Initiative to market handloom products

Antaran is training weavers to understand the market needs and run online stores

Antaran by Tata Trusts was launched in 2018 with the aim of preserving dying craft traditions across India. It is currently supporting artisans from Odisha, Assam, Nagaland, and Andhra Pradesh.

“Antaran originated from the fear that the future generation may drift away from the craft sector for various reasons. We started the programme to provide the right resources and education to these artisans, so they can better understand the changing market requirements and adapt to it,” says Sharda Gautam, anchor - Antaran Initiative, zonal manager at Tata Trusts.

A team comprising business management professionals, textile designers and local experts select artisans for the programme, based on their creativity and aspirations. They are then enrolled in an educational programme.

“The education imparted to the artisans has two components. Certain courses are around business management, textile design, how to use the Internet, etc. In the second part, we organise events in different cities to encourage them to interact with customers,” he says.

Last month, Antaran organised two such events in Bengaluru. “These events were not just about selling (their crafts). It was a part of their training to assess how they interact with customers, and if they are doing visual merchandising, costing, and billing properly,” adds Sharda. The objective of the training is to ensure the artisans are capable of taking control of their business, without the involvement of middlemen.

Abhiram Das, an artisan from Gopalpur, Odisha, says events like these are an eye-opener. “At the Bengaluru event, we learnt what the customers prefer and how we can cater to them. It was heartwarming to talk to customers who spoke passionately about how they still value local craftsmanship over the mass-produced clothes,” he says.

Abhiram weaves the Tussar silk. He was 14 years old when he learnt the craft from his father. He would assist him in warping, and dyeing the cloth.

Digital growth

Under the Antaran initiative, the artisans are also encouraged to build their business on the Internet.

Over the last two years, Abhiram has been working on building a social media presence. “I have learnt how to handle social media and promote my work on it. Instagram has especially been helpful. It helps me to stay in touch with my customers. I am getting many enquiries and orders via that,” he says. He can be found on @ardhandloom on Instagram.

Manju Rani Kalita, a weaver from Kamrup, Assam, in her 60s, has not been able to adapt to Instagram but has been growing her customer base through WhatsApp. “Getting orders and keeping track of everything has become convenient,” she says. She is particularly promoting ‘gamosa’, a handwoven cloth in white and red inlay that’s of great significance to the indigenous people of Assam.

While the pandemic did hamper her business, sales for Eri silk products have been slowly picking up post the second wave, she says. “Both the weavers and customers are back on track,” she adds.

Beaten by the pandemic, Abhiram had joined Antaran in September 2020. He says he is confident to keep his family’s tradition going.

“The positive response from the customers has encouraged me to keep the tradition alive and experiment with different weaves,” he says.

He has plans to expand his business, and experiment with tie-dye on Tussar.

Antaran 2.0

Artisans from Karnataka will be part of Antaran’s next batch of artisans in 2023. “With the first batch, we wanted to assess that what we were doing was effectively working for the artisans,” says Sharda. They will incorporate these learnings in their programme going forward.