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Weaver service, design resource centre to open in Kullu
a weaver services and design resource centre will be set up in Kullu to encourage handicraft products of Himachal Pradesh besides providing a better platform for their export, Union minister for commerce and industry Piyush Goyal said on Sunday
a weaver services and design resource centre will be set up in Kullu to encourage handicraft products of Himachal Pradesh besides providing a better platform for their export, Union minister for commerce and industry Piyush Goyal said on Sunday.
He was interacting with handicrafts and handloom artisans under ‘Seva and Samarpan’ campaign on the golden jubilee of the statehood of Himachal Pradesh.
Goyal said Himachal has immense potential for handicraft, handloom and skill upgrade of artisans.
He said modern equipment and training will be imparted to prepare qualitative new designs in the weaver services centre. He said more attention is needed to modernise design, quality, packaging and marketing so that weavers get better prices for their products in the international market.
The Union minister suggested to organise district-wise exhibitions of the products in big cities, people associated with the textile industry and five-star hotels so that their branding can be done at national and international level.
He asked the weavers to get their trademark registered for which the central government had reduced the registration fee by 80%.
He also interacted with the entrepreneurs in district and distributed woodcraft, handloom, embroidery machines and certificates to the local handicraft and handloom artisans.
In his address, Himachal chief minister Jai Ram Thakur said necessary steps had been taken to encourage the artisans in state.
At present, there are 13,572 registered weavers in state whose livelihood is related to skill of weaving and embroidery. The handkerchief of Chamba along with Kullu shawl and cap and the shawl of Kinnaur had been given GI tags.
“To facilitate online sales platform for weavers, an MoU had been signed with Flipkart and the department is also doing online sales of products,” he said.
Jai Ram said there’s been a big change in design and quality of handicraft and handloom products in state in the last 50 years and thousands of families had made it a means of livelihood. He said Kullu handicraft, especially caps and shawls, are recognised internationally.
“When any head of state comes to India, the Prime Minister welcomes them with a ‘kullavi’ cap and muffler which is a matter of pride for the state,” he said.
He urged the weavers to preserve traditional clothes as they are associated with our culture.
