GYANODAYA-V

PROJECT REPORT

SHAHEED
SUKHDEV COLLEGE
OF BUSINESS
STUDIES

SOURCE: Mr. Hiralal Kalita

DEMAND AND SUPPLY OF

HANDLOOM INDUSTRY
Darohar of North-East: Assam(Jorhat)

TEAM MEMBERS
1) Aman Budhiraja.
2) Devesh Revankar
3) Priya Agrawal.
4) Siddhant Arora...
5) Simran Soni.
6) Shubham Gupta..
7) Shubham Gupta..
8) Vartika Agarwal.
9) Vibhor Goel.

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Contents
TEAM MEMBERS ......................................................................................................................................................... 1
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT .............................................................................................................................................. 3
OBJECTIVES ................................................................................................................................................................. 4
INTRODUCTION........................................................................................................................................................... 5
METHODOLOGY ADOPTED ..................................................................................................................................... 6
FIELD VISITS ................................................................................................................................................................ 7
INFORMATION GATHERED ..................................................................................................................................... 9
PROBLEMS FACED ......................................................................................................................................................... 9
OPPORTUNITIES IDENTIFIED FOR FURTHER PROPOSALS ........................................................................ 10
SUCCESS STORIES .................................................................................................................................................... 11
1)

Story of jaishree Mohento .................................................................................................................................. 11

2)

Story of Hiralal kalita- Head of All India Handloom Cooperative Society ........................................................... 11

PROPOSAL 1: E-COMMERCE-FLIPKART PLAN ............................................................................................... 12

Need of Ecommerce in handloom industry ................................................................................................................ 12
Problems faced in implementation of e commerce model in handloom industry ..................................................... 12
PROPOSAL 2: FASHION DESIGNING ................................................................................................................... 13
1.

Capturing the uncaptured market ............................................................................................................................ 13

2.

Design development ................................................................................................................................................ 13

3.

Product diversification ............................................................................................................................................ 14

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The journey of Gyanodaya V did not begin on 18th but much before it, and would not end on 29th but
much beyond it. The learning from the entire process- pre journey, journey, and post journey would
remain etched in our memories and experiences. This project would not have taken such a concrete
shape without the guidance and motivation of many.
We would like to thank the University of delhi for providing us the opportunity to be a part of
Gyanodya:V and work on the project Demand and Supply of Handloom Industry. We would also
thank our college in-charge for being so supportive since the very initial stages of gyanodaya proposals.
Grateful acknowledgement to Rehman Malik sir, project coordinator, for keeping us updated about all
relevant informations; Mr. Pattnaik for being extremely helpful with assamese language classes, and
introduction to assam.
We would also like to thank our mentor- Onkar sir, for being by our side all the time; group inchargeBaljeet Kaur madam and Tiwari sir; Pranjal Sir for providing us invaluable information whenever
needed;
Last but not the least we would like to thank all the officials, individuals involved in gyanodaya 5, for
making our journey comfortable, knowledgeable and memorable.

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OBJECTIVES

To understand the culture of Assam depicted by the handloom sector.

To Study the dynamics of demand and supply dynamics of handloom sector of Assam

Proposing feasible solutions to the govt. bodies and DU consisting of indexes, detailed
methodology and graphical illustrations.

To collect contacts of various people which would help us in the project.

To identify the problems arising while observation of methods used there for manufacturing and
trading silk.

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INTRODUCTION
The handloom industry of the north east region is one that has yet not been utilised up to its potential.
The amalgamation of tradition and commercialisation is a boon for the entire handloom industry
particularly in Assam. However, in the race of modernisation and globalisation, we must not forget to
preserve the cultural identity and traditional significance attached to them.
The North Eastern States have a long tradition of handloom weaving, handicraft and sericulture. The
region accounts for more than 50 per cent of the handlooms in the country. However, most of the looms
produce for domestic consumption. The textile sector in the region has tremendous potential for growth
and creation of employment opportunities.
Handloom industry plays a dominant role in the cultural and economic development of the rural masses
in majority of the North Eastern States. Almost all tribes and communities in the hills and the plains of
the region are actively engaged in this activity.
This region has the highest concentration and a rich heritage of handlooms in the country. Hence,
handloom sector plays a significant role in the economy of the region.

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METHODOLOGY ADOPTED

STAGE 1

STAGE 2

STAGE 3
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Conducting Preliminary Research at home

through internet and identifying what all
governement schemes.
It also incudes getting a beforehand idea
about the handloom industry in the north
east to prepare our questionnaire and
conduct a survey based on it

Collection of data - Surveys , field interviews,

telephonic interactions and personal
interactions- field work.
Analyzing the data collected through
statistical and graphical tools.

Making proposals, suggesting solutions and

concluding results
An overall analysis will be presented of the
observations taken in step 2 and the
proposals for rectifying and improving the
situation will be presented in this last stage.

FIELD VISITS
DAY-1
SIBASAGAR

1) We interacted with the people of

Sibasagar and got to know many facts
our project.
2) We also noticed that most of the women
here had worn sarees unlike the changing
trends in the metropolitan cities.
3) We came across a science teacher whom
we were really pleased to interview. He
told us about the violence that happened
recently because the locals were agitated
on the sale of duplicated silk garments
brought from Banaras (UP) at cheaper
rates than the local products.

DAY-2
MAJULI

We also noticed that there was a

traditional hand woven cloth known as
gamosa which was worn by the priests
and the disciples around the neck.

We also went to a house where we met a

lady and her daughter-in-law and came to
know that the skill sets and techniques of
handloom are passed on to the younger
generation. Also the handloom products
at the place are mostly used for selfconsumption purposes. Any extra
production is sold to the nearby market at
a minimal price.

DAY-3
JORHAT

After having our lunch at saffron hotel, we visited a shop where we met a lady who was a handloom
weaver. He told us that there is an excess demand and a very minimal supply in the market.

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DAY-4
KAZIRANGA

Teachers arranged a Bihu dance performance for us

given by some local trained dancers to make us feel
more connected to the place and tradition of Assam.
On interviewing them, we learnt about the silk mekhla
sadar worn by them and its importance in the dance
form.

DAY-5
TEZPUR

We first visited the Tezpur University where we were addressed by the registrar, the placement officer
and other officials of the college.

One of our members asked a question whether there are any courses in the university related to the
handloom designing or textiles

The University is looking for introducing specialization courses soon in the field of handloom.

We interacted with an Assamese student over there to know whether the modern generation is
interested in handlooms or not.

The findings were as such- they said that they wear silk sarees or Kurtis on occasions only because
they are very expensive and also they cannot wear it in daily use as it cannot be washed every day
because the cloth is such that it will get spoiled if you wash them every day.

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DAY-6
GUWAHATI

We were given a news that we wont be able to visit sualkuchi, the silk village of Assam where the
epicenter of our project was located.

We changed our research methodology from taking surveys physically to gathering information on
call.

We did a lot many calls to support our research work and complete our stage 2 of finding the ground
reality statistics and comparing it with the research data we found on the internet.

INFORMATION GATHERED
SOURCE

27 FIELD
INTERVIEWS

42
TELEPHONIC
INTERVIEWS

10 SURVEYS

STATISTICS (Source: Mr. Hiralal Kalita: Head of All India Handloom Cooperative Society)

There are a total of 5672 silk handlooms in sualkuchi.

There are 3393 mulberry silk handlooms.

There are only 93 looms based on muga silk.

There are 93 makela sadar looms.

There are 1896 pafar looms in sualkuchi.

PROBLEMS FACED
1. Unavailability of raw material at affordable price leading to greater prices and lower profit margin
2. Unavailability of skilled labor
3. Unawareness among the producers, retailers as well as the consumers about the silk mark.
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4. There is lack of a marketing platform.

5. A very wide market remains untapped
6. Financial weakness is there since the Government schemes are not implemented
7. Loans are not readily available since there are no proper bank accounts

OPPORTUNITIES IDENTIFIED FOR FURTHER PROPOSALS

Bank accounts of retailers and the heads of manufacturing department are available

There is an upcoming trend of internet in the area

Product diversification

Design development

Scope for technology development

Globalization

During our research work we also came across some success stories of people which helped us to base
our proposals and played a significant part in moulding our project.

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SUCCESS STORIES
1) Story of jaishree Mohento
She owns a silk factory. She produces mekhla sadar,saree, muga silk, masa suta . She sells her stock and
inventory in the local market of Morigaon district which is near tezpur. She performs a B2C selling model
where things are sold to the customers directly via shops or through their own housing shop. She purchases
the raw materials through local wholesalers from the nearby marketplaces. She claimed that her design is
unique and different from that of the weavers in the silk village of Assam i.e., sualkuchi, which is situated
near Guwahati. She started with this business 9 years ago with only 2 looms and sold all of her produce to
the big wholesalers leading to a convincing start-up. Now, she owns 10 looms and is able to sell all her
produce to the regular customers without even visiting the marketplace. Most of her customers are in Assam
state and constitutes of a diverse potential market. Customers themselves approach her with different
designs and stylesheets which they want to wear and the product is delivered to them within 1.5 months.
She agreed upon the fact that she should also sell her product outside Assam but her production capacity is
restricted due to some reasons. Some major reason is non- Availability of skilled labour, less number of
looms, limited space and lack of finances for expansion. Furthermore she explained that the weavers in
sualkuchi produce upto 100 units at a time whereas she produces only 2-3 units due to the above mentioned
reasons. She told that there is ample demand for her products but she is able to supply less than the required
level. Though she was aware of the fact that she can sell her products via e-commerce sites but explained the
reason of not doing so due to limited produce. However she is confident that she will extend her distribution
channels to internet related services such as e-commerce as soon as she owns 50 looms. She exclaimed that
although she has not sold her produce through internet still she has a global reach as customers from
countries like USA, England, etc, buy products from her. She even takes the advantage of social networking
apps on which she communicates her designs directly to the customers before the final order is made.
We asked her whether she has got any quality standard mark or silk mark from the government, she told us
that the she is in talks with ministry to get the quality mark or silk mark soon. On asking whether she got
any kind of help from the government, she replied initially the government did not provide any support to
her business but later her business grew and a person from the ministry analysed her work, she was provide
with HRID training.
She was also awarded chief minister award and various government schemes were provided to her. The
ministry has also made a documentary of her work and contribution to handloom industry

2)

Story of Hiralal kalita- Head of All India Handloom

Cooperative Society
His companys name is Harman fashion house. Founded at 1999, makela sadar was his first product. Hiralal
kalita at present have 10 handloom weavers working under him. His business is based on traditional designs
where in he manufactures makela sadar ,sarees, khadi cloth, mulberry silk and muga silk.
He has inherited the skills from his father and his designs are based on their ancestral history. He is currently
on a venture of surveying and documenting weavers of sualkuchi for a conference at tezpur university and
has been conducting this survey under tezpur university for a very long time.
Some of his findings are:-

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There are a total of 5672 silk handlooms in sualkuchi. There are 3393 mulberry silk handlooms. There are
only 93 looms based on muga silk. There are 93 makela sadar looms. There are 1896 pafar looms in
sualkuchi.
He told us that no weaver has a bank account there.
There are a few weavers but maximum of them are outstation weavers. People of sualkuchi know about
internet and are quiet aware about e-commerce and e-commercial markets.
There is a storehouse or a warehouse in construction.
According to Mr. kalita, internet age has just begun in sualkuchi and its just been a month for them. Selling
of their produce is done by showrooms and retail shops owned by him. Highest sale of the season occurs
between Novembers to April of the year basically because this is the time when maximum of the foreigners
come for tourism. He is very satisfied and happy with his business prosperity and profit making. He told us
that the profit margins depend on quality. He has a handloom mark given to him by the handloom office. He
have achieved first prize in pure silk making. There is no need of any training programs for weavers as they
all use their paternal designs. He has showrooms at places like Mumbai, Delhi and Madras.
10,000-13,000 is the average amount of salary a typical weaver can earn monthy.

PROPOSAL 1: E-COMMERCE-FLIPKART PLAN

E-commerce is the buying and selling of goods and services over the internet. E-commerce is the integration
of World Wide Web and the commercial market sector of the society.

Need of Ecommerce in handloom industry

1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
7)
8)

To bridge geographical gap between the buyers and sellers.

Matching demand and supply in the handloom industry.
To promote product diversification.
Wider reach of the product.
Creating and Developing a brand
Quality improvement through proper feedback
Increased visibility of the product through online marketing
Increasing Brand Loyalty.

Problems faced in implementation of e commerce model in handloom

industry
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)

Limited internet access

Low level of computer literacy
Lack of financial inclusion
Lack of awareness about ecommerce model
Resistance to change
a) Traditional mind set
b) Avoid procedural delay
6) Lack of legal literacy
7) Lack of business management skills
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8) Gaps in the production cycle

Problems faced by handloom weavers while connecting their business with E-Commerce
1) Flipkart demands their Brand Name to be preserved, and handloom weavers can hinder with their Brand by not
maintaining the product quality, lack in product creativity etc.
2) Handloom weavers are not ready to face the loopholes in their production cycles which will be exposed through
flipkarts huge potential market demand. E.g. handloom weavers produce in gaps or sell their products in
seasons which is not a concept of e-commerce( 24*7 availability of commercial market )
3) Flipkart high quality expectations of fulfilling their potential customers needs by small scale handloom
weavers.
4) Rigid Business policy of Flipkart.
5) Lack of proper education both technical and business as being exposed to work in the very early stage of life.
In order to find the solutions of the above mentioned problems, we conducted a ground level research in different
parts of Assam and found out these possible solutions.
1) Like Handloom weavers of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh sell their handloom products to a cooperative fashion
house or by making of clusters. This model can be replicated for the silk industry of Assam. It will eradicate the
problem of uneven production capacity of handloom weavers of Assam.
2) Warehousing of silk handlooms and handloom products in the north-eastern region will eradicate the problem
of season derived supply of handlooms.
3) Due to lack of financial literacy in north east handloom cooperative fashion houses, a special technical team
knowing e-Banking, e-commerce will be deployed.
4) To cater to the degree of flipkarts Brand popularity and maintaining consistency in the quality of handlooms
through flipkart.com, Quality Standard marks like Handloom mark, silk mark and GI mark can standardize
quality.
5) To widely provide internet connection in the village of sualkuchi, Wi-Fi systems should be installed in the
marketplaces with a well-designed IT hub located at the place of the technical team that was deployed.

PROPOSAL 2: FASHION DESIGNING

1. Capturing the uncaptured market

To bridge the gap between tradition and contemporary.

To project tradition in a fashionable way to an uncaptured (unexplored) fashion-conscious market which is eager
to connect with Indian culture in a contemporary manner.

2. Design development

It has been observed that designs, traditions, culture and history are going hand in hand in the assam silk
handloom industry. The designs are dominated by traditional or religious symbols. For a local consumer (or an
aware person) the designs and motifs are pleasant. However, looking at the broad perspective, not all designs
are liked by all- since consumers vary in their needs and preferences. Some prefer bold designs; some are
inclined towards small but delicate designs. Hence, there is a need to not only preserve the traditional designs,
but also to encourage the stakeholders to innovate newer designs to suit other segments of the market.
For example in West Bengal, some Bengali sarees have bigger and bolder designs depicting elephants, coconut
trees and other such images related to nature which the people from other parts of India might not prefer.
We had a talk with a renowned Fashion Designer, Ms. Sunita Shanker, who has worked a lot in promoting
assam silk and projecting it in a fashionable way. According to her, certain religious designs (or religious
connections) can be removed from the mainstream commercial products such that there is a better design
development without harming the religious sentiments of the people. She said the designs of ghamosas can be

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used to make newer products like pajamas for ladies and other trendier options. However, care must be taken
to be aware about the designs- whether it has a religious significance or not.

3. Product diversification

Need for product development and product diversification in order to match the era of changing tastes &
preferences; and globalization.
Need to inculcate a parallel line of products to suit the changing needs and match the demands of a younger
market.
Presently, the product lines include mekhela chador (pronounced as sador), ghamosa, sari, shawls, scarfs
(stoles), rumaal which have been prevalent since ancient times. There is a need to incorporate modern versions
of products to suit the changing market needs- for example- kurtis, salwar kameez, tops, hand bags etc. the
logic behind this is simple, i.e., any non-assamese person would not be comfortable wearing a mekhela sador.
He or she would be willing to buy the speciality of assam- its famous silk products- but in a form they prefer
the most. Hence with changing times, additional product lines are desired.

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