SRINAGAR: Pashmina shawl weavers have a reason to rejoice as the Centre has decided to set up a raw material bank in Srinagar in a bid to end the exploitation and monopoly of the middlemen.
A committee headed by the Textile Commissioner approved Rs 2 crore project for Pashmina. Under the project, a raw material bank will be created in the Department of Handicrafts and Handlooms.
“The raw material bank will help small and marginalized spinners and weavers. It will be beneficial for those spinners who require it for weaving very few shawls,” Mehmood Ahmad Shah, Director, Department of Handicrafts and Handlooms, told The Kashmir Monitor.
Pashmina artisans have welcomed the government’s decision. “It was our long pending demand. We hope for the best. Our artisans are closely associated with the Handicrafts department. The raw material should be moderately priced. We also hope quality-wise it will be better,” said Parvez Bhat, media secretary of Kashmir Pashmina Organisation.
Bhat also appealed to the government to announce a subsidy scheme for small and marginal artisans. “Everyone knows artisans’ financial condition. Their financial condition is not good. We request the government to announce some subsidy scheme for the artisans so that they too can buy raw material and become small entrepreneurs,” he said
Earlier, Central Wool Development Board (CWDB), Ministry of Commerce approved a Rs 50 lakh project to create a raw material bank in Kashmir. Department of Handicrafts and Handlooms, Kashmir, will be the nodal agency for the raw material bank. The bank will end the monopoly of the middlemen and suppliers who were exploiting the sheep breeders.
Pashmina is among seven major crafts which have been granted GI tags. Other crafts include Kani Shawl, Pashmina, Sozni, Paper-Machie, Walnut Wood Carving, Khatamband, and Hand Knotted Carpets have already been GI certified.
Besides, the process of GI registration of seven more crafts including Namda, Shikara, Gabba, Willow Bat, Crewel, and Chain Stitch is already under process. The dossier for GI certification of all these crafts has been submitted to the GI authorities in Chennai. The government is also pitching for GI tag for 300-year-old crafts including `Kangri’ and `Wagguv’.
The decision to create raw material banks has come at a time when handicraft exports are on an upward trajectory.
Official figures reveal that goods worth Rs 728.99 were exported in the three quarters ending December 2022. Exports of all four quarters of 2021-22 were Rs 563.13 crore.
Most of the exports were realized in the third quarter. Figures released by the Department of Handcrafts and Handlooms reveal goods worth Rs 352.02 were exported in the third quarter. Of which carpets worth Rs 121.15 crore were exported to different countries.
