Carpet weavers,sari makers and other artisans from the handloom and handicrafts industry in districts of eastern UP can look forward to better exposure in the world market and bypassing middlemen. An initiative to provide small and medium entrepreneurs,including weavers and artisans,with their own websites has been launched by some NGOs in association with the Digital Empowerment Foundation of New Delhi and the National Internet Exchange of India. The UP governments handloom and textile department has also decided to participate in the project. Launched more than a week ago in Varanasi,the initiative is likely to benefit lakhs of artisans and weavers,who often end up ceding their advantage to middlemen operating from metropolitan cities like Delhi,Mumbai,Kolkata and Chennai. Dr Rajni Kant of Human Welfare Association,which was instrumental in helping the initiative take off,said the initial margin of the middlemen can range from 60 per cent to 200 per cent depending on the kind of clientele and market demand. Some of the products that can be marketed through these websites by small players in districts like Varanasi,Azamgarh,Mirzapur and Bhadohi are Banarasi saris,brocades,metal works,Bhadohi hand woven carpets,stone carvings and brass items. The idea is to help small entrepreneurs in displaying their products to a world audience. This will help them keep costs in control and,thereby,increase the buying power of the purchasers. Overall,it will lead to increase in the volume of trade,bringing in more work to the artisans and weavers, said Kant. Apart from getting the websites for smaller entrepreneurs made and launched,a digital resource centre will also be opened in Varanasi,where young artisans,weavers and the entrepreneurs will be trained in using the new tool. The facility may also be extended to farmers and gram panchayats. The cost of construction of these websites will be only a few hundred rupees. K P Verma,assistant director (handlooms and textiles) from the state governments ministry of handlooms and textiles,said the government plans to immediately begin the task of getting websites of at least 100 cooperative societies. It is like giving exposure to those shopkeepers,whose shops are in narrow bylanes and not on the main road, said Verma,adding that with time,the initiative will push the middlemen out of the picture.
