Handloom Cluster of Chanderi

End of Project Report Handloom Cluster of Chanderi, Madhya Pradesh

1. Executive Summary

Handloom cluster of Chanderi, known for it exquisites, has around 3000 looms and 11000 weavers, with an estimated turnover of Rs 150 million. 20 to 25 per cent of the weavers do independent production but are dependent on 12 traders and 45 master weavers for marketing. However, the majority (60 to 70 per cent) of the weaver community are working as contract based weavers for the traders and the master weavers.

The Diagnostic Study identified the major problems of the cluster as (a) growth without equity, (b) lack of credit for optimum production up-scaling by the poor, (c) critical technical challenges, (d) lack of women empowerment and (e) least bargaining power at the weavers end. These were having differentiated impact on the various ‘poverty’ nodes, as identified by a Participatory Poverty Assessment (PPA). The PPA identified the “happier group” as traders and powerful master weavers and government officials. Small master weavers and independent weavers were included within the “happy” category. The “average” was those weavers who are lowly paid and lead a vulnerable existence. In the “sad” category were wage- workers totally dependent on traders or master weavers.

Accordingly, the vision for intervention was set as "Chanderi will mainly offer its unique high value added fabric among exporters and niche retail stores to suit the high-end domestic and international market by the year 2005. In the process, at least 250 poor weaver families will enhance their turnover by at least 20 percent." On the gender front, the vision was to see women weavers’ capabilities, choices, mobility, participation and self-esteem as well as participation rate (especially in weaving and market related activities) increase in a substantial manner so that they can take control over their lives, both as individuals and as members of the community.

As a result of the intervention, 623 weavers were organised in the form of SHGs. Of them, 150 weavers formed the first weavers’ forum – Bunkar Vikas Sansthan (BVS) which did business to the tune of Rs 9 million (approx. USD 200,000) by 2005. Another Rs 10 million is expected in the year 2006 (approx. USD 220,000). This was largely possible due to linking up with a major value chain partner – Fab India, an all India based retail chain. These BVS member benefited in terms of 25 to 100 percent increase in average wage rate (for the period of employment) and 7 to 15 percent profit. Around 100 weavers also benefited as wage earned through BVS order. Loan worth Rs 1 million was mobilised and repayments are as per schedule. A similar forum of 70 weavers has also come up and it is organically linked to BVS. A Chanderi Development Foundation has been created and it has received GI registration. For the first time a private dye house and a private yarn depot is also functioning. On the social empowerment front, at least 8 women leaders have been promoted by the Project. Hamari Duniya - a forum of 186 women weavers is functioning under their leadership. Members of 14 SHGs (8 non-members of BVS) benefited through inter-lending.

For the future, BVS needs handholding support, especially with respect to diversification of its sales portfolio. There is also need to consolidate the newly formed BVS 2 at Pranpur. Scope also exists for creation of BVS 3 from among a further 20 better functioning SHGs. It is also time to go for better organisational structure for any future BVS for facilitating easier business transaction.

2. History, Turning Point and Current Status

Chanderi is a small township in the state of Madhya Pradesh (MP). Weaving in Chanderi is a centuries old profession. It is said that a section of the weavers from Bengal1 migrated to Chanderi well before Independence and settled near the Betwa river, where humidity was conducive to fine count cotton weaving (muslin). During the late nineteenth century, weavers were patronized by the then Royal family (‘Scindias’) who set up a training center at Chanderi. As a result, for the first time, gold thread motifs came into existence in the main body of the cotton muslin sarees. Silk was introduced to the cluster in the 1940s. It was procured from Chamundi in Karnataka. Soon pure silk saree2 started getting produced in the cluster.

At the time of India’s independence, Chanderi had 1000 active weavers. Till the early 1950s, the weavers were operating traditional throw shuttle pit looms. The Government Training Center at Chanderi introduced fly shuttle loom in 1951. Soon dobby and jacquard attachments followed, leading to an increase in production and consequently wages of weavers.

The decades starting mid-seventies till the mid-nineties saw a substantial government support that led to quantum increase in product off take by state government organizations such as the MP State Textile Corporation, MP Hastha

1 A State in the eastern part of India 2 ‘Saree’ is a typical dress of Indian/South East Asian ladies. It is a running yardage of 5.5 meters in length. The silk was of In 13/15 deniers

2 Shilpa Vikas Nigam3 (MPHSVN) and the MP State Handloom Weavers Cooperative Federation. Such procurement, at its peak, amounted to almost 20 per cent of the total output of Chanderi fabric and sarees. This led to an increase in the number of looms that went up to 4000 during this period. Traders and Master Weavers who used to finance the production system reportedly made larger gains on account of this increase in total production. Although they used to make some investment in the cluster, investment of capital in various non-related businesses or outside the cluster was also distinctly visible.

However, since the mid-nineties there has been a consistent fall in purchases by the government organisations due to mounting losses. In case of Chanderi, it fell from a peak of 20 per cent from the early nineties to a level of about 10 per cent in the late nineties, notwithstanding the fact that the volumes of production of the cluster had also gone up substantially during this period.

Significantly enough, this period also witnessed a conscious effort on part of the state government to handhold the cluster in terms of active market interface strategies. The weavers and the master weavers were introduced to new and direct marketing channels like the metro markets (haats) which saw the growth of a new trading groups and the exposure had considerable spin-offs in terms of design and market awareness, thereby infusing a new dynamism to the cluster.

The Rajiv Gandhi Gramodyog Mission (1994) gave special training to women on improved looms (Tara Looms). Training was also imparted in silk yarn twisting. During the late nineties women from the poor households were mobilised into self- help groups (SHGs) and special interventions were made for women weavers by the local administration under the Integrated Child Development Programme (ICDP). Formation of women SHGs and giving them development support under the Swarnajayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojna (SGSY) scheme4 was also carried out.

3. Key Cluster Actors and their Linkages

Chanderi is a relatively small town of 30,000 inhabitants. In the year 2002 there were 10,977 weavers. Apart from the master weavers (M-weavers), the weavers can be broadly classified into two typologies. Firstly there are weavers who use their own capital and looms and sell their products to the master weavers or at times (although rarely) directly. These weavers have certain entrepreneurial qualities and may be termed as E-weavers. 20-25 per cent of the weavers were E-weavers in the cluster.

3 The state handicrafts (inclusive of handloom) development corporation 4 This is a scheme of the Department of Rural Industries, Government of India for promotion of BPL families. At the local level this Scheme is operated by the District Rural Development Authority (DRDA)

3 Majority (60 to 70 per cent) of the weaver community were working as contract based weavers (C-weavers) for the M-weavers. 5 per cent were working as daily labourers as they did not have their looms. This latter category can also be termed as C-weavers.

Most of the weavers used to work for the 12 rich traders and the 45 moderately rich master weavers, who provided the raw material and also took the responsibility of marketing the products through traditional private channels. With around 3,009 looms in working condition5, an estimated 18,000 people were directly or indirectly dependent on weaving for their living. Besides around 150 persons were engaged in various pre-loom activities like warping and connecting of yarns (50 persons), ranch, bobbin and border makers (28 persons), local designers (20 persons), raw material suppliers (16 persons), dyers (6 persons), etc. The turnover of the cluster was estimated at Rs 150 million.

Apart from a local Resource Centre and an office of MPHSVN (government office), all other public sector institutions were located outside Chanderi. However, the State Government had set up a high-powered Task Force headed by the Chief Minister of MP for the development of Chanderi. A consortium of traders and master wavers (Chanderi Silk Club) had also been formed to provide linkages with high-end and international markets. A number of registered Weaver Cooperative Societies was also present in the cluster.

4. Major Problems

The diagnostic study6 undertaken at the beginning of the intervention (April 2003) highlighted the obstacles that reduced the competitiveness of the cluster. However, it was relatively silent on micro-analysis of the problems with respect to various ‘poverty’ nodes among the stakeholders. Accordingly, a Participatory Poverty Assessment (PPA) was carried out to identify the ‘poverty’ nodes. The PPA found ‘poverty’ to be particularly relevant among majority of the weaver households. Together the studies identified the following major problems of the cluster.

4.1 Growth without equity

While the C-weavers are bound by the terms and conditions offered by the traders/M-weavers, in the absence of any alternate small-volume marketing channel

5 It is estimated that on an average there are three weavers per loom 6 A study made at the entry point of the cluster to understand the current issues, the doers and a quick base line survey of the cluster. For details see annex 1.3.

4 (e.g. retail/wholesale local market for Chanderi products), the E-weavers were also squarely dependent on the traders/M-weavers, who market their products. Hence the bargaining power of weavers was limited, as against the master weavers. Lack of scale and a unified voice of the weavers were also identified as a major obstacle against effective negotiation. Most of the existing weavers’ cooperatives were lacking democratic values, transparency and collective decision making process, which were needed for effective bargaining leading to equity. Thus, though the output of the cluster increased substantially during the nineties, yet the level of wages of the weavers remained static.

As a consequence many weavers had either to start working for others and/or begun bidi (locally made cigarettes) making. The income of weavers is not only low and irregular, but also gets diminished during the rainy season when the threads become dampened and it becomes difficult to weave. As a result, weavers at the bottom of the ladder are in a continuous debt cycle. They are the weavers who are the most vulnerable due to their low asset base and lack of alternative earning strategies.

During the PPA, the well-being analysis indicated that the “happier group” were traders, powerful master weavers and government officials. Small master weavers and independent weavers were included within the “happy” category. The “average” was those weavers who are low paid and lead a vulnerable existence. In the “sad” category are daily workers or wage workers that have become dependent on traders or master weavers. The most vulnerable groups identified during the well-being analysis are those weavers who are unable to save for the next day. They are estimated to constitute 30-40% of the weaving community and are those in need of livelihood improvements.

Accordingly, the living standards among households varied a great deal. Trader’s houses were of the highest standard. Those of master weavers, although also good, were simpler. These contrasted with the weavers’, where among the very poor weavers’ houses, the handloom, kitchen and living area were in the same room and, in some cases, there was only one light bulb in the living space. The living/working space, which was often cramped by tools, was used by the entire family.

The designing capacities of the cluster had not kept pace with time. No modern designer was linked to the clusters, even though in the past some of them had been hired by the state agencies. As a result, the cluster largely remained untouched by current trends in design and product development. It therefore was largely alienated from a rising upper-middle class market catered by high-value retailers. Moreover

5 the brand ‘Chanderi’ was constantly being misused by powerloom ‘look alike’, thereby cutting into the potential clientele of the cluster. These along with falling institutional demand further aggravated the situation of low and irregular wages and at times led to no work situation for the poorest weavers.

4.2 Credit mobilisation

PPA identified lack of savings as a critical issue for women coming together to form self help group (SHG). Obtaining a loan from banks was difficult for weavers, as the financial institutions mostly considered them as ‘not credit worthy’. Most women did not know where the bank was and most men described it as a difficult institution.

This left the weavers to approach the informal market, which charged a high rate of interest. A rapid survey of 60 weavers revealed that 22 weavers had taken loans worth Rs 186,800 at an interest rate varying between 24 to 36 per cent. When the rate of interest was 36 per cent, there was no mortgage. But, when the rate of interest was 24 per cent, gold ornaments had to be mortgaged. In 7 cases, the loan was adjusted against weaving charges.

Again, lack of optimum and easy credit was an obstacle to higher scale production. At the current level of production, individual E-weavers were managing their small- scale production with their own money. The very thought of higher scale production was hindered by high loan requirements.

4.3 Technical challenges

Due to lack of active links with the outside world and low propensity of innovation, the production practices had not improved in the recent past. Traders were skeptical and in some cases developed options for alternative businesses as back up. This further reduced their willingness to take aggressive steps forward. A number of techniques that could have helped revive the ethnic Chanderi designs were also missing from the cluster.

Again, under the pressure of low margins, quality was not adequately addressed to keep up with market requirements. Silk was generally bought in grey hanks 7 and dyed locally. On the other hand, 80 per cent of dyed cotton yarn was bought from south India and Mumbai by the local merchants. The rest was dyed in local dyeing houses, by the dyers or through the MP Government Training Centre at the instance

7 Grey making reference to the natural colour not dyed

6 of the M-weavers or the E-weaver. The dyes in use were of poor quality and the practices were even poorer. When a yarn needed to be dyed at a temperature of 70- 80 degree centigrade for 30-40 minutes, it was actually dyed at room temperature for very short periods - in some cases for just few seconds. As a result, colour bleeding and lack of rubbing fastness were hampering product quality.

Yarn traders at Chanderi kept very limited stocks of a typical yarn, since they have to keep large number of shades to meet the requirement of a wide range of small quantity production system of the cluster. Since yarn was purchased from far off from the cluster, they used to take lot of time to supply larger quantities of a typical yarn, when needed.

4.4 Women empowerment and gender mainstreaming

The PPA found that poverty affected men and women differently. Though weaving is a family activity, men have the greatest control over the earnings, as women (working on pre-loom activities but also in weaving) were mostly confined at home. Men were de facto decision makers about children’s education, marriages or finance issues. Though women had acquired the right to have an opinion, yet they had no final say in this regard. Women felt that they were not encouraged to study. Health facilities had improved but not medical services. Women were not encouraged to access these facilities alone and none including themselves paid much attention to their health till it seriously affected their work. However, overall, women mentioned that they were better off as compared to ten years before, some of them received help from husbands in household activities and younger women were literate and more assertive.

5. Vision

The vision for the cluster was that "Chanderi will mainly offer its unique high value added fabric among exporters and niche retail stores to suit the high-end domestic and international market by the year 2005. In the process, at least 250 poor weaver families will enhance their turnover by at least 20 percent." On the gender front, the

7 vision was to see women weavers’ capabilities, choices, mobility, participation and self-esteem as well as participation rate (especially in weaving and market related activities) increase in a substantial manner so that they can take control over their lives, both as individuals and as members of the community.

6. Implementation Strategy

The objective of the Project was to promote the cluster as a whole, while tackling social imbalances, via an equity–based development strategy with weavers at the core. The major hindrance was lack of voice and control by the poor over their destiny. The strategy was to create a collective forum owned and controlled by the poor and to empower it economically and socially to address poverty.

Hence, to start with, in the year 2003, the focus was on organising small yet homogeneous networks (that had comparatively higher mutual trust as opposed to larger networks) of relatively independent weavers in the form of Self Help Groups (SHGs) and building their capacities to undertake collective production and marketing. SHGs have the legal status to obtain loans and to access other scheme- based Government support. At the same time, M-weavers and traders were also given business exposure to promote trickle down effect on those weavers who were not yet covered by the Project. Issues related to women empowerment were also introduced in the cluster.

Since such networks (SHGs) were of inadequate size to meet market requirements and use resources optimally, the strategy for the year 2004 was to federate the suitable SHGs and to strengthen their federation through appropriate market linkages and training in productionisation. With weavers now having a greater voice (through their federation), and in collaboration with other local stakeholders (M- weavers, traders etc.) were helped protecting Chanderi fabric from its look-alikes, which were eating into the traditional domestic market. The trust created through enhanced business instilled higher confidence in the (male-dominated) weaver families and made higher participation of women weavers in various activities as well as women empowerment possible.

In the year 2005, specialised attention was targeted towards gender empowerment by promoting women leadership and enhancing their knowledge with respect to health and literacy. Women were also supported for higher representation. Simultaneously, the joint business model was stabilised and enlarged. The year 2006 targeted activities towards sustainability, especially with respect to

8 management capacity building of various joint forums and finding out appropriate agency to take forward the momentum.

7. Implementation

7.1 Growth with equity

7.1.1 Objective

On the equity front the target was to reverse the trend of stagnant wages for weavers. On the growth front, the target was promotion of new markets, infusion of fresh capital and protection of Chanderi designs.

7.1.2 Steps Involved

On the equity front the steps involved included creation of SHGs of weavers, especially poor weavers, formation of forum of select groups with maximum potential of success, their linkage to market and institutional stabilisation and finally replication of the experience for greater outreach. On the growth front the steps involved were the promotion of the M-weavers and traders towards high-end markets and the creation of a cluster forum to address issues related to misuse of the ‘Chanderi’ name.

7.1.3 Implementation

SHG creation is a one-off but highly time consuming process, which requires dedicated expertise, especially in terms of social mobilisation. In the absence of any suitable local NGO, the project invited a Jaipur-based NGO (Indian Institute for Rural Development IIRD) to Chanderi.

By early 2004 the NGO created 42 SHGs8. Later 18 more SHGs were created. Of these, 11 were women SHGs, 32 were men SHGs and 17 were mixed (men and women) SHGs. Of the total of 623 members, 186 were female. Of them, 63 per cent were having low skill, 15 per cent were semi-skilled,13 per cent were skilled and the remaining 9 per cent were mostly doing pre-loom activities. The average monthly income was in the range of Rs 1000 to Rs 1500 for 72 per cent, Rs 1500 to Rs 2000 for 15 per cent were and Rs 2000 to Rs 2500 for the remaining 13 per cent.

Initially, each SHG was expected to emerge as a viable vehicle for joint production and marketing and they were therefore exposed to national fairs and also linked to prospective buyers. Experience showed that this approach, which had been

8 Four SHGs, created in 2002 were revived

9 repeatedly and successfully applied by UNIDO in more industrial clusters, was not sustainable in such an artisanal cluster and that an SHG in itself is too small a unit to become a viable business entity (see box 1 below).

Box 1: Early Stage of a Producing SHG

ABC9 was one of the most proactive SHGs in Chanderi. Since its formation, its members had focused on joint saving, but were most keen on joint selling of products. Hence they were among the first SHGs, which the project sponsored to get linked with a buyer from outside the cluster. During the first meeting with the SHG, the buyer asked the members to showcase their products. The buyer liked them and bought 80 per cent of the product worth Rs 56,000 (approx USD 1,300). When the buyer met them in the very next week; the group had already processed 110 sarees. The buyer found this to be extremely unlikely, as the 10 looms of the group could have produced at most 12 to 15 sarees over such a short period. After enquiries, it emerged that the SHG was actually selling the unsold produce from one of the local master weavers. The SHG had actually already become the prey of other and more powerful local stakeholders and the traditional unbalanced dynamics was being replicated once again to the detriment of the weavers. Moreover, the SHG also proved unable to keep up stable and reliable business relationships with more than a buyer at the time, further reducing their ability to bargain for better prices.

Subsequent attempts to ensure the participation of more than one SHG in any one small exhibition or fair were equally unsuccessful. Invariably there were claims that the SHG representatives were selling mostly the products of their own SHG at the expenses of others, thus displaying a strong resistance against group-based marketing.

Box 2: ‘Women Weaves’ Gives a Clue Not all group-based marketing activities proved unsuccessful. The Teen Qlilla fair organized by an NGO, ‘Women Waves’, with access to reputed designer and proven expertise in high value product marketing, was one such case. The peculiarity of this event was that, for the first time, several SHGs had to work together before the fair (as opposed to taking their existing products to an exhibition). The weavers had therefore to pass through a challenging learning phase of timely and quality production and despite several rejects, ultimately came up with 80% of the production targets. The 3-day exhibition was a grand success, with all products being sold off in a few hours. More importantly, the entire process resulted in a number of critical spin offs. Firstly the weavers got access to a completely new set of designs and design concepts. They also got typical lessons in joint production, where they were in constant dialogue with each other and they also understood that marketing efforts could fail if supply constraints were not adequately taken care of.

As an age old art, weaving techniques used to be passed out exclusively as on-the- job apprentship within the family, which posed considerable constraints on the number of designs that each weaver was capable of. Hence an SHG with 10 looms would not have more than 10 designs and 40 to 60 sarees a month. This is not a critical mass in terms of business sustainability. Going by the size of business of

9 Name kept confidential, because of the nature of the story

10 successful M-weavers, an optimum size of business would be that of 60 to 70 looms with 40-50 specialised designs (assuming that not all are skilled weavers) with a collection of 600 to 700 sarees a month.

When presented such calculations, the weavers of Chanderi voiced very sensible concerns on their ability to ever reach such levels. They were worried about the availability of working capital (discussed in details in section 7.2), the likelihood of wage sustainability during the production-marketing-payment cycle of the product, the availability of suitable and reliable market linkages, the potential for conflicts in the distribution of profit, their capacities in terms of bulk production handling (discussed in details in section 7.3). Previous UNIDO experiences in the field of SME cluster development had shown that more “industrial” firms (that is larger in share and with owners with a stronger entrepreneurship background) could easily find solutions to these problems building on their experience and/or social network. The artisanal units of Chanderi, on the contrary, proved much more resistance than initially expected.

In order to find answers to these concerns, a delegation of weavers visited URMUL (an NGO located in Rajasthan), in October 2003 to learn how a successful model of weavers’ NGO operated in reality. Later, the 7 weavers (representative of 7 SHGs), who had participated in this visit, shared their observations with the member of their SHGs about the success of their counterparts in Rajasthan. As a consequence, they collectively decided to form a similar body of the weavers of Chanderi to address the challenges of production, marketing and better wages. These 7 SHGs had the necessary skill-level, risk-taking ability and were committed to the cause.

This is how the weavers’ NGO - Bunkar Vikas Sanstha (BVS) was created. It was registered under the Societies Act 1973 of the Government of Madhya Pradesh, on 25 February 2004. BVS was formed as the Apex body of those 7 SHGs, each SHG comprising on an average 10 weavers. Of the 74 weavers, 41 were having a monthly income of Rs 1000 to Rs 1500 (USD 20 to 30), 10 were having an income of Rs 1500 to Rs 2000 (USD 30 to 40) and 23 were having an income of Rs 2000 to Rs 2500 (USD 40 to 50) per month. Later, 8 more SHGs also joined BVS.

During the formative phase, hiring an able (qualified and experienced) consultant (supported by the Project) as the CEO of BVS proved helpful in steering the dynamics. The 7 founder SHGs created a sub-committee each to take decision on production and marketing in a professional and ethical manner. The production team consisted of one member from each SHG. This team is responsible for distribution of raw material and collection of finished products. Weavers are paid weekly, as per

11 what they produce. One elected member of each SHG is responsible for quality control. Weavers come together to pool a part of the working capital requirements for production. The marketing team consists of one weaver elected from each SHG and the CEO. They are responsible for organizing retail and institutional sales and participation in exhibitions. Executive Committee is made up of two elected weavers each from each SHG. BVS provided a higher pre-fixed wage rate to its members and sale directly to customers/retailers/outlets. Each weaver had an equal share of capital and profit entitlement was made proportional to the wage earned by a weaver, the commitment of the weaver towards the cause of BVS. It was also decided that a part of profit would be used for social and economic benefit of the Chanderi weavers.

Box 3: Some Important Rules of Self-regulation of BVS

BVS has a flexible self-monitoring system leading to continuous creation of new rules for self- regulation. Conflicts are resolved under the guidance of the CEO. Some of these were as follows:

Quality control: The quality control mechanism consists of four check points – firstly at the level of the weaver, next the production manager (vyavasthapak) of each SHG, thereafter the production committee and lastly the representative of the buyer. Normally, 90 per cent of the rejection emerged at the last stage. This meant that neither the weaver (who was only too eager to get any wage), nor the vyavasthapak (obtaining a 3 per cent commission on the total production value), nor the group of vyavasthapaks who were known to each other, were willing to reject defective goods at their end and any poor quality production was therefore passing through. Thus the entire burden of the rejected goods (wage cost, raw material and profit) was emerging as a cost to BVS. The CEO had several rounds of discussion with the members and they realised that this would make BVS unviable and all would ultimately be affected. After lot of discussion it was pointed out that any poor quality production would be termed ‘rejected’ and the weaver will be given only one-third of the wages. The products would be kept by BVS and the rest of the wages would be paid once the ‘rejected’ good was somehow sold. At the same time, a cash price of Rs 1000 was announced for any non-defective production in a lot by a weaver.

Administrative: Initially, weavers who traveled outside Chanderi used for BVS product marketing would return with a long list of various expenses they would claim a reimbursement for. This was invariably a point of heated debate, which took away a lot of energy of BVS. After prolonged discussion mediated by the CEO, the agreement was reached that members traveling outside Chanderi would be given an amount to cover for lost wage, daily subsistence and travel (depending on the location to be visited). Thereafter, debate ceased.

Pricing: BVS experienced two hiccups in relation to marketing. In one case, two buyers (who knew each other) were sold exactly the same product at a price differential of Rs 200. This led to a huge showdown at their exhibition stall in Delhi and created bad atmosphere. In another case an exporter was granted a 20 per cent reduction on labeled price, which was later found to imply a net loss for BVS. These and a few other similar incidents led to serious introspection and led BVS to agree upon the following pricing policy: Wholesale at Chanderi 20 per cent plus actual cost Retail at Chanderi 30 per cent plus actual cost Wholesale outside Chanderi 30 per cent plus actual cost Retail outside Chanderi 60 per cent plus actual cost

12 Interestingly, this cooperative framework soon started producing true champions, who became too well endowed and preferred to go outside the regulated system. For these more entrepreneurial weavers, BVS actually acted, as a much needed training ground.

Box 4: Maturing Members of BVS

19 years old Rashid is a member of Chandni SHG. He is a good product sample maker and soon became an asset for his SHG. While representing is SHG in fairs, he became aware about the business possibilities and his interest grew fast. The group and Rashid both needed each other. Rashid needed the SHG to get access to fairs and business opportunities through BVS. The SHG needed Rashid for value addition in sample preparation and representation in marketing events on behalf of the SHG. However Rashid soon found that he was too fast for the rest of his fellow SHG members. He used to get frustrated with the “slow” reaction time of his group members to potential business opportunities. So, within a few months, Rashid left BVS and started his own business. Soon he did business worth Rs 500,000 (USD 1,000) and made a net profit of 10 per cent. Now, Rashid wants to link with BVS, more as a potential business partner. He now wants to take independent order from BVS and do business. At present Rashid is running 10 looms and targets 25 looms for the future.

On the growth front, members of the Silk Club were brought together for common design development and were later given exposure to a famous German Fair – HemTextiles. Similar export initiative was also taken for the UK, Dubai, Pakistan and Nepal markets. These initiatives were also supported by the Government of MP and the Office of the Development Commissioner (Handlooms), Ministry of Textiles. But it was amply clear that extensive follow up were required to convert the queries received into business return. Here the need for proper linking agent emerged, since otherwise these were very extensive exercises. The members of BVS, Silk Club and other stakeholder representatives came together and formed the Chanderi Development Foundation. The Foundation took initiatives and got Chanderi registered under the Geographical Indication (G.I.) Act.

7.1.4 Results

The sales figure of BVS are presented in the table below:

13 Table 1: Turnover of BVS City 2004 2005 2006 (Estimated) Store Fair Total Store Fair Total Store Fair Total Delhi 2709713 237115 2946828 4311774 377926 4689700 7000000 1300000 8300000 Kolkata 0 2950 2950 434691 100284 534975 750000 750000 Mumbai 59380 0 59380 227668 0 227668 325000 325000 Ahmedabad 81152 0 81152 76598 0 76598 200000 200000 Hyderabad 0 0 0 4200 0 4200 100000 100000 Bangalore 0 0 0 100000 0 100000 0 0 Small cities 78235 8150 86385 112284 10775 123059 400000 400000 International 0 0 0 0 76940 76940 0 0 markets Rupees 2928480 248215 3176695 5267215 565925 5833140 8775000 1300000 10075000 USD

Based on the response received, BVS made a conscious effort to concentrate in the markets of Delhi, Kolkata Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Chennai and a few small cities like Panipath, Jalandhar and Rhotak. While the principal cities came through pure market demand, the smaller cities came through linkages of known persons. Retail stores turned out as the major buyers as they are cost-effective. They also give sub- contracts, advances and are less risky investments. The store that provided maximum business was Fab India (see below box 5). However its share in total sales has declined from 92 per cent in 2004 to 81 per cent in 2005 and is estimated at 70 per cent in 2006.

Box 5: Up-end marketing by Private Sector

Fab India is an established handicraft retail outlet with branches all over India. In July 2004, at the linkage support provided by the local MP, after several rounds of discussion, the core buying team of Fab India visited Chanderi to explore the possibilities of bulk Purchase. After initial discussions and assessment of BVS, Fab India decided by to open its own office in Chanderi and also signed an MOU with BVS. The MOU with Fab India ensured BVS an order of Rs. 5 million in the first year with a likely increase of Rs. 2.5 million every year. BVS was given the responsibility of managing the production of its SHG and through them with other SHGs in the cluster. The CEO of BVS was entrusted with the responsibility of managing the entire business. Actual sales to Fab India are estimated at Rs 2.7 million in 2004 and Rs 4.24 million in 2005. The figure is likely to reach Rs 7 million in the year 2006. While the CEO of BVS was the chief manager to start with, soon a number of weavers rose from the ranks to deal directly with Fab India. The activities with Fab India trained the weavers in timely and quality production (see section 7.3).

The number of SHGs involved in weaving increased from 7 (70 members) to 13 (130 members). This effort also led to a direct impact on the wages of the weaver members of BVS (table 2). Interestingly, the rate of growth was higher the lower the average income pre project. This indicates that cluster approach can have better

14 chances for impacting, lower the average income, by creating newer avenues for income for those people.

Table 2: Increased Wage Rate for BVS Members S.N. Name of SHG Average wage per day % Increase in 2006 over 2004 2006 2004 1 Chanderi Kala 149 146 -2 2 Tana Bana 130 133 2 3 Chandani Bunker 103 129 26 4 Hind 90 123 38 5 Khusnuma Bunker 87 136 57 6 Fashion Bunker 81 111 37 7 Bharati Bunker 79 143 81 8 Dhaliya 76 131 74 9 Bemishal Bunker 75 137 83 10 Indra 71 118 67 11 Saraswati Bunker 58 134 131 12 Bhimrao Ambedkar 54 117 118 13 Jotiya fulla 52 108 108 Note: Wages for 2004 and 2005 are averages for 4 months of the year for which data is available.

This also had an impact on the non-BVS weavers. “… The behaviour of the traders/master weavers has significantly changed towards them for good. They are now soft and considerate. They are getting more work to do, as some of the weavers are not available to work for the traders/master weavers. Then, there used to be a slump in the rainy season, when traders/master weavers used to exploit them more, by offering lesser wages and keeping them without work so that the weavers take loan and remain under their control. This year, the weavers have been treated better, got more work and regular prices, which was unimaginable in the rainy season….”10

BVS also made an estimated profit of Rs 350,000 in 2004 and Rs 470,000 in 2005. This was distributed as profit/bonus among the members. Interestingly, this profit/bonus was not linked to the capital invested by the members (Rs 2000 by each one of them), but was linked to the amount of wages earned by a member, so that a member really works for the success for making BVS evolve as a weavers’ entity.

A new group of SHGs of even poorer weavers have formed BVS Parnpur and are all set to go for similar joint production and marketing. BVS is turning out to be their client as well as raw material supplier with much higher wages. Simultaneously the process of handholding led to the creation of around 20 – 25 budding leaders from

10 See annex 1.2 “Chanderi Impact Assessment and Mid-term Evaluation of the Handloom Cluster of Chanderi, ISLP, BASIX, 2005”

15 among the weavers in the areas of marketing, accounting, stock taking and production management.

7.1.5 Conclusion

This intervention proved the relevance on poverty as a key principle of cluster development, namely that cluster stakeholders can greatly benefit from direct support towards the formation of sustainable groups. In a stark difference from industrial clusters, artisan clusters seem to require a much longer and far more entrepreneurial support before they become fully viable in terms of the mutual trust among group members.

Most probably as a result of the very limited entrepreneurial competence of the poor weavers, a direct linkage to medium-term business opportunities is a strong asset towards sustaining cooperation inside the SHGs but also reaching critical mass in terms of production capacities. In Chanderi, the private sector has played a significant role in providing such market linkage and the opportunity for upscaling. This actually led to an immediate increase in wage and also made them taste profit, thereby further enhancing their entrepreneurship.

The growth path of BVS was infested with trouble, but an open discussion approach really helped, though it required a far longer period of stewardship. The role of the CEO of BVS, significantly someone who had to be required by the project, played an important role in this upbringing and also in breeding new leaders, though clearly casts some doubt on the replicability of this experience.

Finally, and in order to preserve a harmonious environment in the cluster, project resources and funds had to be invested on activities that were not aimed at poor people. It should be considered, however, that the dependence of weavers (often in terms of sheer survival) on established market linkages (i.e. through M-weavers and traders) requires, at least initially, that the status quo in the cluster is not challenged too profoundly.

7.2 Appropriate financing options

7.2.1 Objective

The objective of this intervention was to facilitate access to consumption loan for the poor and also identify appropriate finance for production for weavers. 7.2.2 Steps involved

16 The steps involved included the creation of groups, the promotion of a culture of savings, monitoring and capacity building, the creation of innovative financing mechanism and linkage with appropriate institutions.

As mentioned above (in section 7.1), around 60 SHGs were formed in the cluster. But only 13 of them actually endorsed for joint production, for which working capital became an issue. While part of the working capital was managed through own savings and part was managed through advance from business chains (mostly Fab India to start with), there was still a gap, which became more pronounced when BVS tried to extend its business beyond Fab India.

Here two linkages, one with National Minorities Finance Development Corporation (NMDFC) and another with a large corporate – ONGC, helped. NMDFC routed loan to MPHSVN at 2% per annum and the latter forwarded the same to 7 SHGs of BVS at 6 per cent per annum. The SHGs in turn deposited the loan amount with BVS. The MoU with Fab India and thereafter the order received from them facilitated the loan process. The rate of interest was much lower than the prevailing institutional rate of 12 per cent. Since BVS was not a 3 years’ old organisation, no loan could be given to BVS directly as per regulation. Similarly a zero interest loan of Rs 100,000 was given to one more SHG by one NIRMAN (an NGO), Kolkata. This link came while BVS was participating in an exhibition in Kolkata. ONGC also gave a grant of Rs 500,000, which was partly used for branding and partly as working capital. Repayment of loan was also closely monitored.

The SHGs that did not go for production were given due training for accounts maintenance and inter-lending. This led to inter-lending among the members of the SHGs. However, despite these efforts, it was felt that the cluster needed a much deeper input in provision of consumption loan. To understand the issues and possibilities, a microfinance workshop was organised jointly by UNIDO and the Department of Rural Industries. Various successful models were presented at the workshop by reputed micro finance institutions like SEWA, BASIX and SIDBI Microfinance Foundation. The workshop suggested that for the weavers of Chanderi, it would be worthwhile to introduce some innovative financial products base upon their needs. Hence in order to upscale the consumption loan issue an organisation in the name of BASIX was also introduced to the cluster.

17 7.2.4 Results

The savings level of the SHGs also varied from Rs 50 to Rs 100 per member per SHG. In 40 per cent of the SHGs, the actual savings were higher than the potential savings11. This was partly so as separate amount was deposited for BVS membership. Some of them were the most productive groups, doing both business and inter-lending. The next most productive group was the SHGs whose actual savings was 75 per cent of the potential savings. With savings above 33 per cent of potential savings, 4 SHGs were doing only inter lending and no joint production. 25 per cent of the SHGs had less than one-third of their potential savings and were doing no joint activity, including inter-lending.

Table 3: SHGs in Action As on July 2006 Total No. SHGs doing inter No. of SHGs in BVS of SHGs lending (% of total inter lending) Only BVS In Phase 1 In In Phase member Phase 2 3 Actual savings above 24 8 6 6 6 1 potential savings Actual savings more 11 4 1 6 than 75 per cent of potential savings Actual savings above 33 9 2 per cent of potential savings Actual savings below 33 16 per cent of potential savings

Box 6: Small Loan Made a Difference

Kaliman is a female weaver. She had no loom and was not weaving. She lives in a small hutment with her 3 children. Kaliman started her enterprise with a small loan of Rs 800 from her SHG for buying vegetable from Indra SHG, where she is a member. While business grew, she was also given separate training in weaving. Thereafter she was also given a loan to buy a loom. Kaliman now earns Rs 1400 per month from weaving.

With a turnover target of Rs 5 million in the year 2005, a working capital requirement of Rs 2 million was envisaged by BVS. Rs 0.24 million cam from own fund (saving of SHGs), Rs 0.14 came from Project support, Rs 0.5 million came through ONGC, Rs 0.1 million came from NIRMAN (the NGO), Rs 0.855 million came from NMFDC, Rs 0.1 million (approximately) came from a local bank and Rs 0.5 million was received

11 Potential savings is defined as the product of (a) savings per member per month, (b) number of members and (c) number of months of existence of the SHG

18 as loan and advances from the market. Of these the weavers were skeptical of the bank loan which had the highest interest rate of 12 per cent. Of these loans, Rs 200,000 has already been repaid for NMFDC, Rs 50,000 has been repaid for NIRMAN and Rs 20,000 has been repaid for the local bank. NMDFC and local banks are willing to give further loan to BVS in the future.

7.2.5 Conclusion

In the absence of any easy loan mechanism, innovative loan routing needed to be thought of. Such loaning was made possible, as there was an assured business in the waiting. While savings help as loan amount, up scaling will need professional inputs. The commercial rate of 12 per cent was still higher for the weavers.

7. 3 Improving Backward Linkages

7.3.1 Objective

Objective of this intervention was to organise appropriate dyeing, ensure availability of yarns in desired quantity and introduction of new techniques to revive classical weaving designs.

7.3.2 Steps Involved

The steps involved included (1) general introduction to new approaches, (2) selection of appropriate trainees, (3) hands on experience with technical/sourcing alternatives to select trainees and (3) creation of appropriate infrastructure. These steps were implemented simultaneously for all the three aspects of dyeing, yarn sourcing and upgraded weaving techniques.

An awareness workshop on dyeing was organised in collaboration with the support of Government of Madhya Pradesh by the National Institute of Fashion design (NIFT) for all stakeholders. An instruction leaflet in Hindi was also distributed. A second workshop was organised on dying practices where 50 dyers/weavers/master weavers were provided training in dyeing and appropriate usage of related scientific instruments, to ensure a decrease in their rejection rates.

Yet, when Fab India gave the first bulk order of 10,000 meters of fabric (500 kgs of yarn) in four colours, availability of fast dyed and huge quantity of bulk yarn became an issue. The CEO of BVS went to Coimbatore along with a weaver to do bulk ordering of cotton yarn after proper dyeing. The identified vendor agreed to supply, though colour was not fully guaranteed. The delivery mechanism took almost 50

19 days and the dyed yarn was supplied at Guna, 100 kms. from Chanderi. These were high cost transaction problems. It was also found that the cost of dyeing was around Rs 800,000 and the cluster has the capacity to retain this income and gainfully employ 20 persons.

The cluster did not have any professional dyer. It only had those ad hoc dyers who were doing some silk dyeing. 4 such dyers were identified and with the support of Weavers Service Centre and National Handloom Development Corporation. They were first sent to Valsad for an intensive training in dyeing technique. Later they were given hands-on-training by a service provider while actually dyeing materials for Fab India. Later with the support of BVS, who sponsored the utensils and measuring instruments, 3 part time dyers started a dye house. The dye house dyes both for BVS and also takes up independent assignment.

Box 7: Technology Development for Higher Wages

Tara loom is an upgraded loom developed by an NGO called Development Alternatives (DA). Unlike the traditional wooden looms these looms are made up of iron and can handle role of fabric up to 50 meters, instead of 12 meters by ordinary looms and it also gives better finishing quality. Hence, Tara loom is an answer to the quality problem of the plain fabric and also speeds up the production. Thus it also has the capacity to counter the plain weave fake Chanderi products up to some extent. Installation of these looms can increase the income level of semi-skilled weavers, who mostly do plain weaving. While the technique is known, business requirement of Tara loom was felt due to the large volume orders for larger width plain fabric and table covers by Fab India with an assurance of quality. Hence, 10 tara looms were introduced through BVS with the support of the Government of MP. Another ten are in process of installation. Output of Tara loom being of superior quality and with 20 per cent higher productivity, it added to the total wage of these weavers.

Technical intervention for improved weaving techniques was led by the Silk Club of M-weavers and traders. Here a delegation of M-weavers of Silk Club and a few of their skilled C-weavers were taken to Varanasi to have a close look at their ‘4 paddle looms’ and ‘nal-ferma’ technique. The 4-paddle loom would be useful for enhancing the repeat size of motifs from 4 inch to 8 inch, while ‘nal-ferma’ technique would be useful for creating reversible designs. Both these techniques would be useful for fast reproducing ethnic Chanderi designs in a cost effective manner. Two such looms have been introduced to the cluster. The trained C-weavers are also practicing the ‘nal ferma’ technique.

7.3.4 Results

20 3 part time dyers started a full-fledged dye house. Now in 2 years, the dye house is breaking even. It has a turnover of Rs 250,000 in 2005 and has now included 3 more part time workers. The state government has given it an assignment for dyeing of 900 kgs of yarn. A colour depot has also started functioning with the support of NHDC. Besides various other technical demonstrations were also carried out. As a result of all these, one new bulk silk dyeing machine by the Bapuji Institute of Devangiri, has also came to the cluster. However its usage is yet to be picked up.

7.3.5 Conclusion

Provision of pure training can only partially address capacity building, especially when poor weavers are concerned. Knowledge imparted by experts needs to be practiced through viable business activities for the stakeholders to understand its fullest utility and thereafter adopt the same. Hence, introduction of technical knowledge, whenever it is buyer driven, or linked to buyer demand (after a formal knowledge transfer) and to the people that actually call for it, is most effective.

7.4. Women empowerment and gender mainstreaming

7.4.1 Objective

The objective of this intervention were to empower women and create leaders, facilitate their access to income generating activities and organize them to create an appropriate forum for a stronger voice.

7.4.2 Steps involved

These objectives were achieved by creating of women SHGs, their capacity building through exposure, participation in workshops and technical training, gender sensitization of men, networking with support organisations, promoting social security and institutionalising these initiatives into an appropriate forum.

While organizing weavers in SHGs (as mentioned above in section 7.1), special focus was given in creating SHGs of women weavers. By end-2004, there were 13 all-women SHGs and 17 mixed SHGs, totaling 186 women.

While creating women SHGs, the women weavers were taken for a number of exposure visits outside Chanderi. Two women visited the state capital Bhopal for a

21 seminar on gender. Another 4 women, who are member of the Executive Committee of BVS went for sale-cum-exposure visits to Delhi, Mumbai, Bhopal, and Kolkata. 6 women weavers visited Maheshwar to observe the working of the REWA women weavers’ cooperative. Such visits continued in both formal and informal form throughout the life of the programme. Of late, 8 women went for exposure visits to SEWA Lucknow and handloom cluster of Varanasi. The Government of Madhya Pradesh sponsored this visit. The SEWA visit was targeted to expose the SHG members to the working style of women managed SEWA cooperative. This has enhanced their understanding of the working of other women’s organizations like themselves. The Varanasi visit contributed towards increased technical knowledge of the women.

In early 2004, a Workshop was held on the condition of women in India. 120 women (weavers and wives of traders and M-weavers) came together and shared their views about their health. This was the first rime in living memory that Chanderi women from all backgrounds sat together and discussed an aspect of their problems on such an ocassion. Besides, conscious efforts were made to discuss women- related issues during the network meetings. Here of special interest was the visit by a SEWA team to Chanderi that highlighted the need for training of women in leadership issue, to lead the movement from the front.

Box 8: Chanderi Women go to SEWA

In an attempt to promote leadership qualities, an interaction of the women SHGs were organised with SEWA training Academy; a lead training institute in women empowerment. The purpose of the exposure was to make the experts (from SEWA) suggest an appropriate step-by-step movement towards acquiring leadership qualities. The experts identified the exact needs and to start with a five-day training programme in leadership qualities was chalked out for the SHG heads. The programme was organised at Ahmedabad and also in the nearby villages where a typical input of staying with an empowered women and her families were also ensured. The SEWA training exposed them to the strength of organised behavior. On the operational side they picked up the importance of issues like savings, insurance, and literacy, health for women and children as well as childcare.

To start with the male weavers were skeptical about participation of women in programme activities. However the trust created by the programme by organizing various income generating activities and regular interaction both at the professional and personal level, created the confidence in organizing a joint workshop of male and women weavers to discuss gender related issues.

Box 9: Mainstreaming Gender - the First Step

22 In order to mainstream gender into the on going activities of the cluster, it was found that gender sensitization of both men and women were necessary. In this context, a gender sensitization session with 53 participants (20 men, 33 women) was conducted by experts from SANGINI, an MP based organisation working towards capacity building of NGOs. The participants were men and women from the SHGs. The session evoked some very interesting responses. 3 of the 25 men who attended the session vehemently opposed organizing such workshops because they believed in the time-honored roles of men and women and did not feel the need for change. Other men were quite happy with the Workshop and said more such Workshops should be organized. Women on the whole were happy about the outcomes and stated that it brought to the surface deep-seated prejudices that needed to be discussed. Of special interest to them was the discussion on having to seek permission for women to travel outside their households, especially after sunset. This gave rise to the discussion about who was responsible for the kind of environment in which women had to travel but most men remained unmoved by comments from the women and preferred not to discuss the matter further.

This churned out a thought process in promoting women as a partner in progress in economic issues, an aspect, which was not discussed before. Soon, 2 women became very active in business promotion in BVS.

Box 10: Ms Afroz goes to Pakistan

Ms. Afroz Jahan became a member of Indra SHG in 2003. Her group was one of the first ones to join those SHGs, which formed BVS. She has proved herself a person with great leadership qualities. Not only is she one of the senior executive committee members of the BVS, but has also been elected as Vice-Chairperson of the national body of Homenet South Asia, a sister concern of SEWA, Ahmedabad. Homenet sponsored her to participate in an exhibition in Pakistan. Later she went to Katmandu for a meeting of HomeNet SouthAsia. About 150 weaver women of Chanderi have created a forum called Hamari Duniya, of which she has been made Chairperson. She is not the only one-stepping out of the confines of the home, but a number of other women also have come forward to take lead in the responsibilities offered to them by the group. She has motivated many of them to do so. Today Afroze also manages the accounts of the BVS along with another member of the Executive Council. The project has indeed given a platform to many women weavers to break traditional barriers. Source: BASIX-UNIDO Study

Simultaneous to the above activities, special attention was given to health and literacy issues of women. To start with literacy classes were started with the support of local teachers. Health related interventions, were organised with the support of Silk Club.

Box 11: Voluntary Services

The poor health status of weavers was discussed with the local traders and master weavers and, finally, the Chanderi Silk Club (a representative body of traders in Chanderi) agreed to provide weekly outpatient department (OPD) services in the cluster. Since July 2003, 16 OPDs had taken place to date. Two doctors had been participating and 428 patients treated, 64 per cent of whom were women.

23 These were voluntary efforts. However, soon it was realized that this process of women empowerment could not be a purely voluntary activity. It required dedicated professionals. After lot of discussion it was felt that keeping the long-term sustainability issue in mind, the project should opt for promotion of capable local professionals, preferably from the weavers’ community, with subsistence learning allowances. Such local professionals (termed as social animators) will fast energise the learning process in the cluster. The knowledge gained would also continue to stay in the cluster itself.

Thus a team of 4 social animators (3 women) – two graduates women weavers and two graduates non-weavers from Chanderi were inducted into apprentice training by BVS. Through BVS they were given various training and exposure within and outside Chanderi, e.g. exposure to SEWA (a reputed NGO in micro unit promotion), training with NIRNATAR (an NGO) for literacy, that for health with MP Voluntary Health Association (MPVHA) - an NGO, for IT with One World South Asia (OWSA) - an NGO), etc. Each social animator was allotted a group of SHGs to conduct monthly meetings and use the same platform to do information dissemination. They also had daily meeting at BVS office with SHG expert to discuss the problems of the SHGs, information strategy, conflict resolution techniques, etc. These sharpened their skills and made them a part of the entire developmental agenda.

It was also felt that this process needs to be monitored by the weavers’ organisation themselves for mutual learning. Later by mid-2005 BVS created a gender sub- committee of 3 women and 1 man to promote this spirit of participation of women. Thus BVS as an institution of the weavers, which was created out of business necessity, played a critical role in women empowerment as all interventions in this area pivoted mostly around the lead taken by BVS.

Again in order to promote these activities, special effort was made to organize support fund and bring in specialised technical capacity in areas related to health, literacy, women empowerment, etc.

24 Table 4: Support funding and technical institutions for gender mainstreaming Type of Intervention Support Agency Implementing agency 1 Literacy Niranter 2 Health Awareness Workshops UNICEF MPVHA 3 Health Awareness training UNFPA MPVHA 4 IT for young women One World South Asia One World South Asia 5 Leadership training Pangea SEWA Ahmedabad 7 Exposure visits GoMP, OWSA

Note: The least an organisation of women weavers – Hamai Duniya (our – women’s world) was promoted as a part of BVS with a focus on leadership, health and literacy issues affecting women weavers. The organisation has 186 members.

7.4.4 Results

61 women weavers have been covered under the literacy programme. The impact assessment revealed that 60% of the women made remarkable progress in functional literacy and gained self-confidence. All the women were able to see the benefits of literacy. Training of trainers by Nirantar (an NGO) enhanced the teaching skills of the animators. Madhya Pradesh Voluntary Health Association (MPVHA) conducted workshops to disseminate information on subjects such as adolescent health and mother and child health care. 112 women and 88 men participated. UNICEF, Bhopal, supported these Workshops. These workshops have been an important source of health related information to both men and women weavers. They have highlighted the need to address the health concerns of the youth as well as young mothers in Chanderi.

Box 12: Women empowerment through training in literacy

As a part of their apprenticeship, the 4 social animators conducted literacy surveys to determine the impact of interventions. The survey indicated that age was no bar to learning. A woman who has her mother in the class said “My mother is determined to study. She has learnt a lot. She asks small children if she has any difficulty and is not ashamed to do so”. Women with more than five children found it hard to attend classes, while those who received support from family members fared very well. One man whose wife is in the class said: “My wife is totally uneducated., but now she can write a report. She makes a lot of effort at home and stays up late. She enjoys the process. She understands difficult words.” The survey also indicated that those who had completed primary school were now very keen to return to formal education. It was also found that focused group discussion was a more effective methodology for health information dissemination.

At least 8 women have emerged as leaders. 2 as active members of BVS, 2 as social animators (they being weavers), 2 as elected representatives of women in local municipal elections and 2 through Hamari Duniya.

7. 5 Conclusion

25 It is evident that women suffer basic disadvantages not just with regard to income generation but in much broader social terms. As a result they tend to lack self- confidence and skills necessary to function effectively in public, which in turns imply that their ability to participate in increased business opportunities (even when they are focused towards the poor as described under 7.1) ought to be severely questioned, especially when a trickle-down process is expected to be at the core of poverty reduction.

In order to provide a level playing field for women weavers, it was necessary to strengthen their capacities in areas other than income generation. Exposure visits and participation in fairs allowed women to look at conditions in the outside world, the importance of which should not be under-emphasised, especially in rural settings. Addressing basic needs such as literacy and health proved to be very effective for empowering women, though they clearly requires a set of competencies not traditionally available to cluster development practitioners. Training to become leaders enables them to understand the needs of their group and prioritize these needs and access to wages proved highly useful to put power directly in the hands of women. Finally, the involvement of men and women, trust with whom was build as an indirect result of cluster development initiatives, for effective gender mainstraming within the cluster.

8. Results

The results of UNIDO intervention may be summarized as follows:

8.1 Economic impact indicators

8.1.1 Firm level

 Generated additional turnover to the tune of Rs 9 million (approx. USD 200,000) by 2005 and another Rs 10 million expected in the year 2006 (approx. USD 220,000)  Around 150 weavers benefited as member of BVS in terms of 25 to 100 percentage increase in average wage rate (for the period of employment) wages and 7 to 15 percentage profit  Around 100 weavers also benefited as wage earned through BVS order  Loan worth Rs 1 million mobilised for the cluster, repayments are as per schedule  Around 10 new wholesale up-market buyers have been linked to the cluster

26 8.1.2 Cluster level

 A forum of 150 weavers - BVS functioning  A similar forum of 70 weavers has also come up and it is organically linked to BVS  Chanderi Development Foundation has been created and it has received GI registration  For the first time a private dye house is functional  A private yarn depot is also functioning as a part of BVS

8.2 Social impact indicators

 623 weavers are comfortable with easy inter lending facilities from their SHG savings  Members of 14 SHGs (8 non-members of BVS) benefited through inter-lending  At least 8 women leaders promoted in the cluster  Hamari Duniya - a forum of 186 women weavers is functioning under their leadership  Information on subjects such as adolescent health and mother and child health care were disseminated to 112 women and 88 men  61 women weavers covered under the literacy programme. 60 per cent of these women made remarkable progress in functional literacy and gained self- confidence  290 weaver families including women covered under the family health insurance scheme and several weavers have also received their claims.

8.3 Sustainability indicators

 Several new market connections including Fab India, Women Weaves Charitable Trust Mumbai, Craft Council of Kolkata, SEWA Ahemdabad, Dastkar Haat Samiti, etc. are active in the cluster. They also provide designing inputs.  BVS, a new association of weavers is active and is working for 130 weavers. It recently held its election and fresh office bearers were inducted. It is about to do business worth Rs 10 million in the year 2006.  Hamari Duniya is shaping up as a responsible women’s organisation  BASIX, a reputed organisation has entered the cluster and will continue to guide BVS for some time  Two social animators from the weaving community are continuing with the literacy drive in the cluster

27 The sustainability index of the cluster is as follows: Table 5: Sustainability Index Weight Score Weighted Score Jun-03 Jun-06 Jun-03 Jun-06 Networks Silk Club 30 3 4 5.4 7.2 Bunkar Vikas Sansthan 1 20 0 7 0 8.4 Bunkar Vikas Sansthan 2 10 0 4 0 2.4 20 well functioning SHGs 10 0 7 0 4.2 20 not well functioning SHGs 10 0 3 0 1.8 40 Likely SHGs/networks 20 0 0 0 0 Total 5.4 24 Support Institutions Govt. Training centre 5 5 6 0.75 0.9 Weavers Service Centre 10 3 10 1.8 3 NIFT 5 2 2 0.6 0.3 MPHSVN 10 6 7 3.6 2.1 NMDFC 10 0 5 0 1.5 SIDBI 10 0 5 0 1.5 NABARD 5 0 4 0 0.6 BASIX 5 0 10 0 1.5 Dept. of Rural Industries 10 8 8 4.8 2.4 Fab India 5 0 10 0 1.5 Women Weaves 3 0 5 0 0.45 Dastkar 2 0 5 0 0.3 SEWA Ahmedabad 2 0 5 0 0.3 Crafts Council Kolkata 3 0 5 0 0.45 Future market linkages 15 0 0 0 0 Total 11.55 16.8 Brokering Institutions 0 Chanderi Development Foundation 50 0 3 0 1.5 Likely brokering institution 50 0 0 0 0 Total 0 0 Grand total 16.95 40.8

28 9. Fund Utilisation

Table 6: Fund Utilisation Year Amount spent (Value in Rs.) UNIDO Cluster Support Total Stake Holder Institutions 2003-04 564,000 344,000 881,000 1,789,000 2004-05 500,000 312,600 671,000 1,483,600 2005-06 363160 119,500 828,750 1,311,410 Total 1,427,16 776,100 2,380,750 4,584,010 0 (31%) (17%) (52%) Total (less cost of hiring of services of 627,160 776,100 2,380,750 3,784,010 experts for strengthening of networks) (17%) (20%) (63%)

Contribution of the support institutions is much higher as compared to the contribution of stakeholders and the programme. Contribution by the stakeholders is low as compared to industrial clusters, where it hovers around 50% of total development expenditure. Interestingly, approximately 50 per cent of the amount spent by UNIDO went in the area of hiring the services of BDS providers for strengthening of NGOs, SHGs and networks of MEs and SHGs. The scope for getting such support does not exist in the current schemes of the support institutions. The scope for getting the same funded by the stakeholders is also remote, in the absence of any direct business gain of the stakeholders, to start with.

10. Future Directions

The following may be pursued for the immediate future:

1. BVS needs handholding support, especially with respect to diversification of its sales portfolio. There is also need to consolidate the newly formed BVS 2 at Pranpur. Scope also exists for creation of BVS 3 from among the 20 better functioning SHGs. 2. Both BVS 2 and BVS 3 would require strong marketing support to build their productionisation and market management capacity. This can be done, at least partially, by linking them with BVS 1 for productionisation of their excess order (beyond capacity). It is also time to go for better organisational structure of any future BVS for facilitating easier business transaction. One such suggestive structure is a Producers’ Company. 3. There are an estimated 3000 weavers in the cluster. Of these 600 are estimated as E-weavers. The current trend shows that at best 30 SHGs are of E-weaver types. 20 of those have already been converted into 2 producers’ groups. 10 more of the existing 40 SHGs, may also follow this route. The remaining

29 members are not E-weavers. Hence 300 more E-weavers need to be located and put into producers’ groups of manageable sizes. 4. The remaining weavers also may be grouped into SHGs for consumption loan purposes or one can even think of creating an MFI at the local level 5. There is need to go for consolidating the newly created dyeing house and the yarn depot by providing some infrastructure support. 6. The literacy, health and insurance schemes need to be broad based and linkages with UNICEF, UNFPA and OWSA need to continue. Emphasis on creation of women leaders and involving women into marketing and other management capacities should also continue. 7. Chanderi has been registered under GI. It now needs to be implemented for the benefit of the cluster.