Semi-skilled weavers to get lessons in fabric design

Under Integrated Handloom Development Scheme, Chhattisgarh Government’s Village Industries Department is providing skill improvement training of two months to weavers.

Under this scheme, semi-skilled weavers of Weavers’ Cooperative Societies are trained for creating new designs and high quality fabric.The scheme also includes provision of scholarship of Rs 3000 per month for each trainee selected under this scheme. Department Officials informed that in the previous financial year 2014-15, 80 weavers were given skill improvement training.

Traditional weavers and new weavers having training and experience of three years in weaving work are eligible for this scheme.For further details contact respective District Handloom Office in Raipur, Durg, Rajnandgaon, Bastar (Jagdalpur), Mahasamund, Janjgir-Champa, Raigarh, Sarguja (Ambikapur), Bilaspur.

Notably, the State Government has established an Apparel Training & Designing Centre each in Bilaspur,  Raipur, Bhilai and Rajnandgaon, officials stated.

These training centres are providing manpower to apparel industries in Chhattisgarh and even outside the State.  The Apparel Training & Design Centres have been established with the help of Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC).

Notably, the handloom weavers in Chhattisgarh are being assisted with preparation of new apparel designs for their products by National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT), officials stated.

There had been 20 per cent jump in the budget for the Village Industries Department in the 2015-16 budget provisions at Rs 119.58 crore, they stated. The budget for the Village Industries Department in 2014-15 was `97.84 crore.

During the last financial year, the Chhattisgarh Khadi and Village Industries Board supplied cloth worth `52 crore.Moreover, the Government replaced the old looms with weavers free of cost.    Notably, about 1.08 crore metres of Handloom cloth was woven by Chhattisgarh’s weavers  in the current fiscal year 2014-15  till January 31, officials stated.

There are about 234 Co-operative societies with 60,000 members. They work on 20,000 Handlooms in the State.

About 13.40 lakh metres of Handloom cloth was produced in the year 2004-05. The cloth was produced by various Co-operative societies, they stated.

Chhattisgarh’s weavers supplied Handloom cloth worth `95 crore to the various State government Departments in the year 2013-14, officials stated. 

About 45,900 weavers are employed in 15,300 looms of ‘Handloom Weavers Sanghs’ of the State government’s Village Industries Department.

About 7000 women are employed in the Handloom sector through the 206 Women Self-Help Groups (SHGs). The weavers earn around `9000 per month.

The Department officials said in order to provide regular employment to Handloom weavers and to provide market to the garments made by them, the Chhattisgarh State Handloom Development and Marketing Co-operative Society was registered in December 2000. 

There were about 50 primary weavers committees at the time of formation of the Society and in 2014 there are 234 committees. The Handloom Weavers Society was appointed as the nodal agency for procuring Government clothes orders.