The Hindu : Weavers struggle to keep their looms moving

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Feb 10, 2004

Kerala

Kerala

Weavers struggle to keep their looms moving

By Mohamed Nazeer

KANNUR, FEB. 9. Even as there are high expectations in the handloom sector here following the announcement that Kannur would be included under the Central Government's Textile Centre Infrastructure Development Scheme (TCIDC) for developing a textile cluster here, 50 per cent of looms under the cooperative societies are remaining idle for want of orders and lack of modernisation.

Efforts for the development of a handloom cluster here and to internationally create a common Kannur brand for handloom products from here have raised hopes about reviving the handloom sector, especially in the cooperative fold that is already struggling to survive in a competitive market.

While some of the cooperative weavers' societies here have started converting themselves from low-end to the middle segment market for survival, many others are still depending on the orders from private exporters.

According to handloom business experts here, cooperative societies are now working as merchant exporters.

"Nearly 50 per cent of the looms of the societies in Kannur remain idle. It is important that these societies have to be brought to the export line,'' says N. Sreedharan, chief executive officer of the Irinavu Consortium, one of the four handloom consortiums formed here.

Of about 50 societies here, only nine have survived in the struggle and the rest are facing accumulated loss due to various reasons, he says adding that the formation of consortiums would help the societies survive if they focus on quality and designs.

"There is now a growing awareness among the societies that they have to work hard for survival,'' Mr. Sreedharan says.

While both private and cooperative sector handloom producers agree that it is the right time for the Kannur handloom to launch a brand as there is a shift from wholesaling to retailing, the weavers' cooperative societies, according to the experts, are still not using their growth potential to reach the stage of `B-to-B' (business to business) that the private handloom exporters have already reached and are now in the midst of efforts to move to the `B-to-C' (business to consumers).

"The societies should look at the prospective growth by looking at emerging market. They should position themselves as important players,'' says D. Dhandapani, assistant director of the Textile Committee (TC) here under the Union Ministry of Textiles.

The TC here has prepared an action plan for the development of Kannur handloom, he says adding that the four consortiums here were working in close coordination with the TC, says Mr. Dhadapani.

The weavers' cooperative societies were also facing problems in marketing their products profitably and it is said that they were pricing their products in haphazard manner.

No less than 60 per cent of the exporters here depends cooperative societies for production.

Moreover, the societies were not catering to the higher-end consumers. The ongoing efforts to launch a brand is to target the higher-end consumers.

"Unless the handloom sector here graduate to `B-to-C', all efforts for developing a brand will be futile,'' says A.V. Ramanathan, the former executive secretary of the Thirupur Exporters Association, who is now working as consultant of the Kannur-based Kerala Handloom Exporters' Association.

He said that the handloom players here, both private and cooperative, had to concentrate on theme-based products and invest in R&D to go from design to brand. "We have to develop a brand culture first,'' Mr. Ramanathan says.

According to Mr. Sreedharan, furnishing items woven in the traditional Malabar frame looms were unique. Dyeing of handloom items in soft water here also gives them special quality.

"But equally important is the fact that there is no undercutting in social commitment such as child labour in the handloom sector here,'' he said adding that all these can be highlighted for promoting a common brand.

The State Government has started a scheme for identifying expert weavers in each cooperative society. They will be given designs sourced from the National Institute of Fashion Technology.

The weavers would be trained by the Weavers' Service Centre here and their products would be test-marketed.

Bulk production would be carried out on the basis of the demand. Such measures were expected to equip the societies to survive.

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