Srinagar: A 32-year-old Kashmir entrepreneur has set a new trend by launching an e-commerce portal for Pashmina weavers to showcase their traditional craft.
Modeled on famous e-commerce sites, `Pashmina Cart’ has provided a platform for artisans to bypass middlemen and sell their products directly to consumers.
The brain behind Kashmir’s own Flipkart is Tajamul Rashid, who has left a cushy job at Multinational Companies to create an e-commerce platform for the artisans.
“For a long time, the reach of the handloom products has been limited to the places they are present. This is because of less or no access to prime markets, negligible returns, no identity, no marketing and promotional support, zero brand building, and many other reasons,” Tajamul said, who has worked in several national and multinational and specializes in Sales, Marketing, and Strategy.
The tradition of handloom weaving has been at the heart of Kashmir’s cultural heritage for centuries. From weaving specialized fabrics like Pashmina to Kani, the handlooms sector has played an important role in the upliftment of rural and semi-rural livelihood. According to the official figures, this sector provides direct and indirect employment to more than 40,000 weavers and ancillary workers mostly belonging to economically-weaker sections of J&K.
“The worst thing is machine-made items sold in the name of pure Pashmina. Also, I have seen how bad it is for producers through personal experience as my mother was an artisan and my uncle has been associated with the Pashmina business for more than 5 decades now,” he said.
Tajamul’s start-up, ‘Pashmina Cart’ has put the valley’s handloom industry into the spotlight again. While there are many individuals and brands selling Kashmiri handicrafts online, the start-up aims to stand out by providing a unique approach. Rather than sourcing products from individual artisans and retailing them under their own name, it strives to liberate individual artisans to market and sell their own products.
“This will help consumers buy authentic Pashmina products at genuine rates. The artisans will also get the right value for their time-tested skills, help them establish their own brand on the platform, and gain recognition on a global level,” Tajamul said.
The start-up, on the other hand, will take care of the logistics which will help the artisans accurately photograph, upload, and package their products.
“We offer a comprehensive range of services to support artisans, including packaging, branding, promotions, marketing, shipping, and returns. Imagine an artisan selling his Pashmina on MRP and enjoying all profits without sharing it. Additionally, we provide weekly training on how to use its technology effectively,” the young entrepreneur added.
The start-up has received an overwhelming response since its launch. “This has motivated us to open the first brick-and-mortar store in a couple of weeks,” he said.
Talking of the challenges, he added, “The biggest one is to educate artisans about the technology, that is not easy, but we have a skilled and robust team. They are actively involved in training the artisans in terms of technology and enabling their growth which is our ultimate goal,” Tajamul said.
