin.

2. CRAFT CLUSTER VISIT | ANEKAL CLUSTER VISIT (SILK WEAVING)

Handloom is the heritage craft of our country and provides employment to large section of
rural artisans. It is environment friendly and its flexibility and adaptability can produce
articles according to the need and taste of the growing population. But in present days, Indian
silk products cannot compete with the superior quality of Chinese silk.
INTRODUCTION TO CLUSTER
Fifteen years back, handloom sector in Karnataka had been looking forward to some
developmental interventions, primarily to uplift the condition of weavers. Government
planned to take up integrated handloom cluster development program in order to benefit the
handloom weavers. Anekal is one such identified cluster area in bengaluru district.
Anekal weavers work on both handlooms and power looms either independently or for
private companies or government co-operations. In sudamnagar of Anekal taluk, about 100
weavers work for priyadharshini handlooms under KHDC (karnakata handloom development
corporation). Depending on the order received Ulsoor regional office of priyadharshini,
provides the raw material and design graphs to the Anekal office, which issues them to
weavers. Perfect record of all transactions is maintained here. The weavers are charged for
the raw materials and wage per piece is given. Thus, KHDC provides the more wages by
eliminating the middle man. Anekal weaving cluster under KHCDC consisted of 100
weaving families divided into six blocks as per 2011 census. Among these families few have
stopped working under KHDC recently and joined private firms for better pay. Also due to
lack of interests of the next generation the size of this cluster is reducing drastically.
The present generation has started finding alternative ways of income. Hence the size of
cluster is reducing. Another reason for this, is availability of easier and more profitable jobs
outside the locality.
Anekal cluster is known for the silk handloom products weaved there including traditional
silk saree w/wo blouse (pattu saree), printed silk sarees, dhoti w/wo shalya (pancham) –
pancham (two bordered dhotis of different color, also called VIP/MLA dhoti).
GOVERNMENT INTERVENTION AND SUPPORT
Handloom sectors were one of the major contributors to provide employment opportunities
in Anekal next to agricultural and industrial sector but the earnings of the handloom weavers
were very low as compared to their productivity, majority of the handloom weavers come
under the poverty line. The traditional silk and cotton tool, are largely replaced by synthetic
yarn. It was to resolve these issues and protect Karnataka’s weaving heritage, that’s when
Karnataka handloom development corporation a government nonprofit corporation was born.

KHDC
It was established in 1975 at companies act 1956 and covered under twenty points program of
late prime minister Smt.INDIRA GANDHI. From raw material procurement to marketing,
KHDC helps traditional weavers pursue their vocation fruitfully.
The mission is the prosperity of the weaver and the prosperity of the corporation and the
Objective is to promote handloom industry and to facilitate economic self-reliance of weavers
and also to revive ancient designs and weaves and integrate them into today’s lifestyle.
KHDC has been in the services of 13000 handloom weavers across Karnataka and also has
generated indirect employment to over 1 lakh people.
TYPES OF SILK
 Mulberry silk
 Tassar silk
 Muga silk
 Eri silk
DESIGN PERSPECTIVE (MOTIFS)
 The KHDC head office gives the order for sarees. The designers design the motifs
using CAD software. They get the wooden cards punched by machines and send these
to Anekal .
 Weaver in Anekal does bulk private orders (nearly 100). the buyers give the designs
and also sets up the machine.
 Motifs mostly are inspired from nature- animal and floral pattern like peacock, leaves,
mango.
 Intricate zari borders were a prominent design feature.
 The production is based on number colours and bright colours like gold, orange,
greenish, blue, parrot green, violet was mostly found.
QUALITY ISSUES AND PROBLEMS
 KHDC products were well known for their good quality but some defects were
unavoidable in handloom weaving.
 In order to reduce friction and allow proper functioning of the machine, they keep on
applying wax (Meena) on the shuttle device from time to time.
 All looms had enough light for fabric defect identification. only some weavers have
covered the tube lights with newspapers in order not to affect their eyesight.
 The major causes of defects are yarn imperfection and machine friction.
 It was also found that weavers touch the silk saree at the time of production and the
impressions caused were not considered defects.
COMMON DEFECTS
  In the wrap, a clean surface of the yarn is an absolute must. any thick places, knots or
high neatness defects or hairiness have a strong tendency to make the yarn stick
together. this results in end breaking. Thick places in weft are less critical, but on the
cone, such defects can interfere with smooth unwinding and any inertia there, can
result in weft break.
 The average strength of all kinds of raw silk and spun silk yarns is by far sufficient to
withstand the weaving strain. But the variation of the strength can lead to serious
trouble. Individual weak positions can be overloaded and cause breakage. thus, not
only the average strength, but also the variation and the elongation are important, a
high elongation can compensate for missing strength. size deviation is also important
for the same reason.
 Evenness of the yarn affects the fabric appearances to a great extent. A high
unevenness will cause weft bars and stripes in the wrap.

WEAVING DEFFECTS
MISSING ENDS (CHIRA): A defect where one or more wrap ends are missing in the fabric
is called a “chira”. It constitutes 40-50 per cent of total defects in loom state cloth.
FLOAT JALA: Is formed when there is no proper interlacement of warp and weft yarns over
a certain area.
CAUSES: Entanglement of adjoining ends in the region between the heddles and the fell of
the cloth, knots with long tail ends, oozy and undersized warp, breakage of heddle on running
loom cause such entanglement.
WEFT CRARK OR LESS PITH (JERKI): A strip in the fabric where the pick density is
lower than normal is called JERKI and is caused by mechanical faults in the loom. One of the
reasons is weak beat up due to loose fittings of reed.
CRAMMED PICA (PATTI): A strip in the fabric where the pick density is more than
normal is called patti. Some reasons arc, weaver releasing excessive cloth at the time of
restarting the loom, improper setting of the antic rack motion and release finger.
SHUTTLE SMASH: The defect is caused when many ends break consequent to a shuttle
trap.
CAUSES: Wrong timing of shedding, soft picking, insufficient checking of shuttle in the
boxes unbalanced shuttle, entanglement in the wrap damaged or broken picking.
TEMPLE MARK: Yarns are distorted from their true paths and fine holes are caused near
the selvedge.

DESIGN INTERVENTION 

Women of anekal contributed less in the silk weaving, they would help their husbands in
winding of pirns and charka most of the women were trained in tailoring and used to stitch
silk blouses for themselves.

NIFT realised that these women had no idea about knitting while few of them knew about
embroideries. They were really interested in learning new embroidery techniques.
They had all the materials for embroidery which they wanted to teach. This was done to
ensure that the waste silk threads are put into use to produce beautiful embroidered designs
for their garments. In this process they taught them basic stitches like running stitch and chain
stitch, after which they further progressed to stitches like herringbone, French knot. Most of
the design they worked on with them took inspiration from the anekal sarees as well as the
rangoli motifs which they could see on every door step.

The women there were very quick in learning new techniques and applied them with
expertise. Their application was very precise and neat. 

There is a huge scope for these women to enhance their skills and if focused onto the correct
goal can help them produce and individuality for themselves. The only obstacle in their way
is the lack of time management limited to sources of training.

A PRODUCT REMAKE:

Mysore peta (peta is a kannada word which means turban in English) is the traditional
indigenous attire worn by the erstwhile kings of Mysore, called the wodeyars of the kingdom
of Mysore. wodeyars wore a richly bejewelled turban made of silk and zari (gold threaded
lace) to match with colourful dresses as part of the royal dresses. 

The attractive and colourful turban is a headdress made up of long scarf like single piece of
cloth made of silk or cotton wound round the head cap or mould wrapped in canvas and is
often decorated with zari border (golden or silver laces) and beautiful metal pendants that
adds to its glory and grandeur. the motifs on a traditional mysore peta are generally
traditional designs that are being used from generations.

These Mysore peta has been weaved by the weavers of anekal from generations. In modern
times, turbans are worn during special festive occasions of religious, social or cultural
importance. Also, in Karnataka university convocation, students have now the option to wear
the Karnataka’s traditional Mysore peta.

SUGGESTIONS

The following suggestions can be made to improve the safety and health conditions in textile
units:

 The pit depth should be well aligned so that there is no musculoskeletal strain.
 Proper lighting should be arranged to avoid strain.
 Lint free environment should be provided to the weavers.
 Machinery should be well maintained in order to reduce the level of noise. if
necessary, certain parts of machines can be replaced.
 In case the noise level cannot be controlled (for example in power looms), workers
should be provided with earplugs so that exposure to noise can be reduced.
 There should be proper ventilation at the place of work.
 Teaching them ways to recycle the waste yarns and fabrics.
 Helping the weavers sell their products online directly which will also help in export
market expansion.
 Advertising using media and improving the brand identity.
 Providing weavers exposure to the innovative products done using silk like
accessories, diary covers, bowties, bags, etc.
 3. CRAFT CLUSTER VISIT | ROSEWOOD INLAY CRAFT

Introduction 

Karnataka being a state which has abundance of forest cover, it is no surprise that Mysore is
known to be a major centre for production of wood-based handicraft items, of which
rosewood inlay work dominates and has received the Geographical Indication (GI) tag in
2005 to give it legal protection while reinforcing the product’s uniqueness. It is a slice of the
country’s rich heritage which is a product of history and geography embellished with
artisans’ dexterity. This intricate work involves many stages. The first step is to design and
draw the images and patterns on the rosewood. Then the rosewood is cut into proper shape by
carpentry. The motifs that have to be inlaid are then carefully hand cut to shape. The areas
where the motifs have to be inlaid on the rosewood are carefully scooped out. Next the motifs
are inlaid and fixed. The wood is then smoothened using sandpaper and polished to give a
bright look. 

Problem facing

The basic aim of the visit was to study the current STP’s and marketing strategies of the
Rosewood Inlay craft and to propose them how efficiently it can be upgraded so as to
improve their sales and reach their product to the right audience

Solution

 Proposed STP

According to research work, the following STPs of Rosewood Inlay craft can be proposed.
The customer base has been segmented by three categories, Demographics, Geography and
Psychographics. Under the Demographics, the gender of the audience can be unisex with the
age bracket of 8 years and above belonging to upper middle class as well as higher class. The
Geographic aspect can cover pan India and sell to customers residing all over the world.
Customers who prefer shopping intricate designs and genuine products along with the
mindset of social welfare of artisans, fall under the Psychographic aspect.

The target customer base would be interior designers, connoisseurs of art, people who have a
distinctive taste in jewellery and parents who are willing to purchase wooden toys for their
kids. Patrons with a household income of Rs 40,000 - 2, 00,000 per month, can be the
proposed target income. 

Rose wood inlay is a craft rich in history and cultural heritage. The job of the artisans
involved in the craft is very laborious and time consuming, therefore the art can be positioned
as a craft promoting the Indian heritage and welfare of these artisans i.e. supporting their
household and acquired skills. 
  Proposed marketing strategies

Newsletter marketing

Newsletter marketing involves sending out informational newsletters to interested parties.

The vast majority of companies today connect with customers over email. Email is cheaper
and faster and produces data that can be more easily studied to create more relevant
newsletters. Newsletters contain a range of content that is not exclusively related to shopping.
Companies might include everything from industry news, to interesting statistics, and "how
to" articles in a given issue of a newsletter. 

Information about multiple products, sales, or company initiatives can be contained in a

single email newsletter. This information is often more detailed than what could be included
in a print or radio ad, because there is no limit on the length of an email. The multimedia
aspect of emails also allows business to include links that allow customers to buy products
immediately. They present convenient sales channels that lead customers directly to a
company's official site. 

Make the craft more visible

Organizations mentioned below are providing extraordinary platforms for the weakened
artisans. Some of the great initiatives which are working for these handicrafts’ craftsmen are
trying to cover all of India, however, Rosewood Inlay, still does not have its mark.

1. Happy Hands Foundation is committed towards the revival of traditional/folk art and
craft, empowering rural artisans and building potential in women and young people to
lead community development activities and craft entrepreneurship.
2. Samhita.org is a philanthropic initiative of the Nadathur Trust: which aims to partner
with people and social organizations in creating financially viable and sustainable
solutions to various social, economic and environmental issues/challenges. 
3. Craftmark, another very well to do organization guides Indian crafts into the modern
world, training craftspeople across India to become competitive professionals, helping
communities and families to improve their standard of living, encouraging craft
processes to blossom and creating awareness in modern consumer markets. 
4. Heart for Art organisation works on similar lines as others, but what stands out in
their website is the way they are promoting. To evoke emotions of the general public,
Heart for Art has laid down lots of artisanal profiles along with their personal stories.
This strategy helps in making the customer understand what the artisans are going
through and makes buying very smooth 

Measures that can be taken by Government

1. Putting up Billboards at multiple entrance points of Mysore to show that there is a

rosewood craft in the city. 
2. Advertising extensively at Mysore Palace (most visited monument of Mysore) 
3. Help people and tourists with directional boards to guide them about the shops and
clusters. 
 4. Karnataka Tourism ads must incorporate information about Rosewood Inlay craft of
Mysore to enlighten maximum people and these ads should be telecasted all over
India.
5. Similar to a platform like Incredible India, there should be a portal to promote the
craft.
6. Collaboration with various organisations that promote the rich heritage and culture of
our country like Export Promotion Council of Handicrafts, Council of Handicraft
Development Corporation etc.

Collaboration of artisans with E-commerce sites

In the last few years, if there is one industry that has taken centre stage in India, it is e-
commerce. Online marketplaces are changing the way India shops. While the e-commerce in
our country is a multi-billion-dollar industry, it is not just the big guns that have profited from
it. There are lakhs of small and medium entrepreneurs who joined the e-commerce
bandwagon as sellers and are witnessing significant growth in their business. 

One of the biggest myths that still prevail is that one needs to have some technical skills to
operate in an online marketplace. But the reality is that if one can browse the Internet, surf
through websites and can check emails, artisans are technically skilled enough to become an
online seller. There is no language barrier as well as artisans can choose a language in which
they are comfortable. 

Advertising is the best way to reach out to maximum number of customers and boost sales.
But it requires a fat investment and doesn’t guarantee return on investment. E-commerce
helps solve this problem. India’s leading e- commerce companies like Flipkart and amazon
provide with the opportunity to promote products with a small budget. Artisans will be
charged as per the number of clicks the products get. More clicks, more sales. No clicks, no
charges. 

The benefits of setting up business for an artisan in an online marketplace do not end here.
Artisans will also get the opportunity to establish their own brand and become a household
name. It is an industry that can give you high returns with low investment. Undoubtedly, the
e-commerce industry in India is the biggest business opportunity for them. 

4. CRAFT CLUSTER VISIT | HANDLOOM CRAFT

Introduction 

Sri Jnana Ganapathi Weavers product and sales co-operative society is located 40 kms from
Bangalore, on the Bangalore- Mysore highway. They manufacture handloom silk sarees with
the help of various artisans from Ullal nagar, Padarayanapura and Hosakerehalli. For anyone
the place can be challenging because of the heat, not very good lodging and food facilities,
travelling is usually done by sharing autos which can get quite inconvenient but keeping aside
all this, the one thing that strikes a chord is the simplicity of the people. 

Problem facing
The aim of the visit was to study the current situation of handloom craft. To develop and
promote the marketing channels in domestic as well as export market and bring about linkage
between weavers and customers efficiently 

Solution

GoCoop, an online social marketplace for India's cooperatives and community-based

enterprises is working with more than 70,000 producers and aims to impact a million weavers
and artisans. The definition of social marketplace is two-pronged: buyers and sellers in the
marketplace can interact socially via a listing service, search, e-commerce, and GoCoop
Connect. The marketplace’s mission is also socially driven, promoting organizations who
may not otherwise have access to fair market prices or technology. 

GoCoop’s social marketplace allows buyers and sellers to connect in a unique way. The site
provides each cooperative with a profile page, which lists the organization’s basic
information, location, website, and uploaded products. GoCoop also provides a robust search
function where users can find cooperatives based on industry, geography, products, and
service categories. On top of this, the social marketplace facilitates both individual and bulk
e-commerce sales for sellers, and GoCoop’s attentive customer support team ensures a
smooth ordering process. Lastly, GoCoop Connect, perhaps the most advanced aspect of the
social marketplace, enables cooperatives to communicate with each other, share best
practices, and even facilitate cross-country collaboration. All of these features come together
to create an innovative online experience that combines discovery, shopping, communication,
and collaboration. 

In addition to creating opportunities for social interaction, GoCoop’s marketplace is socially

driven; the site caters to those who lack access to consumer markets. GoCoop partners with
cooperative producers in rural areas whose traditional means of making sales depend on
intermediaries. These middlemen tend to make high marginal profits off the cooperatives’
goods, and they rarely share this revenue with the enterprises. The social marketplace
connects buyers directly to cooperatives, eliminating intermediaries as well as empowering
organizations to act as free agents and capture profit that is rightfully their own. 

The social marketplace also allows cooperatives access to technology, enabling them to
become an online business and have direct access to consumer markets. GoCoop has invested
resources in technological education and training programs to ensure successful adoption of
this technology and support cooperatives’ growth from the grassroots level. 
Introduction to Gocoop-NIFT Bengaluru 
The GoCoop- NIFT model will be an exclusive and new model for both the website and
NIFT. This model concentrates on the collaboration of both the organisations with one basic
goal to achieve - “Empowering more and more artisans”. This Model clearly works on the
sharing of resources of both the organisations, where GoCoop shares it’s online space and
marketing solution, NIFT Bengaluru provides with new and un found clusters and societies to
be listed on the feature. 

Mission 
To connect with all the societies and cluster where NIFT Bangalore students visit annually in
lieu of their subject assignments and projects with the organisation, GoCoop so as it provides
them with new retail and marketing solutions to increase their revenue and do justice to our
artisans and their craft. 

Vision 

To make every centre of NIFT from across the country a contributing partner in lieu of this
collaboration enabling more and more clusters, societies and artisans be a part of GoCoop
and grow with more sales, recognition and eventually a better quality of life, which in part
encourages them to keep these beautiful artforms alive and evolving for generations to come. 

THE MODEL 

This collaborative model revolves around the 2 organisations exchange of resources. The
model works by GoCoop sharing with its marketing and retail resources and NIFT Bengaluru
with its cluster connections and research. 

To Simplify, as we have read above, GoCoop is India's cooperatives and community-based

enterprises which primarily connects cooperatives, clusters, artisans and community-based
enterprise with potential customers both B2B and B2C and has been doing tremendously well
since its inception. GoCoop is a pioneer in this aspect and has thus achieved quit a lot of
market share in the country and abroad too. 

GoCoop would partner with NIFT Bangalore for GOCOOP-NIFT feature for artisan and
cluster connect. As every year, different departments from NIFT visit different cluster sites or
community-based enterprises which work with different art form-based textiles in and around
Karnataka, we students would help them connect with GoCoop. 

GoCoop provides us with a set questionnaire, which states all the basic requirements a cluster
or an artisan needs to maintain to be featured on the GoCoop site. The requirements are - 
 Minimum of 5 generation of artisan. 
 Own production unit. 
 Exclusive art from production. 
 Capacity of minimum 10-15 order fulfilment per month. 
 Certified Ethnic raw material usage. 
Post these basic prerequisites, GoCoop looks at background of the artisans in order to see if
they need any basic training in terms of order fulfilment and check basic standardisation of
products. These criterions once met, GoCoop would list them on their website, enabling them
to retail their products and gain revenue. 

How Does NIFT help?

NIFT visits different clusters and cooperative societies, thus we, NIFT would connect them
with GoCoop. GoCoop provides a questionnaire which gets surveyed through the NIFTians
and gets filled from artisans. Next, that questionnaire is reviewed by GoCoop and so is the
artisan. Once done, the artisan is listed under their market place. 

Benefits of the GoCoop X NIFT Model:

GoCoop X NIFT aims to enable sustainable livelihoods for the rural artisans and at the same
time ensure the supply of high-quality, authentic handlooms and handicrafts to customers.
GoCoop is trying to “build value for the human element” in the product, in contrast to the
marketing of a mass (machine) manufactured product. Thus, NIFT through its curriculum is
providing opportunities to know about these weavers, their cluster groups and take initiatives
through which they can improve their lifestyle. Through this model, the purpose of both the
organisations is getting fulfilled along the major concern of uplifting the cluster, the rich
heritage of our nation. 
To specify, some of the significant benefits would be: 
 Providing market place and opportunity for the weavers to showcase their products
and get the exact value for it. 
 In the era of E-Commerce, weavers getting an online presence along with their
recognition. 
 Getting in touch with a wide-spread customer, be it a business or direct consumer. 
 Facility of getting silk mark as a label of quality assurance. 
 Increase in their revenue, since now they have a greater market presence with no
middlemen in between. 
 NIFT helps in acting as a bridge in between Gocoop and Weavers where they will
help the weavers to learn about the market, the upcoming variations and the
technology upgradations. 
 It ultimately leads towards improving the health of the clusters which is a motivating
factor for the weavers to give their best and also to continue this art form to
generations ahead. 
 The business of the cluster groups thus can evolve to a big business sector providing
better quality service on both the ends. 
 At last, all these comes with zero investments for the weavers, as most of the
initiatives for resources, technology and supply chain would be covered by
GoCoopXNIFT itself. 

Conclusion
The trip to Ullal nagar, Padarayanapura and Hosakerehalli was a great learning experience
both in terms of the indigenous talent and exceptional artwork that represents Indian heritage
as well as the actual price that they get in turn of their hard work. The kind of art forms they
showcase through their handlooms and the conditions in which they work was an eye opener
to us. They are not benefited in terms that they should have been. During our research we
gained knowledge about the Cluster groups, the weavers society, their history, the kind of
organisational structure that they have, the number of people they are employing, the kind of
machines they use and finally how they sell their products in market. 
Marketing was the key area that needed attention as well as a perfect model would definitely
bring change to their lifestyle and can increase the zeal in them to work for and keep alive the
talent. Through this report we have tried our best to pitch in the model that can prove
beneficial to the Cluster. We though admired the consistency and the excitement of them
sharing details with us and their openness in sharing the loopholes. Thus, with equal
excitement we want to share the same with the concerning people to make their conditions a
lot better and bring their hopes into reality. If we observe handloom businesses across the
country, we will be able to see that it is a good business proposition. No other nation in the
world is able to meet this demand of pure handlooms as our has, because no other nation has
as many working handlooms as we have. 
Instead of destroying this rich heritage, we should build it as a proud national industry. A
Cultural Heritage like such should be preserved and should be taken care of.