DESIGN RESEARCH ON KHADI SILK // THE LIFESTYLE OF DEVANAHALLI VILLAGE ARTISANS

DESIGN RESEARCH

KHADI SILK // THE LIFESTYLE OF DEVANAHALLI VILLAGE ARTISANS

O B J E C T I V E :

T O S T U D Y T H E L I F E S T Y L E O F D E V A N A H A L L I V I L L A G E A R T I S A N S

BY AKANKSHA SINGH , ALISHA MASURKAR, SHWETA KAMAL, SREYA SIMLAI, SWADHINEY LIPSA

1.1 KHADI SILK- A INTRODUCTION

These are examples of handspun and handwoven textiles known as Khadi and are made in India. The range depicts the textures and colors used in these textiles made of silk material. The silk textile is spun into threads on a spinning wheel (chakra) by hand. Mahatma Gandhi encouraged the use of Khadi textiles as a means of attaining self-reliance in the country. In the year 1921 Gandhiji had launched the movement of “spin your own cloth and buy hand spun cloth” which is said to be the beginning of making the Khadi materials in India. The making of the Khadi materials was done in the villages and some of the remote regions in those days.

TODAY

Fabric tends to cause irritation and allergies in many cases, whereas khadi is very friendly to the body and does not cause any problem. The modern generation tends to adopt natural and eco-friendly products thus khadi is one of the best options when it comes to fabric. Production of khadi can be found in every state of India having its own unique feature like a style of weaving and the proportion in which the fiber is mixed. A modern designer has blended khadi fiber with silk and wool to create more versatile fabric.

Majorly Maharashtra, Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh are the highest contributors to cotton production of India. Nowadays it is few of the organizations and some of the people who even today stand along with the Khadi Gram Udyog for the continuous production of these materials. Khadi materials are normally made from the cotton, wool and silk. Nowadays it is even made with poly cotton in some cases. Khadi fabric gives a special look for the wearer with its uniqueness with its different raw materials. It is preferred by most of the people as it gives a special comfort and elegance. This material can be made for the various garments like kurta pyjama, shirts, dupattas, salwar kameez, sarees, saree blouses, jackets, vests etc. with a longevity.

1.2 INTRODUCTION TO DEVANAHALLI VILLAGE, BENGALURU

Village Name : Devanahalli ( ೕವನಹ )

City Name : Bangalore

District : Bangalore

State : Karnataka Division

Language : Kannada and Konkani, Tulu, Telugu, English, Kodava, Hindi, Marwari And Others

1.2.1 HOW TO REACH DEVANAHALLI

BY RAIL

Devanahalli Railway Station , Avatihalli Railway Station are the very nearby railway station to Devanahalli.

BY ROAD

Bangalore , Yelahanka , Bommanahalli , Krishnarajapura , Kengeri , Hosakote , Dasarahalli , Devanahalli , Dod Ballapur , Magadi , Nelamangala are the nearby by towns to Bangalore having road connectivity to Bangalore and Devanahalli

LOCAL BUS

Kohira Bus Station, Devanahalli Bus Station, Bhuvanahalli Gate Bus Station, Bychapura Bus Station, Doddasanne Bus Station are the nearby by Local Bus Stops to Devanahalli. Number of busses run from Devanahalli to different Places. Devanahalli Town is a small Village/hamlet in Devanhalli Taluk in Bangalore Rural District of Karnataka State, India. It comes under Devenahalli Panchayath. This Place is in the border of the Bangalore Rural District and Chikballapur District. It belongs to Bangalore Division. It is located 0 km towards East from District headquarters Bangalore and 38 km from State Capital Bangalore. Devanahalli is the site of Kempegowda International Airport.

1.3 ISSUES AND OPPORTUNITIES

1.3.1 ISSUES

Khadi is estimated to constitute less than 1% of India’s textile market. The growth in production and sales of khadi is marginal compared to the increase in the production of textiles at a compound growth rate of 7% in volume and 15% in value during FY2002– FY2006. The textile industry has made tremendous strides with the adoption of modern technology, branding, and savvy marketing. In contrast, khadi has been unable to adapt to economic and technological advancements. As a result, the community-based production and marketing model of a product that is still revered, is neither able to gain market share nor substantially contribute to rural employment.

Khadi production and marketing under the KVIC khadi program are constrained by the following:

(i) Raw Materials. The absence of proper quality control protocol and equipment leads to variable raw material quality that affects the quality of the final product. (ii) Equipment. With aging equipment and raw material quality constraints, khadi production cannot be expanded even if demand grows rapidly. (iii) Marketing. Khadi is primarily sold through 7,050 dilapidated retail outlets of khadi institutions that are isolated from current marketing trends. (iv) Institutions. Khadi institutions are fragmented and dispersed, lack the expertise, financial means, and unified vision to adjust to changing market trends.

(ii) Insufficient Synergy with Traditional Village Industries. A multiplicity of government agencies, besides KVIC implement programs for the KVI subsector. The administrative effort in coordinating these interventions often overlook the synergy between village industries and khadi. Among all government agencies, KVIC is in a unique position to provide leadership in pooling of skills and resources for production and marketing of khadi as well as village industries starting from the household level, to khadi institutions, and up to the point of sale. Such synergy could be explored through identification of traditional village industries that are in line with the handmade characteristic of khadi, and developed through a cluster approach especially in areas where both khadi and traditional village industries are not widespread.

Barring exceptions, the capabilities of khadi institutions across the entire production and marketing chain need substantial improvements. Most khadi institutions have the inadequate and old infrastructure (charkhas, looms, processing unit, garmenting unit, and accounting systems) and dilapidated retail outlets that will impede any reform measure from being effective. This is true even for khadi institutions categorized as A+, A, or B by KVIC. Currently, KVIC has no specific policy for C and D category khadi institutions. Nearly 270 khadi institutions categorized as D continue to receive financial support from KVIC without any effective measures initiated to resolve their difficulties or facilitate their attrition.

1.3.2 OPPORTUNITIES

Given its size and diversity, India has significant opportunities for khadi if it is efficiently produced and marketed. Simultaneously, repositioning of khadi is needed to link the consumer perception of khadi with its environment friendly, socially conscious, and fair wage characteristics. These could help realize the following opportunities :

Economic: Khadi’s employment intensive production process has implications for the livelihoods of millions of workers in rural India. Against this background, a new niche needs to be found for khadi in context of everexpanding choices for consumers in the rapidly expanding and competitive textile market.

Development: KVIC and some enterprising khadi institutions have taken, albeit sporadic, measures to improve marketing and production of khadi in Gujarat and Rajasthan, resulting in increasing year-round sales and exports. Similarly, outside the KVIC khadi program, the boutique chain Fabindia has grown to 90 outlets. These indicate the potential for khadi in the middle and upper-income consumer segments.

Environment: The values underpinning khadi have gained impetus in the context of the global environmental movement and the emphasis on green and sustainable livelihoods. Khadi uses organic dyes and has environment friendly production methods. Buyers are willing to pay a premium for authentic handspun, and handwoven fabric as a fashion product, out of allegiance to the green movement (eco-friendly) and fair wages.

2 | TIME SCHEDULE OF THE VISIT

Date of cluster visit: 10th April 2019

Time of departure: 9:15 AM T

Time of arrival: 12:00 PM

Time of Conclusion: 3:00 PM

Back at the campus: 5:15 PM

Mode of Transportation: college bus

Number of stops on the way: 2

3 | WORKER'S PROFILE

3.1 RATNAMMA

Fig 6: Ratnamma is working onseparation ofcocoon to obtain the fibre

3 | ARTISAN'S PROFILE

3.2 SHIVARAMMA

Being the first one to work from the family in an handloom sector Shivaramma is a worker of Devanahalli. She works in the spinning section since 13 years now. She works for 7 hrs straight from 10am to 5 pm with a lunch break in between. She has to stand during her entire work which causes her some serious backpain and leg pain. She also tells us about lack of first aid and medical help. She is surrounded by her neighbours in her workplace.

She lives in a village named Anoru which is 1 km away from the workpace. She either walks or the

Where we are

company auto is the quicker option. Her husband is unemployed. Having both her son and daughter married she stays with her husband, son, and daughter-in-law. Her son works in a medical store in the nearby town.Getting a daily wage of rupees 200 she is able to contribute something for the family. Deepavali, Dusshera, Ugadi, Shivaratri, and Sankranti are the major festivals she celebrates.

3.3 KALAVATI

Kalavati is a weaver in Devanahalli working in the weaving section. Being a 10th standard pass she always aspired to be a teacher but her parents being farmers couldn’t fund her. She was first introduced to this working place when Raman Janya from her village who was a weaver himself brought her here. She says Raman Janya had helped many of the people from her village to gain a lifestyle. Getting a daily wage of rupess 180 she has been a regular worker. When asked about the raise she tells us there is hardly any raise. Also as the numbers of employees are more and work is less, they cannot ask for more. Rupees 10 is increased every 4-6 months. Every year they get a bonus of rupees 500. She tells us about how she runs her home with minimum facilities and resources. She tells us how there is no hospital near the workplace and in case of any emergency they have to rush to the nearest town by an auto. Also there is no medical help from the work place, everything is paid by themselves. They face major problems like language barrier when they have to go to the doctor and functioning of the hospital.

Having two kids, a boy and a girl she runs the family by her own. She has been able to send her daughterto Maharani College where she studies B.Com and is in second year. Her son is in second standard. Someof the food that she makes is rice, roti, idli, dosa, ragi-mudde. They are pure veg. Some of the festivalsshe celebrates are Deepavali, Ugadi, Shivaratri and Sankranti. Also she mentions about Swatch Bharat being a major movement in their village

3.4 LAXMIGOWADAMMA

fig 10: Laxmigowdamma while peeling tamarind besides Sreya

Separating the termarine stems from the termarine LaxmiGowdamma is an ex-worker who now has made her home in the workplace. Staying in a room she has her kitchen outside where she cooks there. Now she has been staying here for 6 years with a few other workers who are part of her family now. Both the sons stay away from her, one of them staying in Yehlanka and others in Mysuru. She visits them once in a while. She loves traveling in a train and discovering new places. Rice doesn’t exist in their daily meal, they totally depend upon ragi which they get from the nearby markets. The market near the village provides them with all the groceries and food.

4| LIVING CONDITION OF THE ARTISANS

Living in a room which accommodated kitchen, living room and bedroom, with a bed and very minimum resources. With a large number of steel utensils, gas stove and chulha they have set up their minimum lifestyle. Living in the absence of fridge and fan, some of the houses had TV. Toilets and sanitary facilities weren’t private, people have a public setup which is very inconvenient. They have tin roofs which are very temporary. They live in a cluster of houses. They have a place for their idols. They had a veranda where dyeing of fabrics take place.

5| KEY FINDINGS

1) The cluster has 80 percent of the workforce of female labors.

2) As female labors and artisans are underpaid by 4000 rupees on an average considering their monthly wages should be minimum of 10,000 rupees per month (as per ‘Code on Ministry bill’ passed by the Ministry of State for Labor, Karnataka); the employers pay them 180-200 rupees per day which sums up to 5,400-6000 rupees per month.

3) Artisans receive a raise of 10 rupees per day after every 6months and receive a yearly bonus of 500 rupees each.

4) The artisans do receive holidays during festivities andadvance payment when requested and daily travel expensesby the employers.

5) In most of the cases, the women artisans working are the breadwinners of the family yet they have to take care of all the daily chores and house before going to and after returning from work.

6) Almost all the women working for over a decade suffer from back pain, leg pain hence finds difficulty to sit or stand for a long period of time to work. Even though these artisans take an hour-long break from 1 PM to 2 PM for lunch; that isn't enough to relieve the pain.

7) The Employers do not provide any kind of medical expenses or facilities to the artisans and neither do they have sufficient availability of first-aid facilities at the workplace.

8) The washrooms facilities lack hygiene as they are located behind the workplace and near a dumpster. Also, they are built in Indian style which will be uncomfortable to squat for artisans as they suffer from constant leg pain.

6 | SWOT ANALYSIS OF THE KHADI

1. STRENGTH:

· Khadi has a very good drape and contains a great potential.

· Eco-friendly.

· Connects to freedom movement.

· Statement about your lifestyle and values/austere.

· Price, value and quality

2. WEAKNESS:

· Less awareness and preference to foreign brands.

· Lack of artisans.

· Lack of promotional activities.

· Lack of funds

· Low wages for artisans

3. OPPORTUNITIES:

· Market developments

· Industry or life style trends

· Innovation and technology development

· Global influences

· Market dimensions, horizontal, vertical

· Target markets

· Geographical import, export.

Where we are

4. THREATS

· Political and economic effects

· Legislative effects

· Environmental effects

· Competitive intentions

· Market demand

· Innovation in technologies, services and ideas.

· Poor management strategies.

· Economic condition home, abroad.

7 | CONCLUSION

As it is cheaper to hire female artisans than male artisans, this cluster has 80 percent of highly underpaid female artisans. Most of these women have been working there for over a decade and have been travelling from villages 2-3 kilometres away. These are hardworking female artisans who are the house-makers and breadwinners of the family yet they are not treated as equal as the male figure at the workplace or their households. These women work for 6 hours straight in the morning and 5 hours straight in the afternoon and evening due to which they have developed back pain, joint pain, leg pain and have gotten used to it; yet they have to squat in the washroom at their workplaces which hugely lacks in terms of female hygiene. These artisans do not receive separate medical expenses or transportation resources when they need to be taken to a hospital. However, artisans do receive daily travel expenses and insufficient availability of first-aid facilities. To improve these unfair conditions of artisans, first of all, they should be made aware of the 'Code on Ministry bill’ which clearly states that every labour must be paid at least 350 rupees per day which sums up to roughly 10,000 rupees per month as minimum wage. The employers should provide standard hygienic facilities to these artisans to ease their access to basic facilities as the bathroom. Providing sufficient availability of first-aid and medical expenses should be prioritized as it is important for employers to take care of their artisans. Also, the crafts itself which gave female artisans an opportunity to work should be promoted through available resources easiest being through social media and approaching NGOs supporting traditional Indian craft. Supporting the artisans and promoting the craft at Devanahalli will attract not just tourists and retailers but might also capture the government's attention to obtain better subsidiaries to improve their working conditions.

Where we are

TODAY