Karkhandar Scheme For Development Of Craft Sector

About Karkhandar Scheme For Development Of Craft Sector

This training and skill upgradation scheme comes from the Department of Industries & Commerce and is carried out by the Directorate of Handicraft & Handloom, Government of Jammu & Kashmir. Meritorious pass-out trainees and ex-trainees of departmental training centers are selected and given advanced skill training in crafts that are short of human resources and in crafts that are languishing. Registered Karkhanas/Karkhandars willing to take a batch of trainees and ex-trainees into their Karkhana are identified for this purpose. A small Karkhana takes a minimum of five trainees, while a big Karkhana can take a maximum of 10. For each craft, between a minimum of one and a maximum of five training programs are considered, each running for six months.

Objectives of the Scheme:

1. Bring languishing crafts back to life. 2. Raise the level of the learning techniques used by trainees. 3. Lift craftsmen’s wage earnings by bringing them together into collectives 4. Build links with producer organizations so that trainees develop entrepreneurship skills and aptitude.

Vision of the scheme:

Artisans are the backbone of the craft sector, yet they operate within an exploitative business chain that traps them in a vicious cycle of poverty and pessimism. Because of low wage earnings and weak socio-economic standing, many artisans, mostly the male folk, end up leaving craft work altogether. The scheme is expected to become one of the most effective ways of tackling the problems the artisan community faces. When pass-out trainees are exposed to the better productivity practices of producer groups, they can become more productive and benefit from upgrading their skills collectively. This supports sustainable livelihoods, since artisans gain direct access to customized production, new design development and technology-related modifications, and above all stay in touch with what the market demands.