Handicraft artisans in India, particularly carpet makers, find themselves at the lowest rung of the income distribution ladder. The age-old traditional art of carpet making in India is hanging by a thread. This is because of an absence of formal training, caste-based disparities, and exploitation at the hands of middlemen.

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For many carpet weavers in India, their craft has turned into a laborious job that offers meager compensation for the intricacy of their work. However, the landscape is gradually shifting, with efforts from companies like Jaipur Rugs, one of India's largest carpet manufacturers, working to uplift the living standards of rural carpet artisans by providing them with sustainable livelihood opportunities.

Carpet weaving is a generational skill. Many weavers who abandoned this traditional occupation cite not only financial constraints but also the relentless exploitation and humiliation inflicted upon them by middlemen as the reasons for their departure. Harpgool, a 48-year-old fourth-generation carpet weaver overseeing production in Rajasthan's Aspura village, embodies the change that is taking place.

He learnt weaving as a young boy and says what he remembers most about those days was how his family was always in debt. Harpgool says his life took a turn for the better when Jaipur Rugs inducted him as a team member a decade ago, but the ghost of his family’s troubles continues to haunt him.

“Earlier the thekedars used to exploit us. We used to get paid very low and on top of that, we would go to buy raw materials and collect all the things from the city. Then we used to deliver the carpets on cycle. Even after that, we were not sure how much money they would give. Thekedar would cut ₹2,000-3,000 citing some minor issues. Sometimes we would wait all day outside their homes for money and end of the day they would say we will give money in three parts. We used to work like bonded labourers,” says Harphool.

The situation is worse for the women involved in this industry. The majority of carpet weavers in Rajasthan's villages are women, and for years, they had little say in what they produced. To make matters worse, middlemen imposed financial penalties for minor mistakes or minor flaws in the carpets. Often, these penalties would mean they worked for free and had little or no recourse to get what was due to them.

In many cases, weavers borrowed money from middlemen to make ends meet and fall into a debt trap.

"We used to take loans from carpet middlemen to meet our basic needs. However, we found ourselves trapped in a never-ending cycle of debt and interest payments. Quitting carpet-making was not an option, no matter how hard we worked, as the loans continued to pile up," Manju Devi, a fourth-generation weaver hailing from Manpura village in Rajasthan, reflects on her past struggles.

But things have changed for Manju Devi as well. She started working with Jaipur Rugs a decade ago. She and her husband both work on the loom and make enough to run their home and send their children to school. Her carpets were showcased at Delhi’s famous Red Fort.

Manju, who is also the recipient of the International Carpet Design Award, 2023, credits Jaipur Rugs for a lot of her current lifestyle. But how did this change come in a rural industry? The answer is decentralisation and sustainability.

The Jaipur Rugs company, known for its design and quality, has garnered a distinct reputation within the weaving community for its social mission. Formed in 2004, Jaipur Rugs Foundation helped change the traditional model of middleman-owned looms and enabled the weavers to own their own looms. Instead of taking the weavers to looms in the factories, the company took looms to the weavers. Apart from fair wages and respect, it provided weavers the luxury of convenience.

It has adopted an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system to decentralise the process and increase efficiency. It has taken on the responsibility of delivering raw materials to weavers at their homes and picking up woven rugs. This leaves the weavers to concentrate on weaving. For women in rural areas, this is a big positive.

“We used to work in other people’s homes with thekedaars. We used to start work early morning and come back late evening. Now we work according to our own heart. The loom is at home so it is convenient. We get money on time and work as per our convenience,” says Daafli Devi who has received national and international awards for her carpet designs.

Jaipur Rugs employs over 40,000 home-based artisans across 600 villages in India. 80% of these are women. JRF has helped over 2,000 weavers obtain the “Artisan Card”, which is issued by the government. The card recognises an artisan’s social status and makes them eligible to receive associated benefits including discounts on health insurance schemes.

This has helped every woman involved in carpet weaving earn anywhere between ₹10,000-20,000 per month depending on the number of carpets they deliver — more, if they have greater experience and can make more intricate patterns or deliver more carpets. Other than this, the carpet weavers have regular meetings in Jaipur city, and the company representatives train them regularly. This has added to the exposure and given these weavers a voice.

Madhu Devi, a carpet weaver from Rajasthan’s Aspura village said she learnt carpet weaving as a child but didn’t like it much. However, she was forced to do it when her father passed away. "I am still doing the job but earlier with thekedaars, there was no identity in this work. Now I have exposure, I know the technique and I get recognition for my work. My daughter is in college, and another is learning nursing,” says Madhu Devi.

The respect, fair wages and recognition from weaving have given women in these villages a voice. Not only have they become the breadwinners in their families, but they have also started influencing social change – starting from sending even girl child to school. Clearly, for these weavers, the weft and warp of their lives have changed forever.

(Edited by : Akanksha Upadhyay)

First Published:Nov 2, 2023 8:30 PM IST