BENGALURU:
In line with its vision to transform the way India buys and sells, Amazon India in collaboration with various government bodies, has been consistently engaging with weavers and artisans across the country to help them find appreciative buyers and unlock the true potential of their skill sets.
1, 50,000 weavers & artisans across 15 states and 48 clusters in India are now using Amazon India’s marketplace through its ‘Kala Haat’ program to reach a diverse set of customers across the country. Over 1400 master weavers, co-operatives, artisans & APEX bodies have embraced online selling and are bringing the rich Indian heritage of handicrafts and handlooms to Indian customers’ doorsteps through Amazon.in’s ‘Handloom & Handicraft Store’. The Store now showcases 40,000 genuine handloom and handicraft products from over 20 states that represent India’s rich culture.
“In line with our vision to transform the way India sells, we provide weavers and craftsmen of all sizes and scale easy access to the most comprehensive suite of offerings to help them expand their business. Aligned with our sustained efforts to contribute to ‘Make in India’ initiative, we have been continuously engaging with the government to train weavers to embrace online selling and handhold them during their online journey.
At the same time, we strive to offer unmatched, authentic selection of handloom and handicraft products from all corners of the country to our customers. We are absolutely delighted by the remarkable progress that we have made over the years with average sales of weavers on ‘Handloom Store’ increasing 5x over 2017. It’s a proud moment for us! Our aim is to gradually include every possible handcrafted product on the store for the benefit of both – craftsmen and customers.” said Gopal Pillai. Director & GM, Seller Services, Amazon India.
Amazon.in has collaborated with multiple state & central govt. departments such as Gujarat Tribal Dev. Dept., Telangana Govt., UP Khadi and TRIFED to promote handlooms & handicrafts. The e-commerce leader has launched APCO (handloom) and Lepakshi (handicraft) in Telangana, Boyanika & Resham Shilpi (handloom) in Orissa; Priyadarshini, Cauvery Handlooms and Loomworld (handloom) in Karnataka & Tamil Nadu. It has also been working with NGOs such as Qasab, Shrujan & Khamir collectively to provide employment opportunities to over 20,000 women. Right from giving a new lease of life to Warangal hand woven carpets, also housed in London’s Victoria & Albert museum; to hand-painted leather lamps from Dharmavaram cluster that carry themes from Ramayana and Mahabharata, the e-commerce giant has been providing an incredible platform to various unique art and crafts form.
“I used to sell my products from my Gaddi (self-made counters for sales) for the longest time and was struggling despite all my efforts and toil to get the right value for my art. Initially, when I was approached by an Amazon.in executive to sell my products online, I was not sure about how everything would work or even if people would want to buy my products online. Once I was introduced to online selling and explained how easy it was to register on Amazon.in and start selling, I overcame my fears and expanded my business on the marketplace. I started to see immediate traction and in the last four months I have fulfilled 162 orders and have had sales of lakhs of rupees,” says Artafi Akram of Kashi Fancy Sarees from Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh selling Banarasi apparel on Amazon.in.
Providing India’s unmatched craftsmanship with a wider reach, the selection on ‘Handloom & Handicraft Store’ comprises of 104 unique craft forms including authentic merchandise with stunning, intricate designs from national award weavers. Right from Banarasi brocades, handpainted Madhubani sarees to Ilkal sarees which are hand knotted and in practice for more than 1200 years, Amazon India has been giving an enormous push to the weaver community to get online at lightning speed. Through its on-ground partner Prione, Amazon India has been conducting workshop across the country, penetrating deeper into various weaver clusters to educate, train and onboard thousands of weavers and craftsmen and put forward the real ‘Make in India’ offering to its customers.
