The words “artisan” and “business manager” are not typically seen together, but a new course at the Somaiya Kala Vidyalaya, an institute of education for artisans in Kutch, hopes to link the two entities together forever.
The first batch of a dozen post-graduates in the one-year Business and Management for Artisans course has just graduated. The 12 students have also trained in design at the institute, and they hope to use their skills to preserve their craft-making traditions by taking control of the way their businesses are run, their raw material is sourced, and their products sold and marketed.
The need to reclaim their heritage is one of the motives behind teaching artisans to upgrade their existing skills, said Judy Frater, the founder and director of Somaiya Kala Vidya. Artisans have been watching their traditions being snatched away from them and “whirled up in a blender” by haute couture designers and other commercial interests, said Frater, who has worked in Kutch since 1990.
“They are not getting respect for their knowledge and their understanding of their cultural heritage,” said Frater, who was previously associated with the non-governmental organisation Kala Raksha, which she co-founded. “They were not getting enough money, a minimal wage at times, so why then should they design for the contemporary market? I felt they could cash in on what they have. They are fantastic designers, but they are still being equated with wage labour. They need to know business in order to utilise their capacity.”
Typical distribution methods for Indian artisans include selling their handicrafts and fabric directly or more often through commission agents to retail stores and for export and latching onto the travelling exhibition circuit. That the dreaded middleman can sell painstakingly produced objects for several times the original price without the artisan or the consumer being any wiser is a reality that India’s craftspeople have had to live with.
“Artisans don’t have direct access to consumers because they traditionally worked for intimate and known clients, such as families,” Frater pointed out. “These days, they have no idea who they are making for. They don’t know how to price their goods. There isn’t enough labour to produce enough. If they want to reach a market, they need to have a minimum quality.”
In Kutch, particularly, the number of industries that were set up in the region after the devastating earthquake in 2001 encouraged many artisans to abandon their traditions for industrial jobs, she said.
Lucrative export market
The export market remains highly lucrative, but it is volatile and doesn’t always give the artisan the best deal. “I don’t feel that exports are always the answer – you have rock-bottom prices because everybody in between has non-negotiable cuts,” Frater said. One alternative that appears to give artisans greater leverage and proof of sales is e-commerce. Websites such as Gaatha and Itokri are welcome alternatives for consumers keen on buying traditional Indian crafts but unable or unwilling to trek to the local store or exhibition. “The artisans see e-commerce as great potential – they can access the market sitting at home,” Frater said. “The internet is a great leveller, but the artisans need to have technical skills or work with somebody who does.”
A course such as the one instituted by the Somaiya Kala Vidyalaya, which is supported by the KJ Somaiya Gujarat Trust, will help artisans, especially from the younger lot, to take other decisions as well. Knowing the market won’t just prevent artisans from being exploited or short-changed, it will also help, for instance, decide whether hand-stitching can be replaced by a more efficient yet aesthetic production method. Can computers help in image creation? Can mass production be replaced by individual works that carry the creator’s stamp? Can artisans be treated as artists? Art, after all, has always needed commerce to thrive and survive.
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The first batch of a dozen post-graduates in the one-year Business and Management for Artisans course has just graduated. The 12 students have also trained in design at the institute, and they hope to use their skills to preserve their craft-making traditions by taking control of the way their businesses are run, their raw material is sourced, and their products sold and marketed.
The first batch of the Business and Management for Artisans course. Courtesy Somaiya Kala Vidyalaya
The need to reclaim their heritage is one of the motives behind teaching artisans to upgrade their existing skills, said Judy Frater, the founder and director of Somaiya Kala Vidya. Artisans have been watching their traditions being snatched away from them and “whirled up in a blender” by haute couture designers and other commercial interests, said Frater, who has worked in Kutch since 1990.
“They are not getting respect for their knowledge and their understanding of their cultural heritage,” said Frater, who was previously associated with the non-governmental organisation Kala Raksha, which she co-founded. “They were not getting enough money, a minimal wage at times, so why then should they design for the contemporary market? I felt they could cash in on what they have. They are fantastic designers, but they are still being equated with wage labour. They need to know business in order to utilise their capacity.”
Typical distribution methods for Indian artisans include selling their handicrafts and fabric directly or more often through commission agents to retail stores and for export and latching onto the travelling exhibition circuit. That the dreaded middleman can sell painstakingly produced objects for several times the original price without the artisan or the consumer being any wiser is a reality that India’s craftspeople have had to live with.
“Artisans don’t have direct access to consumers because they traditionally worked for intimate and known clients, such as families,” Frater pointed out. “These days, they have no idea who they are making for. They don’t know how to price their goods. There isn’t enough labour to produce enough. If they want to reach a market, they need to have a minimum quality.”
In Kutch, particularly, the number of industries that were set up in the region after the devastating earthquake in 2001 encouraged many artisans to abandon their traditions for industrial jobs, she said.
Lucrative export market
The export market remains highly lucrative, but it is volatile and doesn’t always give the artisan the best deal. “I don’t feel that exports are always the answer – you have rock-bottom prices because everybody in between has non-negotiable cuts,” Frater said. One alternative that appears to give artisans greater leverage and proof of sales is e-commerce. Websites such as Gaatha and Itokri are welcome alternatives for consumers keen on buying traditional Indian crafts but unable or unwilling to trek to the local store or exhibition. “The artisans see e-commerce as great potential – they can access the market sitting at home,” Frater said. “The internet is a great leveller, but the artisans need to have technical skills or work with somebody who does.”
A course such as the one instituted by the Somaiya Kala Vidyalaya, which is supported by the KJ Somaiya Gujarat Trust, will help artisans, especially from the younger lot, to take other decisions as well. Knowing the market won’t just prevent artisans from being exploited or short-changed, it will also help, for instance, decide whether hand-stitching can be replaced by a more efficient yet aesthetic production method. Can computers help in image creation? Can mass production be replaced by individual works that carry the creator’s stamp? Can artisans be treated as artists? Art, after all, has always needed commerce to thrive and survive.