IT’s a no-brainer. The cultural and creative industries have the potential to not only ensure regular work and employment for rural women and men in India, they are also kind to mother earth as they gobble less energy, being powered by people. These industries include handmade crafts for everyday use as well as for decorative purposes at festivals, weddings, folk dance or drama.
In the past, carpenters, ironsmiths and others made tools for farming and looms for weavers, and were kept busy most of the year, like the potters. With the introduction of tractors, threshers and other heavy machinery, most of them have lost local markets. A similar situation applies to handloom weavers, block printers and tie-dye artisans, who have lost local customers to cheaper mill-made, machine-printed fabric, and to export surplus knitwear — T-shirts and trousers for men which are comfortable, inexpensive and good for daily wear.