More to misery, with ongoing nexus for more than a decade between so called Handicraft department and fraudsters..they even organize fake handicrafts bazaar where duplicate handicrafts and artifacts are showcased to fool coming public, selling made in china artificial products and machine made goods in name of handicrafts..every year such exhibitions are organised at Kullu and Manali..the department is run by Mafia..and these people in nexus with fraudsters have killed the real weaver..The Kullu shawls are extinct..and one day they will be left in museums if such menace of loot and corruption remains unchecked.

All fraudsters should be booked and punished who swallowed funds and grants released…. in the name of weavers , mishandled funds should be recovered from them to be distributed genuinely to actual beneficiaries…then only justice with weavers will prevail and Kullu Shawls will be revived.

The Kullu shawl weaving industry is on downward slide and perhaps on the path to oblivion. According to information available, the number of weavers has declined by 50 per cent since the last census in 1995. This is an ample indication how the cash starved weavers are either choosing other job avenues to make their both ends meet or leaving the valley for greener pastures.

The art, synonymous to Kullu valley’s beauty worldwide, is virtually dying slow death. The expectation from state government to web a hope of revival is like a water illusion amidst desert.

The slump in weaving industry has in fact forced many weavers to shut up the profession in distress. Ironically, many Kullu weavers have opted to go to Ludhiana weaving units despite working condition there are quite adverse for them.

Moreover, the lack of return from the profession has led the weavers turn to other quick means of income, especially during the tourist season, thus causing deficit in demand and supply. In Ludhiana, the working hours are fixed, hence shawls woven per day are more and therefore when paid on a piece wise basis, the weavers earn more there than in Kullu. This has resulted in forcing more migration of weavers from Kullu to Ludhiana.

In a commendable gesture, MyHimachal, an NGO along with Anoop H. Jyothsna Sekar, Shilpa Kendre and Shilpi Baral the first year students of MBA in SP Jain Institute of Management & Research, Mumbai, launched a “save weaver” campaign recently. The students, with the help of My Himachal, have done an extensive survey of industry. They interacted with weavers by visiting their homes in interior of valley, found out the problems related to fall in industry and summed up the ways to revive the industry.

While sharing their experiences the students said market accessibility is the main problem for the weavers in Kullu. The urban and international markets can be potential gold mines for this industry. But at present there is no mechanism there to market the shawl in national and international markets.

As of now, exhibitions are the only means through which small players make their sales. The poor accessibility to market makes it difficult for them to sell their products year round. The inexpensive shawls from the Ludhiana market are sold as Kullu shawls in the Kullu market. The shawls are cheaper in Ludhiana due to local wool processing units leading to cheaper raw material, abundant availability of labour and mass production of shawls.

Interestingly, the tourists who land up in Kullu, are usually convinced by the local autowallas to buy the machine made shawls under the name of Kullu shawls. Inquiries show that the auto and bus drivers get hefty commissions for taking tourists to the specific shops to buy these readymade shawls.

In these circumstances it is need of hour to make the outsiders aware of the difference between a handcrafted shawl and a machine made one. One of the prime focuses should also to be educating the customers about the GI (Geographical Indicator) and the handloom mark.

The government of India has introduced the handloom mark in order to help the customers differentiate between the handmade and machine made shawls. However, except for the large societies, this mark is not being used much. They are under the impression that the process of getting a handloom mark is very lengthy and time consuming but this not true.

A geographical indicator under the name of ‘Kullu shawl’ has been registered in 2006 by the Kullu Shawl Weavers’ Association. This ensures that only handmade shawls made in Kullu are labeled as Kullu shawls. However, the GI has not been implemented so far making the threat from the Ludhiana shawls even worse. The logo for the GI itself has not yet been designed. The responsibility of the design lies with the Science & Technology Department of the state and the implementation responsibility on the Weavers’ association.

The number of weavers in the valley has decreased from 28,500 (according to the 1995 census) to approximately 11,000. This is because the benefits of the schemes do not reach those at the grass root level and hence weavers are opting out of the industry and making it a seasonal industry by taking up weaving in their free time or in winters when sources of quick income dry up. The weaving business is fast becoming unviable.

The entry of private players like Fab India, Bombay Store, etc have good national and international reach to directly source products from the weavers. In order to tap new markets, it is important to diversify into products like cushion covers, throws, stoles, tablecloths, curtains etc. while still maintaining the traditional Kullu pattern. Also, alternative raw material like silk and cotton yarn can be mixed and matched removing the over dependence on wool.

In present scenario, the challenges before Kullu weavers are many. The most prominent among those is illiteracy. In fact, illiteracy makes these weavers oblivious to the extent of their own capabilities and skills. With the meager wages, inaccessible markets, threat from power looms, lack of entrepreneurial drive and the exploitation associated with illiteracy, the average weaver has a hand-to-mouth existence. Ironically, the weaver is gradually being pulled deeper into the spirals of poverty.

Organising this scattered industry, although a Herculean task, would definitely help to make Kullu an export hub by catering to the huge demand in a more systematic way under the guidance of an apex body, pointed out the students. The entry of private players would also throw open the doors to bigger markets and better management of skilled labour. As far as tourist awareness is concerned, HPTDC (Himachal Pradesh Tourism & Development Corporation) can play a pivotal role. We are in touch with the tourism department who have agreed to help spread awareness on Kullu shawls through ads, hoardings and brochures advertising Himachal tourism, reveal the students.