Exploring technology for improving livelihood of craftsmen

byDhyan Suman(09633004)

GuideProf. Anirudha Joshi

Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of Master of Design in Interaction Design

Industrial Design CentreIndian Institute of TechnologyPowai, Mumbai2011

Interaction Design Project 3

Declaration

I declare that this written submission represents my ideas in my own

words and where others’ ideas or words have been included, I have

adequately cited and referenced the original sources. I also declare that

I have adhered to all principles of academic honesty and integrity and

have not misrepresented or fabricated or falsified any idea/data/fact/

source in my submission. I understand that any violation of the above

will be cause for disciplinary action by the Institute and can also evoke

penal action from the sources which have thus not been properly cited

or from whom proper permission has not been taken when needed.

_________________________________

(Signature)

________________________________

(Name of the student)

_________________________________

(Roll No.)

Date: __________

Approval sheet

The Interaction Design—Project 3 entitled ‘Exploring Technology for

Livelihood of Craftsmen’ by Dhyan Suman is approved, in partial fulfill-

ment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Design in Inter-

action Design.

Guide:

Chairman:

Internal Examiner:

External Examiner:

Acknowledgement

I would like to acknowledge the support of the following people for

their contribution and thank them for making it work out in a very suc-

cessful manner.

First of all I would like to thank my parents and family for their love,

blessings and support.

My special thanks to Prof. Anirudha Joshi, for his invaluable guidance

and support. I would also like to thank Prof. Ravi Poovaiah and Prof.

Pramod Khambete for their time to time inputs.

Also Sanjay Chippa and Mukesh Jajpura for helping me in user studies.

Contents

1. Overview

Abstract 1

Objective 3

Introduction 4

2. Literature review

Research papers & articles 6

3. Primary Study

Finalizing on User group 10

Pharad: about craft 13

The process 15

User study 21

The System 33

People and Process 37

4. Problems & Insights 38

What are the things that drive a craft 42

Experts views on craft 43

Why people buy 44

Consumer’s view 45

5. Parallel Study

Organizations working in craft sector 46

Business models 49

Grameen Bank 49

Amul 53

Ebay 57

Selling online 58

6. Design Brief

Design directions 59

Design Goal 61

7. Early Concepts 63

Concept 1 65

Concept 1.2 67

Concept 2 69

Concept 3 71

Concept 4 73

Concept 5 75

Concept 6 77

8. Final Concept 79

Working of system 82

Explorations 103

Final Interface 113

9. Evaluation 115

Reference 116

Bibliography 117

1

Abstract

The aim of the project is to use technology to help craftsmen in mar-keting/ reaching out to more customers. The project proposes a system involving Indian Postal Service and mobile technology to connect craftsmen to consumers on an online buyer-seller portal.

As part of this project various organizations working in craft sectors were analyzed and different types of business models (especially deal-ing with social benefit) were studied. A detailed analysis of Pharad craft from Bagru town was done.

The online portal is proposed to be one dedicated only to crafts where the buyers would be enlightened with crafts’ history, making process and to information about all the craftsmen connected to the system.

Also it was taken care that the solution should not force craftsmen to learn new technology to get benefited. A simple way of accessing to the online world of selling with the present knowledge of technology; in this case it was use of a basic mobile phone.

Keywords:Craftsmen, System design, mobile application

1. Overview

2

3

Objective

The earlier projects I did at IDC were mainly focused on learning

about electronics and tangible interaction, this time I wanted to ex-

pand my horizon by learning other skills in interaction design.

In this project I wanted to work for a real cause, issues inspired from

my past experience, thus I chose working for craftsmen. I always had

inclination towards crafts and through this project I would get a better

understanding of the business model followed and the opportunity to

come up with some solution that would help them. I also wanted to

do more user study and contextual inquiry based project to hone my

skills of interviewing and researching.

4

Introduction

India is land of vast variety, a land of vast diversity in climate, culture,

traditions, cuisines and crafts. The range and diversity of Indian craft

is incredible, it’s a reflection of connections with social, economic,

cultural and religious forces. The craft is a mirror of the deep-rooted

culture, rich heritage and the true character of Indian-ness; be it the

Papier-mache of Kashmir, the mashroo fabrics of Gujarat, the durries

of Rajasthan, the Chikankari of Lucknow, the meenakari and kundan

works of North India and many more.

Handicrafts and handloom is not source of livelihood of 130 lakh

weavers and artisans, buts also an environment friendly, energy sav-

ing form of art that has secured India’s presence in millions of home

across the globe[1].

These craft persons equipped with inherent skill, technique, and tra-

ditional craftsmanship are finding it difficult to compete with the vast

force of globalization. The local markets filled with cheap replicas of

crafts and all mass-produced items, makes it difficult for the crafts per-

son to survive; the look alike Banarasi saree and Kanchivaram sarees

mass produced in china, made up of synthetic yarn, might be very

reasonable and functional, but do not have the authenticity of place,

handmadeness and emotional value attached with the crafts. With

vanishing local haat culture (in detail in chapter 6), majority of Indian

craftsmen suffer from limitations in accessing and understanding pos-

sible new markets.

This project is an attempt to help the craftsman to create a niche for him-

self that would help him in sustaining himself and his family and to gener-

ate employment through his traditional knowledge and craftsmanship.

5

Methodology

Literature review•

Primary research•

Findings, insights and observations•

Identifying problem•

Design goal•

Initial concepts•

Final concept•

User testing & feedback•

6

Research papers & articles

In India, crafts is one of the major industry and India being one of the

important suppliers of the handicrafts to the world market. There has

been rapid growth of handicraft items in export and domestic market

since last few years (table 1 & 2). Though recent recession has also ef-

fected the handicrafts exports, employment has increased since 90s till

now; 19.7 % increase in 1994-95 (table 1) and there has been a con-

stant growth in number of people employed in handicrafts (table 2).

Paradoxically, with the growth in handicrafts, the struggling craftsmen

are not benefited. A report on Andhra Pradesh weavers by Gopinath

Reddy have harsh and tragic stories where talented and skilled weav-

ers have died from starvation or have committed suicide [2]. The

example of Andhra weavers is an extreme one, but a vast majority of

possessors of traditional knowledge are struggling to earn a living.

Source: Offices of the Development Commissioner (Handlooms, Handicraft s), Ministry of Textiles, New Delhi , India.

Table 2 Performance of Handicraft sector during 11th five year plan

2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 (P)

Handicrafts production (Rs crore)

38,660 31,940 19,376 20,221.5

Employment (lakh persons) handicrafts

67.69 69.72 71.81 73.96

Handicrafts export (Rs crore) 20,963 17,536 10,891 11,224.27

Source: National Sample Survey of Unorganized Manufacturing (45th and 51st rounds), 1989-90 and 1994-5, New Delhi , India.

Table 1 Handicrafts in India: Basic Statistics

2. Literature Review

7

According to numerous articles I went through, the major problems

faced by Indian craft person are —

Artisans generally lack knowledge of and access to means of •

increasing quality and productivity, especially in the areas of skill

development, design input (to meet market requirements), and

technical innovation (in such areas as labour saving methodology,

standardization, productivity enhancement and environmental

concerns and consumer safety) [3].

Craft producers who have lost their traditional markets often are not •

aware of the potential new markets for their products, in urban India

and abroad. The low level of education and rural orientation of the

majority of crafts people leave them vulnerable to exploitation by all

those middleman who are their only means of access to distant mar-

kets. Craft producers suffer greatly from lack of working capital and

access to credit and loan facilities. The producer who receives a large

order will often not be able to find the funds necessary to purchase raw

material in bulk, or to support the family while work is in process [3].

Various credit schemes are available to crafts person, primarily through

government institutions, but it is difficult for the uneducated artisan

to understand and access these programs, and its often impossible for

a poor crafts person to manage the necessary collateral or funds for

required bribes. Craftsmen generally suffer from weak marketing, lack

of negotiation power and inability to display their items in appropriate

manner. They need better market infrastructure, professionally orga-

nized exhibition of products at the international level, efficient system

of supply chain management, brand promotion and standardization [5].

When they do have the opportunity to interact directly with a •

buyer, the problems multiply. The essentially agrarian, rural world

view of the producer does not match with the exacting demands of

the international market, and experiments in direct market access

often end in a total failure[5].

A major disadvantage of this unorganized sector is the total lack of •

civic, professional and social service infrastructure. The individual

crafts person suffers from all of these problems. Scarce and irregu-

lar electricity, lack of good roads and absence of transportation

facilities are professional problems as well as daily aggravations.

Craft specific professional infrastructure—work sheds, storage

space, shipping and packaging facilities is totally lacking for most

rural crafts producers. And social services infrastructure—insur-

ance, medical care, pension plan is something beyond hope [3].

The crafts person in most cases gets little recognition or tangible •

reward for extraordinary skills or talents. The craft producer has

little means of protecting individual creative innovations or tradi-

tional community knowledge [4]. Copying is a way of life in India,

and exploitation is pervasive at every level. And craftsmen often

leak unique designs belonging to their clients to the highest bidder.

8

The exact ratio between the amount a crafts producer is paid for an •

item at source and the final selling price of that item is extremely

difficult to determine. These are matters of extreme secrecy for

dealers, traders, and exporters and crafts producers themselves are

reluctant to divulge this information. According a case study of a

single piece had the craft producer/retail ratio of 1:70 [3]. Handi-

craft export is certainly a profitable business, but little of the profit

reaches the hand of the creator. Craft producers who specialize in

unique, time consuming processes suffer competition from cheap

knockoffs in local markets.

9

Through numerous promotional schemes Government of India, State

government and other agencies has helped crafts of rural and urban

centers with great effect over past years. With intention to reach all

corners of the country Government has set up avenues with help of

handloom and handicrafts board and office of development commis-

sioner of handicrafts. Government support to crafts for a viable local

and export industry is visible through the consistent growth and de-

mand in handicraft in local and international market

Though Governments efforts to develop the handicraft sector, the earli-

er stated problems exists everywhere. Suggestions have been made by

the authors of these articles, on possible solutions to these problems.

To increase the income of crafts producers, the requirements are •

adaptation of skills and products to meet new market requirements

and improvement in market access and supply.

To sustain the traditional skill base and to protect the artisans’ •

traditional knowledge resources, the priority is development and

implementation of appropriate IPR legislation.

Adapting traditional skills to new products for changing markets. •

This adaptation can be accomplished in many areas in India, in-

cluding fashion, home furnishings and tourism.

Repositioning skills and products for upscale markets that appreci-•

ate and are willing to pay premiums for handcrafted quality and

character.

There are two main acts especially relevant to crafts –1) The Copy-

right Act of 1957 was amended in 1994 to afford greater protection to

original literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works. 2) The Trade and

Merchandize Marks Act of 1958 and The Design Act of 1911 have also

been replaced. The new Trademarks Act, among others, amplifies the

definition of trademarks to incorporate collective marks. [3]

We can see some of the good and successful examples of develop-

ment in few craft clusters. One of the most successful examples is

fashion designer Ritu Kumar, who has been working with traditional

textile artists since 1970s, to produce Indian and fusion clothing that is

finding an international market.

Two of the highly respected firm in craft—FabIndia and Anokhi, main-

taining the high standards in crafts with providing education, health

and other social program to their artisan group.

Some organizations (URMUL & SEWA) run by craft producers seems

to prove the possibility of community organizational structures that

function fairly effective, benefiting the artisans directly.

10

Finalizing on User Group

Since it would have been impossible to look at all the crafts for this

projects in the available time span, but it is my genuine wish to come

up with a solution that can help other craft clusters. For this project,

‘Pharad’ craft—hand block with natural dyes has been the focus of

study.

Finalizing on a groups of craftsmen or a craft from the hundreds of

available in India was quite a dilemma. Looking at the given time

frame for this project it was wiser to choose a craft from the perspec-

tive of understanding of language; that is choosing a craft where com-

municating with craftsmen is not a problem.

The best way to figure out number of crafts was to go through the

‘Handmade in India’ book. To my surprise there were 178 crafts

around north India where I believed I would be comfortable talking

to. The next criteria to narrow down was the closeness in distance and

time; how easy and fast to commute to the place. And finally on the

basis of the commercialization/exposure to the craft; is the craft dying

or flourishing or just managing to sustain itself.

3. Primary Study

11

With a soft corner for textile crafts, I finally chose ‘Pharad’—natural

dye hand block printing, as final crafts person group.

Another criteria for chosing craft was to look at crafts from its value

addition to the society. How does one decide whether a particular

craft is worth preserving or not ? With mechanized manufacturing pro-

cesses the products can be produced faster and at less product cost as

compared to handmade process, it feels that there might be no need

of few crafts in today’s world. But these crafts passed on from one

generation to another have the historical and traditional importance

which can not be measured. They are our direct connection with

the history. By not being judgemental about any craft and not to hurt

anyone’s feelings (directly/indirectly) I kept this criteria aside for time

being.

I chose five crafts near or around Jaipur, which I thought had potential

to do much better than they were doing presently, They were—

1. Natural perfumed dyes: Unfortunately, the crafts person I knew

who did this was no more and none of his son knew how to do it.

Sadly, this craft was never even documented.

2. Bakhtar craft: Its a craft of making iron dress used for battles us-

ing small loops of iron wire. There are few craftsmen in Udaipur area

who still make products out of this technique.

3. Pharad (natural dye hand block): Mainly from Bagru,

a small town near Jaipur, Pharad is the hand block printing using only

natural dyes. Traditionally only natural dyes were used in block print-

ing, but with exposure to easy to use chemical dyes, lots of printers

have stopped practising this craft.

4. Block making: Block making is a part of process in block print-

ing. There is a separate group of craftsmen who just make these wood-

en blocks.

5. Taziya making: Taziya is a structure of a mosque made for the

procession in Moharram festival of Muslims. The structure is usually

made by bamboo and the decorated with colored paper.

12

13

Pharad

About the Craft

Block printing is done in many places in Rajasthan, but Sanganer and

Bagru are quite famous with their style. Bagru, is a small town situated

at a distance of 32kms from Jaipur. Traditionally the Bagru hand block

print was done using natural colors and dyes, but craft persons have

started using chemical dyes. For getting rich colors in designs and

motifs prints, natural material like Indigo for blue, Alizarin for red, Iron

for black, Turmeric for bright yellow are used on cotton fabric.

There no written literature available to trace the starting of printing in

Bagru. According to a legend, the hand printer community ‘Chippa’

came to Bagru around 350 yrs. ago from Sawai Madhopur, Alwar,

Jhunjhunu and Sikar.

Another insight on ‘chippa’ settling down in Bagru was availability

suitable conditions for dyeing and printing and availability of water—

Sanjariya river, which used to provide water to the town has turned

into a dirty nala today. The Bagru town has around 130-140 families

who does block printing, but very few are remaining who do it with

natural colors.

14

Figure 4. A sequence model from manufacturing to buyers, made by the user

15

The Process

1. First the grey fabric is kept overnight or for a day in water mixed

with T.R.O. (earlier cow dung was used in place of TRO) to remove

starch. Next day the fabric is washed to remove the starch and

other impurities.

2. Once the fabric is dried, it is then treated in a mixture of Harda,

Gingelly oil in water and then spread on ground for drying (fig 4).

After drying the fabric will be ready for printing.

3. First the outline of the motif is printed with a dark color paste made

out of natural ingredients (fig 5).

4. After printing the fabric is washed to remove extra gum and is dried

again.

Figure 4. Harda treatment of fabric

Figure 5. Block printing

16

5. Now the cloth is treated with alizarin process. A furnace is pre-

pared where alizarin, dhawari flowers are boiled in a copper vessel

to get rich shade of red (fig 6). Once Alizarin process is over con-

go-red color is added to the dye bath and the fabric is boiled for

another half an hour and washed with clean water at the end.

6. Before sending the fabric for next step of printing, ‘kundi’ a substi-

tute to ironing is performed.

Figure 6. fabric being dyed in Alizarin.

17

7. Thereafter, the resist or Dabu (fig 7 & 8) is applied and cloth is

dried in sun again. As name suggest it resists parts of fabric where

we don’t want the dye to go.

8. The fabric is then dyed in cold nasphal dye bath, which was pre-

pared a day before. The fabric is kept in dye bath for few minutes

and taken out and dried again.

Figure 7. Dabu printing Figure 8. Fabric before and after Dabu printing

18

9. The dried fabric is then put in the indigo dye bath (fig 9). This pro-

cess would give the fabric blackish blue color. The fabrics is again

dried under the sun.

10. Next process is fixing the colors by treating the fabric in alum

solution. The alum weaken the resist paste, so it can be easily

washed out in next process. The fabric is again kept for drying.

11. The fabric is then thoroughly washed in clean water to remove the

resist paste and extra dye (fig 10).

Once dried and ironed the fabric is ready to use.

Few of Pharad patterns require a second dabu printing at the end of

whole process and hence making the process even lengthier.

Figure 9. Indigo dye bath Figure 10. Finished fabric kept for drying

19

Pharad in past have been mainly used by the localities. Especially

women of different castes wore as printed skirts (Ghaghra, fig 11) and

duppatta. Specific motifs and color denoted a particular catse, for ex-

ample Gurjar wore Asmani Pharad with motifs of Dhania, Chobundi

and Pat. According to attire people could verify the community. Now

a days, Pharad got extended to sarees, stoles, shirts, table covers and

bed covers.

Figure 11. Localite wearing pharad skirt

Figure 12. Pharad printsPeople mostly confuse Sanganeri prints (fig 13) with Pharad prints (fig

14). The Sanganeri prints are mainly done on white base, while Pharad

has various shades of natural dyes. The speciality of Pharad is in creat-

ing so many shades in natural dyes by using blocks precisely and by

following the manufacturing process correctly. After so many washes

the grains of the fabric loose their position and it become tricky to put

the dabu block in right place. This precision comes with practice and

cannot be achieved in screen printing.

Figure 13. Sanganeri print Figure 14. Pharad print

20

USER

Aspirations

Source of Income

Business model

Mode of transaction

Fragmentation

Behaviourself esteem

Technology

Govt. schemes

Nature of craft

Fragmentation

Challenges

Family

User Profile Mapping

21

User Study

As described earlier the users or the final group was chosen according

to the craft they were doing. In the case here it was Pharad, I started

with one user I knew and got contacts of other craftsmen in this craft.

The user study is done with the aim of getting information about the

users, understanding their environment, their opinions, their goals and

factors that effect their life.

The contextual interviews were conducted mostly in Bagru and one

of it in Jaipur. The user group consist of four users, two of them from

the next generation of the craftsman’s family and two from the older

generation.

User 1Mr. Sanjay Chippa, a craftsman, designer and businessman

User 2Mr. Ratan lal, hand block printer

User 3Mr. Mukesh Jajpura, craftsman and businessman

User 4Mr. Sachin Chippa, hand block printer

22

User 1

Male, 25, (Designer & printer), married, graduation in design from

IICD,

family of five, lives in Jaipur

He is also a craftsman turned into entrepreneur. He studied in Indian

institute of Craft and Design where his fees was waived off because he

belonged to crafts family. He knew the importance of craft and did his

graduation in design from IICD.

Only few families practice ‘Pharad’ style of printing at present. The

craft itself is expensive in manufacturing, including various steps of

dyeing, block printing and resisting process.

The skills of the craftsmen is degrading in terms of natural dyeing pro-

cess and fine quality of block printing.

Most of the craftsmen have the midset for ensuring quantity and not

quality.

He is eager to know more about natural dyes and how to create more

shades.

He has never tried selling his product online, but would not mind it.

He has few permanent buyers and otherwise sells through exhibitions

organized by govt. and private organizations. He does not export him-

self but sell to few buyers who does export of it.

The exhibitions system has lottery system to allot space for craftsmen,

due to high demand of craftsmen trying to display.

The big buyers like FabIndia usually give less as compared to the price

in wholesale market, thus making craftsmen to cut down on quality,

skipping few process in dyeing or shifting to cheap dyes.

Other than that there are few designers to whom he sells his product.

Till his father was handling the craft, he was able to make around 4

lakh per annum as turnover for a family of five. Now he mainly works

on the natural dyes ‘pharad’ and with little design intervention has

been able to increase the turn over to 30 lakh in just 1.5 yr.

Since the process is expensive his products are a bit expensive as

compared to the market, and few of his buyers did try other craftsmen

for less amount but no one can give the quality he is providing and so

does his buyers came to him only for that.

Its just not possible for someone to get the same thing with natural

dyes and with screen printing, that’s his USP and with more awareness

towards eco friendly dyes and going organic way this craft can gain

more popularity.

23

User 2

Male, 65-68yrs, printer, married, two daughters married.

He and his wife, lives in Bagru

He used to work in Pharad printing earlier. At present he does the

Dabu resist. He has been working in hand block printing around 50+

yrs. Hand block printing has been passed on from generation to gen-

eration in his family.

“I have become old and do not have the power in my body to do

Pharad anymore”.

“Only old and learned people can do Pharad. The new generation

kids do not have the skills do it. That’s why it has become less.”He does not have any son. He has two daughters who are married,

now its him and his wife. His daughters are married in the family of

block printers. One stays in Bagru and another stays in Jaipur.

Other than dabu resist work, his wife has a small suitcase based shop

(opened recently), selling biscuits, paan, biddi, tobacco etc.

The ‘seth’ provides him with material, resist paste and the blocks to

work.

“I have become a labourer”.

Pharad work is done in Bagru only, Sanganer has totally turned to

screen printing now. Sanganer printers do not have the skills to do

Pharad.

“I had a business earlier. Worked for clients from Delhi. Had two

tables also, did all the work, but now I have become old and can not

do anything.”“karo aap kuch, order- worder laao”

His business closed down because of shortage of craftsmen to work

and he did not had any son also to take care of business.

The speed of work depends on his health; If he is not well then cannot

even finish 10 mts in a day otherwise if he is able to sit for long he can

do 100 mts in day.

For Pharad, in a month one can produce 300-400 mts including all

the processes. Pharad is time taking process and now its value is not

much.

“Earlier I used to develop around 600 mts fabric of Pharad.”Earlier they used to prepare the whole fabric by themselves and sell it

in the monthly haat at ‘choti chaupar’ in Jaipur.

24

“We used to start early in the morning, around 5 am and reach there

by 6, sell the material and return to home by evening. By 8-9 o’ clock

everything used to be sold.”

Yes I do have a mobile. I do not give my number to people. “pare-

shaan karte hain.”I don’t go and ask for work. If ‘seth’ has got work to do, he will come

and give material and things to him. “kaam karana hai to ghar aana

hai”.

The money is usually given at the end. Sometimes a part of it is given

in advance. His workplace is his home. He has never tried or went

to join bigger units of block printing. He is paid 1-2 rs. per/mt, It may

vary also depending upon the intricacy of the print. If I am not well I

sometimes do not take the orders.

I have built this house and got my two daughters married by this craft.

No, I don’t have bank account. I haven’t opened the account.

“pet hi nahi barata hai hamara, to jama kahan se karwayenge hum?”The dealing is usually just word of mouth.

No paper slip or written things is done for record.

His wife does the final check or repair work of the resist before giving

it back to ‘seth’.

25

User 3

Male, 25 yrs, printer, married, M.com,

lives in joint family, lives in Bagru

His unit has block printers from his family and other from his cast

(chippa). Earlier his father and grandfather used to print Pharad, but

now only his grandfather do it regularly. His grandfather used to go

to Haat in choti chaupar in Jaipur to sell fabric, around 25 ago. There

were 10-15 families in Bagru, who used to do Pharad.

Since the process is lengthy the final costing of the fabric is relatively

high. The size of the block for Pharad printing is usually small and thus

lots of printers do not want to do such a labour intensive work. For a

normal hand block printing on an average a craftsman can do 60-70

mts in a day , but in Pharad he might be able to do just 30 mts. in a

day.

People who understand about natural dye, only they buy this fabric.

Monsoon and winter season is not favorable for printing.

He showed the images from a fashion show where his fabric was used.

He used to give to DCH (govt. organization) but have stopped since last

6-7 years. DCH used to give less money. The fabric cost has increase 30

to 40 rs. and even the raw materials are expensive, so the price of final

fabric increased, but DCH still wanted to give less amount. One more

trouble was that each piece of fabric was checked again at their office.

So if he went in morning to DCH office in Jaipur for say 200 pcs. It will

be night by the time he would finish rechecking of the pieces.

His father tried to supply to fabindia, his father went to Delhi for that,

but did not have any connections or known people in fabindia. For

example, if he gave his samples of fabric to fabindia, but they would

give order to their known supplier to get screen printed.

“Today most of the Fabindia print is screen printed, even in anokhi.”Pharad can not be screen printed. If tried screen printing the motifs,

would not come at right place.

“aajkal customer ko chahiye thoda reasonable rate aur quality achhi”“We have been working for this customer since 9-10 yrs, now we

know the sized he requires. For example he has written 103 table

cloths, we know which size he wants.”Sometimes he makes the designs and sometimes customer too gives

designs. Then he will give it to block makers to make blocks of that

design. The designs and samples are usually sent through courier.

He has customers from Delhi who exports. He has been thinking of

doing export. One of their customer from Jaipur does export.

There are lots of things involved in export; you need license, then

there is quality factor, the money transaction, sometimes buyers visit

26

the unit also. And finding buyer is difficult. Then how to supply, how

will the transaction or money transfer would happen.

“fir konsa form export ka, kya hai uska knowledge nahi hai”.

“export ke liye mediator hona achha rahata hai”He can supply the material to the mediator and sending / selling is his

botheration. Since they know the mediator (the person who exports)

they can ask for money anytime.

He told an incident of the person who exports, where an order of

4000-5000 pcs got cancelled because of late delivery. But he sold that

stuff next year

“apana hote to fans jaate.”Orders of table covers, coasters are repeated through out the year.

There is always demand of these products. One design goes on for

around 10-12 yrs.

One block can be used for around 1000 mts, after that it looses the

ability to absorb the dye and a new block has to be made. Presently

they get their blocks made in Bagru itself, earlier they used to get

blocks made from Jaipur.

He might not continue doing Pharad after his grandfather, since there

is no manpower to do.

He work on orders from customers. They keep order sheets with

details of no. of pcs. design and color combination. They keep order

sheets till 3-4 yrs with them. Sometimes he makes the sample and

send it to customers, then after approving they give order. The pc size

depends on what is it for like is it a saree, or table cover or dress mate-

rial. For around 500-1000 mt order the mode of payment is cheque.

For small orders cash is preferred.

He wants to increase business in printing base market; what are the

new trends, what customer wants, that comes in marketing. By mar-

keting we can outsource the production from printers and can take

good price from customers. for eg. fabric is around 35-40 p/mt +

25/30 p/mt printing outsourced and we can sell that at 90/100 to cus-

tomer. He had catalogue and visiting cards.

The delivery due date is usually 90 days. Usually printers take half

money in advance by 7-8 the day of work and rest when he gets all

the job done. Then it will take 8-10 days for packaging, then it goes to

customer. Then customers usually do the payment within 30-45 days

“The customer has become smart these days, he is risking our money

initially. He will add his profit to the order and sells it and when he

gets the money, he will pay us and keep the profit with him.”

Sometimes if we ask the customer gives some advance payment too

For a new customer we keep the cash transaction in cash. After gain-

ing trust then we do the cheque transaction and the payment period of

30 days.

27

Now a days they use money transfer as mode of payment. The cus-

tomer takes their account no. and deposits the money. Once its con-

firmed the delivery is done.

Internet is not working since 2-3 months lately. He searches for new

buyers on internet. On net you can search for the contact details and

meet them later on. But nothing can replace face to face talk.

If required by customer they get the door delivery done by transport

companies in Jaipur. For sending parcels they have to go to Sanganer.

28

User 4

Male, 40 yrs, (printer), married, education- 8th std,

family of three, lives in Bagru

He used to work in Kota printing sarees earlier. His whole family and

relatives stays in Kota, and most of them are in govt. services. Only

him, his wife and kid stays in Bagru. He is the only one who is in

printing.

His wife is working at the public water provider setup by govt at Anaaj

mandi. She has been working there since last 7 years in hope of get-

ting a permanent govt job. He is even ready to give bribe of 50-60k ,

or even 1 lakh for that.

He has helped a lot of people in getting jobs in units. He told the

story of his nephew, who earned around 80-100rs daily and was a

labourer. He has taught his nephew this craft and got him placed in a

unit in Sanganer. His nephew learnt the gold block printing there (1gm

pigment dye) and started earning good. Later he used to go to market

to supply the finished material. Now his nephew has his own unit and

around 30 block printers work for him. He works completely for the

local market of Jaipur. He never tried to open his own unit.

The craft and this business is not difficult, if someone has interest can

do quite good in this.

If you want to export then there are people in Jaipur and Delhi. You

can supply your material to them and they will export it, anywhere in

the world. Direct connection to client is usually not possible.

“Direct karna chaho to karlo, woh to contact hona chahiye na apna.”“Ab export ki knowledge to kya, sab ke bas ki baat nahi hai”

One can put up his showroom, have a good margin. The local market

has also developed now (normal printing). You have to send sample of

the design with four color variation to the client. When they approve,

they might order for 2000 /500/100 mts. If you have direct contact

with clients in Delhi, Mumbai. You can just make samples, get them

approved and outsource the manufacturing. Lot of outside clients

come to Bagru, some take ready stuff and some chose the sample on

fabric provided by printer for the order.

Preparation for pigment is not difficult. Buy the pigment dye and start

printing, it’s hassle free.

The fabric printed with rapid dyes has to be washed in acid and nitrate

mixture. Sanganer works in rapid dyes, all materials like dress materi-

als, bedcovers, dupattas, are done in rapid dyes. Rapid dyes require

more water than pigment. Pigment dye is not as fast as rapid dyes.

He didn’t know about the side effects of the chemical dyes.

29

For natural dyes here the water is kept on boiling and dawariya is

added. Then the fabric is put in that water and tossed for 1-2 hrs to get

the color.

“yeh mehnat ka kaam hai, Bagru ka kaam to kya hai bekaar hai pura.

lekin sabse badhiya kaam to kya hai ki pigment ka dye laao, pigment

lagao aur pigment ke upar as pass gold/silver ka patli line lagao.”Earlier direct gold color paste was used on odhani, lugadi, palla. Now

better gold powder is used (100gm/ per kg), with binder for better du-

rability. Here the demand is of traditional black and red color prepared

from iron, alum etc. for export.

In pigment one need not to do the final washing, the fabric is printed,

dried, ironed and given to the customer. Lots of sarees come in for

printing are printed, ironed and sent directly.

These stuff would not be bought by any other person, the standard VIP

people buy these sarees of rs. 1500, 2000, 2500 and on. They will use

it 3-4 times and wont use it more. These pieces (table covers) would

go to showrooms, wholesalers, big hotels. Will be used/washed twice/

thrice and will be thrown away.

If you want to get that in natural dyes, its difficult and laborious work.

But sarees are doing good, one can do business in sarees, have a

showroom or supply to showrooms. Now very less people do Pharad.

There is no manpower/craftsmen left to do pharad.

His has son, 10 yrs old. He doesn’t want him to teach this craft. He

himself does not have any interest in this craft anymore

“usse to padhayenge, likhayange.”We are printers, we just do the printing

There is a unit who works for a Sardar from Delhi, who does export.

Some foreign clients come directly to units. A Japanese used to come

His seth ji (owner of the unit) does not go out for orders. They work

for clients from Delhi, Ahmedabad.

“phone aa jata hai, phone par saare order ki baat ho jati hai.”

“Give me any design in print, I will certainly do it”, “I learnt the

work in just 7 days”Earlier we used to work with big size blocks, now they are no more

used. For sarees we used the metal wired blocks for finer lines and

worked with rapid dyes. Kota works mainly in saree printing. Most of

the supplies went to Gwalior, Indore, none was exported. Saree print-

ing was not practiced in Jaipur earlier, people did not knew about it.

Around 25-30 km away from Kota there is village of weavers where

30

Kota-malsuria sarees are made, it used to cost around 1500 rs. The du-

plicate of that is made in banaras and costs around 90-100. Earlier the

Kota-malsuria used to plain, now they have started using zari, giving

borders.

“aaj kal to kai hai, ki 1,2 ,3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, tak ginti sikha aur

sochta hai 100 tak ginti aagyi apan ko”Rapid dye is much better than pigment, the fabric might wear & tear

but the color won’t become dull. We have to do the matching of col-

ors initially and then the printing job.

Now a days lot of people have put up showrooms (shops) in Bagru.

Sometimes clients come to these showrooms, they are shown the unit

also and sold the ready stuff.

“aajkal to computer se hone lag gaya na yeh (printing)”If a hand block printer could do 50 mts in a day, screen printers used

to do 500 mts, so the hand block printing is less practiced .

He has worked for 18 years in a karkhana (unit) in Bagru. He left it to

see opportunities outside, to make contacts and to learn what is going

on. He went to Sanganer, Ajmer after that, gained lot of knowledge.

Then he did work for a seth near to Pushkar, who was into export busi-

ness. He worked there for 8 days and left the job. That village was too

far and separated, he didn’t like it there so left it. The seth asked him to

take advance money but to return back. He said that if would want he

would come back. He asked few printers to work for seth in that vil-

lage on 300 rs wages, but no one wants to go so far. The seth was even

ready to give 350/400 rs per day but no one is still ready.

“I have never gone to people to ask for work”“Jaise kisi ne pooch liya kahan laga hai…. Kahin nahi.. to mere ya-

han aaja.”Work is usually given through social links and known people. He has

worked in 5-6 places and know a lot of people. To get printers for a

unit is based on personal contacts. Like seth said we need more peo-

ple, I will ask people I know to join.

Printers work on daily basis and the fabric printed. For eg. on at rate

of 1.90 / rs 2 if he printed 100 mts in a day.. so he would earn around

200 rs. The price of printing is dependent on intricacy of block (no. of

blocks).

Sanganer has salary system. 9-5 job with 1 hr break for lunch. It has

security of fixed income, but here is the choice of work. Good skilled

craftsmen do not have problem of availability of work.

31

User 5

Male, 40 yrs, damaskas craft, lives in Udaipur

This user is a one in a million example of craftsman who are selling

online. Though he did not fall under our targeted group, it was a good

and interesting enough case to be studied.

He believes that he is the best in damaskas in Udaipur. He got to

know about ebay from one of his client who is also a good friend

around 7-8 years ago. His friend also taught him to use email, so they

can send orders through email. Even few exporters to whom he used

to supply products used Ebay. Everyone around him seemed using

Ebay.

He felt the need of trying it himself, so around 2-3 yrs ago, with two

of his other friends they registered a firm, got a credit card and current

account for Ebay. In team of three, one of them was a computer savvy

person and he was the one to handle all online things.

In beginning they uploaded ten products consisting of some folding

knife and some English knife. The first product got sold was the folding

knife and in a weeks time they sold around three products. Then they

added damaskas bar to their product list. They got really good re-

sponse and thirty-five feedbacks in a month’s time. In a period of three

months they sold around 40-50 items and had a sale of about 1.5 to 2

lakh rupees. They continued to sell on Ebay for another 6 months and

later quit because Ebay started charging a lot.

Through Ebay they got connected to lots of other clients. They even

got few big orders from them, but could handle in such large quantity

and hence lost business with those clients. He prefers selling in local

market than exporting, as a minor change in product or a 2-3 days

delay do not matter much in here.

They have different prices for different customers; for a new client they

would sell a product on 200% margin and to their old and regular cli-

ents sometime they sell at 25-30% margin. On Ebay they used to sell

at 300-400% margin, but the quantity was too less.

For Ebay the product was wrapped in foam sheet and then bubble sheet

with company’s hot seal on it, whereas for local market, they just wrap it up

in an old newspaper and give it.

There were no issues with trust factor with Ebay, seeing as it asks for a

security deposit from buyer and the seller. In case there was any fraud, Ebay

took the responsibility. Still he feels more convenient dealing in local mar-

ket, as Ebay is too strict with deadlines, quality checks and other regulations

and one have to wait for 10-14 days to see if his products are sold. While

dealing in local market they can ask for an advance (around 70-80%) on a

bigger order whereas Ebay doesn’t have that option. Lastly Ebay was never

their primary source of income, it was more like a side business. One can-

not really guarantee the number of pieces would sell on Ebay.

Recently he has started working with few designers and feels that the design

intervention has helped in preserving their craft and also increased their

income.

32

Craftsman CustomerHAAT

Craftsman Customer

Middleman

Figure 15. Business model earlier (20-25yrs ago)

Figure 16. Middleman’s entry in the business model

33

The System

The Pharad craft or for that matter most of the craft business/industry

have different tasks performed by different members of the system. We

can divide the system on two distinct activities—

1. Production of the Pharad

2. Marketing of it.

Through user study we learnt that around 20-25 yrs. ago the business

model was totally different from what it is now. The crafts person used

to do the whole process of washing, printing and dyeing by them-

selves and sell their products to the customers at the monthly Haat

bazaar held at choti chaupar in Jaipur. Ideally this business model

was perfect where the there was no middle man and the whole profit

went directly to crafts person (fig 15). But then the demand and the

production was limited and the craftsman was capable in meeting the

demand with quality work. With increase in demand crafts person had

lot to produce and hence opportunity for a mediator between craft

producer and consumer came. Then the marketing was handled by the

mediator (fig 16).

34

Craftsman Customer

Business man

Washer

Printer

Resist

Local merchant

ExhibitionsGovt./private

body

Showroom

Export

Designer

Figure 17. Business model at present

35

0

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According to the statistics by EPCH (fig 18) the rise in export of handi-

crafts can be seen from 1997-98 and since then it has increased a lot.

So with the growing market the craftsmen were bound to produce

more and with help of chemical dyes the speed of production also in-

creased. The lure international buyers mediators wants craft products

at throw away prices, this lead to the degradation of quality in craft

and a new mentality in craftsmen developed of quantity then quality

in products. Though the quantity in work grew but at the price of fine

craftsmanship and the whole essence of the craft.

In present system lot of middle men are there at various steps between

craftsmen and consumer. Middlemen or the mediator does not always

mean a bad thing, some add value to the system.

The present system also shows the fragmentation or division of work

among the craftsmen (fig 17). Earlier the work which was totally done

by one crafts person/family is now divided in different groups. There

are few people who just do the washing of the fabric, other do the

printing of the fabric, some other group would do the resist part. To

be optimistic in approach, we can say that there has been increase in

work and thus division of work make it more efficient for the system

to produce more, for e.g. if a single crafts

person had to do all thing on himself today

he might not have been able to complete

even one order.

Other than through mediators, craftsmen

sell their products in the exhibitions and

fairs organized by government and private

organizations. But chances of getting a stall

is less since no. of craftsmen are more and

the final decision is taken through lottery

system.

Source: Export Promotion Council for Handicraft

Figure 18. Exports of Handicrafts

36

washing dyeing

blockprinting

18

4

32 5

67

-VE +VE

• too muchwashing•no machinesused in washing•washer man isfrom printersʼcommunity

• printers neednot worry aboutwashing•happens early inthe morning, sothey get wholeday free

SHOP/HOME

-VE•bad presentation•Donʼt know howto sell story. Weakmarketing

+VE•platform tocontact customersdirectly

DEALERS

-VE•eat up lot of profit ofthe product•mentality ofproducing more-lowskills and bad qualityproducts

+VE•marketing no hasslefor craftsmen•do not need to replyon final consumer formoney•gets bigger orders•He is the link to globalmarketing•adds value to productby nice presentation

Govt./NGOsexhibition

-VE•lottery system•Govt. offices giveless money•bribing people toget schemessanctioned

+VE•direct contactwith customers•exposure to newmarket•workshops andschemes forcraftsmen

consumer

Figure 19. From manufacturing to final product and people involved

37

People and Process

I have tried to look at positive side and negative side of process and

people involved in the system. Lets start with the manufacturing pro-

cess (fig 19).

For Pharad craft it takes around 8 steps of washing, dyeing and print-

ing stretched over a period of 8 to 11 days, to make a final product. It

is quite lengthy and time taking process, and involves lot of washing

by a group in the printers’ community. Washing in it self is not a craft

and mechanizing the washing process could save time and manpower.

But if look at the positive side, other printers and dyers do not need

to worry about the washing part as there a dedicated group for doing

that. The washing starts early in the morning around 4am and finishes

by 11 am, thus the washer men have the whole day almost free.

The final product is then passed through three type of groups before

reaching to the customer – 1)home/shop, 2)dealers, and 3) Govt. &

NGOs organized exhibitions.

1. Home/shop – Few of the craftsmen have made a small outside

their houses or in the local market or sometimes deal directly from

their home. These types of setup definitely help them and provide a

platform to reach the local customers and clients directly, without the

middleman.

2. Dealers – here by dealers I mean the wholesalers, the showroom

owners, the exporters and designers. We always have a stereotypical

image of the middleman, who only thinks of his profits and exploits

the producers to the fullest, but it’s not case in real life. They provide a

hassle free marketing to the craftsmen; it came out from the user study

that most of the craftsmen wanted to have the mediator to handle the

transaction and paper work part, because they do not want to get into

complexity. The craftsmen also need not reply on the final customer

for money, the middleman directly pays them. It’s through the media-

tors that the craftsmen are able to get bigger orders. He is their link to

the global market. Dealers like showroom owners and designers add

value to the craftsmen products. The middleman seems to have lot

of positive effects on craftsmen but as said and believed they do take

a major portion from the profits. Getting bigger order and demand

of competitive price have resulted in developing a mentality among

craftsmen of producing more with compromise on the quality.

3. Govt. & NGOs organized exhibitions – the exhibitions

provide lot of opportunity for the craftsmen to get directly connected

with clients, exposure to new places and new markets. Indirectly these

exhibitions help craftsmen to improve on their presentation part. These

organizations also conduct workshops for craftsmen and have welfare

schemes for them. But getting a space in exhibitions is very difficult, as

numbers of booths are limited and very less as compared to number of

craftsmen eager to exhibit. The booths are allotted on lottery system.

Govt. introduces a lot of schemes for the rural and craftsmen sector,

but to get benefit of that one needs to bribe officials at various level in

govt. offices.

38

Problems & Insights

Challenges with the craft

Raw material sourcing

Raw material for natural dyes is not easily available. The craftsmen

have to go to Jaipur to buy it.

Lengthy manufacturing process

Due to so many steps involved in Pharad, the final product become

very expensive as compared to the other products available in market.

Being a lengthy process also hinders production or taking orders for

large quantity.

Deteriorating skills

With very less demand of high quality products, craftsmen have lost

their skills of doing fine work. A common mentality has developed to

produce more than focusing on quality of the product. So for a craft

person who wants to produce quality Pharad, the availability of skilled

craft person is difficult.

Season dependent

The craft has lot of steps in process where the fabric needs to be dried

under the son, hence winter and monsoon are not good period for

printing and dyeing.

4. Problems & Insights

39

Limited buyers

According to users the most difficult part of the craft is finding clients.

Today consumer wants reasonable and durable product, and would

not mind buying machine made/ printed fabric. The customers for

Pharad are very limited; only once who know and understand the

beauty of this craft buy it. With earlier business model where crafts-

men used to sell his product at haat bazaar to customers, he never had

to go and find customers. Customers used to come to them to buy.

With local markets gone and crafts person do not have access to the

global market and lacks awareness about potential new markets.

Information gap

The user wanted to know more about natural colors and techniques,

which he could not find from any source.

Three out of four users talked about exports, their fears related to it

and some stories of failed attempts to do export by other people. There

is lot of desire to grow in this craft, but fear of not knowing what to do,

holds them back.

Not many craftsmen knew about Government schemes and other

scholarships available for crafts persons’ children in education.

Exposure to market

The problem I see here is that the final profit does not go to the pro-

ducers, because they are working as laborers now for the middle-

man or the business man today. The system of division of work is very

similar to of any industry, but the main problem is that all these groups

work as an independent group and not as parts of a single organiza-

tion.

With many gaps in the system it become easy for middle man to enter

the system, and with each new middle man in the system reduces the

profit for craftsmen and increased price for customer.

Only few of the craftsmen who are exposed to the market and know

what sells, have been successful in getting connected with customers

directly.

40

Figure 21. A design sample from a buyer

Figure 20. Receipts and invoices from clients

41

Insights

Necessity of middleman

Based on user study few behaviors of users were noted down which

might be helpful in understanding the user. All the users agreed that

having a middleman is important. Its surprising because these are the

people whom we blame that are not letting the profit reach the craft

people. But I guess the craftsman do not want to tackle the hassle of

finding clients, getting orders, doing shipping and maintaining re-

cords.

Self esteem

It was seen in the older generation of craftsmen that they never go and

ask for work to people. If someone wants to get work done, they have

to come to the craftsman’s place. They get work through their social

network and known links. Though the users said that they do not ask

for work, during the interview one of the user asked me to get work

for him, this way he would not asking for work directly to people. I

think this is why they feel mediators are important.

A way of marketing their skills

The place where hand block printing is done is usually attached with

the craftsman’s house. It is a room, which has doors opening towards

the road outside house. It serves as a purpose of a shop, where the

craftsman wants others to know about his profession and the open

doors are an indication that he is open for taking work. It is like mar-

keting yourself.

Importance of networking

Networking within the community was observed. As mentioned earlier

that social network helps in getting work, freelance printers try to work

in different units to make more contacts. It is like securing ones future.

Awareness towards their rights

Bagru has a committee of printers and they have applied to get pat-

ent of Bagru prints, after which an authentic seal would be provided

by Govt. to them. Awareness about getting authenticity seal, patent or

craftmark is developing in craftsmen.

Trading methods

In this craft, no transaction or deal is recorded on paper within the

printer’s community. For buyers, yes they do have proper order sheets,

bills that are given to clients and design and color samples for produc-

tion (fig 20 & 21).

Inheritor of the tradition

Having son decides if the craft would be passed on to the next gen-

eration or not. The girls are not taught this craft since they will get

married and go away, so girls are not looked up as someone who will

continue the tradition of craft.

Influential people

Most of hand block printers work on orders from the buyers or media-

tors of bigger clients. The buyer is a very important part of influencing

the craft, since they are the once who indirectly control the produc-

tion and the price.

42

What are things that drive a craft

After the user study I was thinking over a point that why craft products

sell? What are the things that add value to any craft product? What are

the elements to a particular craft product which increases its perceived

value?

With my understanding and experiences, its the skill of the crafts

person which adds value to the product. How well and intricately is

the work done is most important among the things that drive a craft.

Next thing would be the process or the technique used to perform that

skill, for example a fine handwoven shawl from Kashmir; here ‘fine’ is

the skill and ‘handwoven’ is the process or technique used. Later on

comes the material used to make that product and then the design or

motifs/pattern.

The whole charm of buying a craft product is the story of the craft and

craftsmen who has put in so much effort to make the product. Stories

sensitize the buyers towards the skills, process, material, design and

the efforts. Imagine you got a gift of a pair of wooden shoes made in

some part of Europe. What value does it have to you, just that it is

foreign made... nothing? But when someone tells you the story behind

that product, the value of that thing actually increases a lot.

We can also analyze at craft products from point of view of Don Nor-

man’s three level of design: Visceral (appearance), Behavioral (func-

tionality) and Reflective (emotional)[15]. Lets see it through an ex-

ample, a handwoven carpet from Kashmir is beautiful to look at with

its intricate patterns and also fulfills the its function as a carpet, but

what distinguishes it from the other machine made carpets is emotions

attached to it. Don Norman’s says that reflective level is about the

message, the culture and about the meaning of a product. The value

of the Kashmir carpet is in making process, its history and association

with place. Hand-crafted products are more than owning a product,

they reflect the buyers belief in the culture, the eye to appreciate effort

of the craftsmen and a contribution towards helping craft & craftsmen.

43

Experts views on craft

There are some great examples of organizations that have tried and

been successful in promoting craft’s value in India and abroad. One

of the organizations was Craftsbridge India Pvt. Ltd. started by Shibani

Jain.

“It was exciting to visualize a situation where we could be the bridge

between the rural/grass roots producer who has no market access and

the end buyer who has no idea about the craft producer and their sto-

ries. It was interesting from a social and creative perspective.”

–Shibani Jain [9]

Craftsbridge’s one of the main marketing tool was through Internet,

and their web site worked more as a promotional tool than getting

real business. Shibani suggested to have unique offerings, good tie-ups

with partner sites to get attention of right people and to have constant

renewal of content and offerings to promote one’s web site and make

it more productive in terms of generating business.

Another great example is Industree Crafts Pvt. Ltd. by Neelam Chib-

ber and Gita Ram who believes that charity doesn’t work if you want

people to be self-sustainable in livelihood, one needs to make profits.

“If you focus directly on your primary stakeholders, you cannot give

up on them.” – Neelam Chibber [10]

Industree crafts model works similar to Grameen bank model; the

stakeholders of Industree are the craftsmen who create the products.

Industree crafts also have a non-profit organization (Industree crafts

foundation) which assist the craftsmen in becoming entrepreneurs,

with micro loans and information on trends, techniques and materials.

“Handicrafts can make a great statement. People relate to the cultural

underpinning of a craft item when they pick up one,” says Adarsh

Kumar, one of the founding members of the All India Artisans & Craft

workers Welfare Association (AIACA) [11]

AIACA has been involved in reviving dying art and crafts across the

country. AIACA is also the one who has launched a certification trade-

mark called ‘Craftmark’. It’s a seal of authenticity on handmade prod-

uct accentuating that they are not machine-made. Craft producers,

organizations and companies can apply for Craftmark and a nominal

fee is charged for the same. Till now Craftmark is the only certifica-

tion mark for handmade craft products and a lot of big organizations

are using it like FabIndia, Dastakar, Anokhi, The Next Shop etc.

“Handcrafted items will always be in vogue,” says Kumar. According

to him, anyone who look for exclusivity for themselves or their home

go for handcrafted products, it’s stylish to own pieces that are not

churned out in industrial quantities.

44

Why people buy

According to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs human beings are animals

who constantly want. No matter how many of their needs have been

satisfied, they always struggle to reach higher levels and Maslow has

defined these needs in five levels. The first is of lowest and most pow-

erful needs, which includes hunger, thirst, sex, air and rest. The second

level is of security and safety needs. Third level of love and belong-

ing needs; human seek friendship, love, affection and will eventually

want to start a family. Fourth level is the level of esteem needs, where

people need respect, recognition, independence, importance and ap-

preciation. The fifth and the highest level is the self-actualization.

About 75% percent of buying decisions are based on unconscious

needs and wants, such as prestige , habit, or perceived values. Accord-

ing to marketing point of view, satisfying lower level needs first should

have priority; if the lower demands aren’t presently being met, selling

products that meet people’s higher needs would not help [12].

While buying customers especially women buyers go on the recom-

mendations from friends and acquaintances before they buy, and

if they are happy with a product or service, they will talk it up and

recommend it to others. Buyers look for products with warranties and

guaranties [13].

45

Consumer’s view

Retail buyers

Buying craft products online is not very ususal in India especially an

finding people who have bought craft product onoine was another big

task. After trying out contacts here and there, I decide to to talk to buy-

ers who buy or have bought garments or accessories online recently.

Informal telecommunications with them explained their concerns

about the authenticity of the web site and the brand (for web sites

where international brands are sold on discounted rates). To test the

system or gain confidence two of them chose the option of cash on

delivery for the first order. Those who used their cards ordered the

least expensive product initially.

For the cards security one of them look of secure word in the web ad-

dress and others look for the verisign and other security logo. Most of

the times they are recommended by their friends and known people to

such websites. Most of the websites also have no. of friends who have

liked it.

Before buying all of them followed the website for quite sometime.

One of buyer has stopped buying from her favorite discount web site

because of the price fluctuation. She explained the reason that once

she bought a watch and was pretty happy with the deal, but then after

a month or so the same model was available for really less.

Designers

A brief conversation with designers working with craft sector cleared

that whenever they need to look for a craftsman, they mostly prefer to

work with recommended ones, because it helps to assure the quality

of work, pricing of the products and reliability of deliverable. Word of

mouth seems to be most powerful among the designer community for

searching a craftsman. They also look if the crafts person has earlier

worked with designers or not, it helps since few craftsmen are not very

comfortable in making products other than their traditional ones.

46

Organizations working in Craft sector

There are many NGOs, organizations and companies working in craft

sector. A breif study of such organization would help me comparing

and analyzing my solution with what they are doing. I looked at few

organizations working helping people in craft sector.

Craft Council of India:Craft Council of India is a voluntary non-profit organization working

for the welfare or craftsmen and craftswas established in 1964. CCI

conducts workshops for craftsmen to learn about new techniques,

designs, new tools and new materials. CCI also have scholarship

programs for craftsmen’s children. Other than that CCI also focuses on

research and documentations of crafts.

Kala Raksha: Established in 1993 as a society and trust, Kala Raksha was started

as model for development through handicrafts, by preserving the age

old traditions and generating income with contemporary work. Kala

Raksha today work with around 1,000 embroiders and seven ethnic

communities [6]. Kala Raksha artisans also attend Preventive Health

Care and Basic Education programs.

5. Parallel Study

47

Industree crafts:Industree is a hybrid social enterprize started in 1994 in Bangalore,

supporting livelihoods of rural producers and agricultural workers.

Industree connects two ends of the spectrum - the producer and the

market, for this there are two entities , Industree Crafts pvt ltd with the

Mother Earth brand and Industree Crafts Foundation. Industree Crafts

Foundation was set up in the year 2000 to focus it’s work with rural

producers on developing design, technical and skill initiatives in the

natural fibre sector [14].

Rural Mart: Rural Mart are a collaboration of National Bank for Agriculture and

Rural Development (NABARD) and the Human Welfare Associa-

tion (HWA). NABARD has opened the first Rural mart in U.P. and

has launched the scheme of setting up Rural mart at district and sub

district level [5]. The aim is to facilitate both artisans and buyers, by

cutting down the middlemen. The Rural mart would be linked to the

website of the Consortium of Handicraft and Artisan Society.

Rural Mart as a concept sound quite similar to my project, where its

trying to cut down the middleman and provide opportunity to crafts-

men to meet buyers directly online. I do not know the details of how

Rural mart website system works, but my project also looks at giving

information about the craft, the process and the system mainly works

towards making it easier for the craftsmen to sell online.

48

Group of 5Center

(comprising of 8-10groups)

Area OfficeCentral Branch

Zonal Office

Figure 1. Workings structure of Grameen Bank

1,253,160 groups144,106 centers

2,562 Branch offices

Branch Office (comprizing of 50 centers)

83,458 villages covered7,970,616 members

49

Business Models

The craft field is huge in variety and it’s easy to get puzzled, as there

could be many ways to approach the subject. With advice of my

guide I started looking through different types of business models and

see how do they work, since in the end my project was to improving

craftsmen livelihood, or one can say generating more opportunity for

them.

Grameen Bank

Grameen Bank formaly established as Bank in 1983, reversed the

conventional banking practicing by removing the security and started

a system based on mutial trust and participation [7].

Grameen Bank is social business, a business that is cause driven rather

than profit driven. Muhammad Yunus describes that a social busi-

ness is company that is cause driven rather than profit driven, with

the potential to act as a change agent for the world. A social business

has to be self-sustaining, self-propelling, self-perpetuating and self-

expanding.

50

51

No one who borrows from Grameen Bank stands alone. Each belongs

to a self made group of five friends, no two them can be closely re-

lated. So when one wants to take out a loan, she needs approval from

the remaining four. 8-10 such group have their weekly meeting at

‘Center’.

Fifty of such centers for a ‘Branch’ office of Grameen bank, and then

five branch offices makes ‘Area’ office. Five area offices makes a Zonal

office and all zonal offices to the Central office (fig 1).

Similar to Grameen Bank where poor people were benefited, my

project also aimed at helping the craftsmen, who come in the bottom

of the piramid. Though I was not planning to help the craftsmen finan-

cially but by creating more opportunities for them to earn based on

their skills and knowledge. Looking at Grameen Bank’s case study and

its system increased my understanding towards social business models

and how we can use the cultural and social factors in the system.

52

Figure 2. Workings structure of Amul

53

Amul

Amul was founded in 1946 in leadership of Tribhuwandas Patel with

guidance from Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel and Morarji Desai, to stop

the exploitation of milk producers by the middlemen. It started with

two villages and 247 ltr. of milk [8].

Amul is a cooperative system which places the instruments of the de-

velopment in the hands of farmers. It is owned by the 2.6 million milk

producers of Gujarat, who daily travel to give the milk at the Village

Dairy co-ooperative Society. In village dairy a managing committee

is chosen by milk producers, who choose the chairman. The price of

milk is given on basis of quality and quantity.

The milk then travels to District Unions for packaging and for other

milk products. District union owns and operates a balancing dairy

plants. a borad of directors is chosen by chairmen of Village Dairy Co-

opeative society. The board of directors then choose their Chairman.

54

55

The milk and milk products then go to the State Federation, from

where the centralized marketing, common branding and quality con-

trol takes place.

The District Unions also provide good quality cattle feed for bet-

ter quality of milk, Vet services, Rural health schemes, dividends on

shares and bonus to Village Dairy co-operatives to benefir milk pro-

ducers (fig 2).

Amul is one of the great examples of unity of people against exploi-

tation and developing a co-operative system which benefited their

people directly. In present scenario of the craft I studied for project,

the craftsmen are competing with eachother and thus giving more op-

portunity for middleman to take advantage. It would be an ideal situa-

tion where all the craftsmen of a place work as a co-opeartive society,

but for it we need great leaders from the craftsmen’s society.

56

Seller Buyer

Lists theitems at Ebay

Highest bidderwins

Buyer pays for the item plusshipping charges and

handling fees through ebay.

A fee is paid by sellerto ebay for the solditem

Buyer ships the itemto seller

Figure 3. Ebay’s business model

57

Ebay

Ebay is actually a broker which brings buyers and sellers together and

takes fee or commission on successful transactions (fig 3). The advan-

tages of having an online platform are:

Not effected by the space limitation. Its a virtual space and there •

is no actual limit to it. More and more sellers can put up thingsfor

sale without worrying about space.

No limitation of location. Since it is online and not fixed at par-•

ticular place, anyone with internet connection and browser can

connect to Ebay.

The auction broking system of Ebay is such that it continues on its •

own.

Geographical locations do not mean anything. Any product put up •

on Ebay would cost same all over the world, even if the seller lives

right next to your house.

•

The system of Ebay was studied to understand things involved in an

online buyer-seller platform. Ebay and other portals provide a place

where the manufacturer can contact the consumers directly without

a lot of middlemen in the cycle. It can provide a good opportunity to

craftsmen to reach its consumers all over the world.

Till now, such portals required buyers and sellers to have good knowl-

edge of operating computers and have credit card, company name

and other bank requirements, which seems too much to ask from the

user group I was dealing with.

58

Selling online

A few parameters to keep in mind while selling online:

Making people safe when they order from your web site. Using a •

secure server for payment and affirming that all their information

will be kept confidential.

Its important to remind people to visit your web site through e-•

mags, subscriptions, alerts etc. People usually don’t purchase at

the first time they visit. The more they visit your site, greater the

chances they will buy from your web site.

Customers feel comfortable when they know from whom they are •

buying. It is advisable to have ‘about us’ section with business de-

tails, history of company and contact information.

Having a professional look to your web site helps in building trust •

with customer. The web site should be easy to navigate through.

Accepting different modes of payments.•

Your advertisements and marketing techniques should attract •

you’re your target audience.

Creating urgency to buy your product. If there is no urgency, •

people put off buying for later on even if they are interested in a

product.

59

Design directions

Based on the user study and the analysis of the process, I could see

two broad approaches towards designing the solution.

1) Improved and streamlined production process:

Better washing & drying solution for the manufacturing process, •

which consumes less water

Making block making fast and easier to use.•

Making use of the rejected blocks.•

Better packaging for value addition to the product.•

Less time consuming patterns that also go with global trends.•

Introducing new materials and new products.•

Developing more shades with natural dyes.•

A system that makes manufacturing process more efficient; con-•

suming less water, faster production with no compromise on qual-

ity.

2) System for marketing and selling craft:

Designing a cooperative system for Bagru printers where instead of •

competing with each other they will make mark in global market.

This would also help them in handling bigger orders and because

of no competition among themselves; they can quote their desired

price. The profit would also come directly to them, which can be

used for their community’s welfare.

A system for authenticating the craft; Govt. Seal, Craftsmark, Intel-•

lectual property rights for their designs.

Empowering craftsmen with information/opportunities.•

Bridging the gap between craftsman-consumers.•

6. Design Brief

60

Exposure to the online world of selling products.•

Connecting craftsmen and designers.•

Making a directory of craftsmen with details for their expertise.•

Making easy to source raw material and dispatching orders.•

Improving on marketing skills and techniques.•

Conceptual model of how to start export and approach buyers. •

Improvement in production process is an interesting direction to work

on, but most of the ideas I could think of were related to product de-

signing or textile designing and to come up with a system for efficient

production, first the printer community needs to have a unity or work

as a team. Through literature review and primary research, problems

of information gap, reaching the consumers and marketing were

among the main problems. So I opted for second approach towards

designing the solution ‘system for marketing and selling crafts’. Based

on it the Design Goal was defined.

61

Design Goal

Designing a system that

Bridges gap between craftsmen and consumer.•

Provide exposure to the online world of selling online.•

Empower craftsmen to required information.•

62

63

Early Concepts

The solution was a system design and from beginning I was sure that I

wanted to infuse other existing system in my proposed system design.

It was observed from other ICT projects that creating a totally new

system might not really work; the best example is the kiosk system,

which weren’t a hit among targeted users. I feel that it’s always better

to add something to the existing system or combine two-three systems

and create a new one.

7. Early Concepts

64

Figure 22. A Kiosk based system model with local cyber cafe’ person involved

65

Concept 1

A craft product gets its value adding only when there is a story at-

tached to it. If a buyer who doesn’t have any knowledge of a craft,

might not cherish a handcrafted product well unless he knew the his-

tory of craft, the cultural/religious value and the hardship went behind

that product.

This concept is about a portal of Crafts in India, similar to a web ver-

sion of ‘Handmade in India’ book, which tells the tale of the craft, the

makers of it and then links to a platform for buying that craft products

(fig 22).

The products can be uploaded by craftsman from a kiosk set up at a

cyber café in his village. Here, I have tried to involve the cyber cafe

guy who will actually do the uploading process and he can charge a

small amount per use/ per upload. The idea was inspired from present

scenario of booking train tickets with help of cyber café person, who

acts like an agent.

The kiosk suggested here is a tiny tabletop kiosk always connected to

the server with a camera fixed with pre installed settings. For transac-

tion purpose the craftsman can submit his account information in his

account on the server through kiosk.

It’s advantage

Till now there haven’t been good online information portal that takes

through the journey of Indian crafts, craftsmen and also have the op-

tion of buying craft products directly from craftsmen. The concept tries

to fill that missing link and provide an opportunity to craft producer to

connect to the global market.

Through this model the craftsmen need not to learn about comput-

ers and how to operate Internet, the cyber café person who is already

have become a comfortable with that technology can help the crafts-

man and earn an extra income.

It’s limitations

As learnt from the earlier projects in ICTD in India, kiosks have not

been very successful (give Kentaro’s paper ref). From the user study

that most of the craftsmen would never go and ask for work to people.

If someone wants to get work done, they have to come to the crafts-

man’s place. So chances of them going to kiosk with their product are

a bit less.

Till the product is small and easy to carry, it is possible to get it to the

kiosk, but if it is furniture or a product in stone, something big in size,

it will become difficult for the craftsmen and the cyber café person to

upload the image.

66

Figure 23. A Telemarketing service initiated system, to upload data through phone

67

Concept 1.2

This concept is similar to the earlier concept; the basic difference is

that the registration, uploading of product and other information is

handled by the telemarketing service centers (fig 23). Since most of

the craftsmen own mobile, its not very difficult to reach them.

The process is that telemarketers ask through sms to craftsman if they

want to be listed on the server, on replying ‘yes’ the telemarketers call

them and open their account with their details and also sends a small

app to their phone. The app would be embedded with tutorials of how

to use the system, with facility to sending the images of their products

to the telemarketers company. The telemarketing company then up-

loads images of the product to various online portals like ebay, rediff,

amazon, etsy etc. sms alerts are sent to craftsmen on sell, transactions,

or any changes.

It’s advantages

This system gives the craftsman the freedom to upload his products’

images, his information, and access account from his mobile. As com-

pared to earlier concept, the craftsman need not to take his products

to any kiosk and the issue of size of product is also taken care. The

craftsman can also upload videos of the craft products.

It’s limitations

To have full advantage of this system, the craftsmen are required to

have a cell phone supporting good quality image & video facility and

GPRs/3G connection. The uploading of images & videos and access-

ing account might cost them a bit, since the mobile network provider

would provide this service. Teaching them to use this application

would be another task in itself.

68

Figure 24. Craftsmen have different prices for different buyers

69

Concept 2

This concept is based on scenario where the craftsman has different

prices for different buyers (fig 24 & 25). Based on user study research,

craftsmen usually have separate price for retail buyers (when they sell

directly to the customer), the wholesalers or the merchants who buy

in bulk and for designers who buys in less but have lot of experimen-

tations.

It is an addition to the earlier

concept and here we assume

that the craftsman has the service

to register, upload products and

add other things on the server.

It’s advantages

The craftsmen have the facility to

have separate prices for different

buyers.

It’s limitations

This concept cannot be a whole

system in itself; it can be an add-

on the system.Figure 25. A Phone application which helps craftsmen in putting separate prices of a same product for different buyers.

70

Figure 26. Virtual Haat system

71

Concept 3

The model of Haat bazaar was that it used to happen weekly or fort-

nightly and gave the craftsman opportunity to deal with the final user.

This concept tries to create a virtual haat online where the craftsman

can put on his products throughout the week and it would be open

only on a particular day (fig 26).

Another feature is that it has the option of bargaining. The buyers can

negotiate with the price put by the craftsman through the virtual haat

server. The craftsman gets alerts of each bargain done by buyers and

he can either accept or deny it.

Craftsman’s cell sim can work as his user ID and login can be based

on voice recognition system.

It’s advantages

The craftsman can accumulate products throughout the week for sale,

instead of uploading daily. This feature would also give buyers lot of

options to buy from. Similarly to a Haat bazaar, the sale would be for

limited time, which would create rarity and an urgency to buy. The

craftsman also needs not to wait for 10-15 days to know whether his

products got sold (as in ebay).

It’s limitations

The bargaining feature might be a little time taking, as both, the buyer

and seller might not be available at the same time.

72

Figure 27. A voice based information portal

73

Concept 4

This concept aims at scenario where craftsman need information re-

lated to craft, marketing and new techniques and materials. It’s a voice

based information portal, where people can ask questions, reply to

questions and listen to other questions and answers (fig 27).

The portal can be taken cared by organizations like Dessert Craft Han-

dloom and Export Promotion Council of Handicraft. When a question

is answered the craftsman gets an alert on his mobile with a link to

listen the answer. He can also download the answer and save it for

future references.

It’s advantages

At present for any inquiry related to exhibitions, schemes or other

information related to craft, the craftsmen of Bagru, had to either ask

their peers or go to the DCH. This system provides the craftsman of fa-

cility of asking/replying questions, listening to experts’ comments and

saving the answers without going anywhere.

It’s limitations

The limitation of an IVR system would be that high level of interaction

would not be available. To find the right question might take a lot of

time that might demotivate the users for using the service in long run.

74

Figure 28. Craft tour based system to get exposure with help of social media

75

Concept 5

This concept is about using social media for promotion of craft. The idea

is developed around tourism, which would lead to sharing experiences,

images, and videos about craft by tourists on social networking sites,

which finally would help craftsmen to generate extra income (fig 28).

Craft tour advertisements/information would be added to travel blogs,

ticket booking sites, review sites like trip advisor or raahi and also at lo-

cal travel agencies by the craft community, who will organize these craft

tours. Tourists would be taken around the craft community, they will

get a first hand experience of making of handcrafted products and get

the chance to meet the crafts person. The tour can end at the craft com-

munity’s shop and tourists would now have lot to share, which would

indirectly authenticate the craft and also open up opportunities the craft

producers.

It’s advantages

The power of social media for promotion of the craft is explored in this

system. The story and the value is added to the craft product through the

tour.

It’s limitations

Though the social media might help the crafts person indirectly in long

run, the emphasis in this concept is more on tourism then the craft.

76

Figure 29. An order and supply chain management system for printer’s co-operative society.

77

Concept 6

This concept is on a hypothetical situation where the printer commu-

nity has formed a cooperative society and works as a single entity. The

concept is about dealing with information of raw materials, products,

payments, events and schemes by the managing team of society and

all members (fig 29).

78

Figure 30. A system involving Indian Postal Service to help craftsmen get exposed to online selling.

Ramlal has heard about peopleselling on internet, but doesnʼtknow how to operate computer.He has knowledge of basic phone.He wants to get more opportunity

Open the App- New user- fill details of the craftsman- voice recognition/thumbprint as login ID- clicks photos of productand upload it to site- can also upload video aboutcraftsmenSMS alerts on

- account confirmation- product sold withdetails

CRaftsman

Postman

meRChant

DesiGneR

Retail buyeR

Desi haat PoRtalBuyer pays to the portal

A small commission is kept by the portal and rest sent to India Post

The product is sent using India Post

Money is trans-ferred as money order

The postman gets an incentive on products sold

Merchants and designers can

directly contact the carftsman for

deals/inquiries.

79

The final concept has to rise above the limitations of the concepts

mentioned and has to incorporate as many as possible advantages in

it. The final concept focused on bridging the craftsman-consumer gap

by providing a direct contact through Internet, enabling the craftsman

to deal with different buyers differently, making the system and inter-

face user friendly for both; craftsmen and consumer and involving an

existing system (fig 30). The system mainly focuses on the crafts per-

sons that do not get to reach the consumers and are mainly based in

villages.

Indian Postal Service has its reach in the nook and corner of India

and integrating it in system would help to reach the craftsmen even

in smallest village. We assume that most of the craftsmen would have

access to some mobile and the organization, which will handle the

online craft portal, would provide the postmen with special mobile

with internet facility for this system. The shipment of product and pay-

ment of money is handled by the Indian Postal Service.

My contribution in this system, as an Interaction designer would be at

three points -

1. Smart mobile application of Desi haat on handset given to postman

2. Simple mobile with the craftsman

3. The server or the portal where information about crafts is provided

with a online shopping option.

8. Final Concept

80

81

Site Map

82

Working of the system

SellerRamlal is a block printer at Bagru village. He has learnt this craft from

his father and has continued the tradition of passing on the art to next

generation. Earlier he and other craftsmen used to go to a weekly Haat

bazaar in a near by city to sell there craft products. Now the scenario

has changed and he sells his product to a seth in local village and

other wholesale dealers. He has heard about people selling products

online, but does not have any idea to whom to go and how to do it.

He does not know how to operate a computer. The technical knowl-

edge he has is of operating a basic mobile phone.

One day the postman of their area was on his regular visit and came

to Ram lal’s house on the way. He told Ram lal about the new facility

of India Post and an NPO (non-profit organization) to help craftsmen

reach global market.

83

The postman fills in the details

of Ram lal like name, craft ex-

pertise, village, experience and

phone no.

On Ram lal’s request the post-

man takes out the handset given

by organization to open Ram lal

online account.

After that he asks Ram lal to

swipe his finger twice for ac-

count security. A visual feedback

is also given when on confirming

the finger print match. Within

few seconds Ram lal receives a

welcome sms from the Desi haat

server and details about his ac-

count.

84

Once account is made postman

helps Ram lal to login through

the handset and asks if he wants

to put some product for sell.

He selects the upload prod-

uct option, which turns on the

camera of the handset with front

view suggested on screen of the

handset.

For better images Postman would

be given a white sheet foldable

structure for background of the

product.

Similarly other views like side

view, top view and close up are

taken and the summary page of

product upload is comes.

85

This page shows asks to fill in

detail of the product and prices

according to number of pieces.

Once information is filled in, by

pressing upload key, all images

with details are sent to the Desi

haat server.

Similarly with help of postman

Ram lal can add more informa-

tion to his profile, add videos of

making of craft products, put in

request for any query to the dis-

cussion forum, see his transaction

details and present orders.

86

Buyer

The Desi haat web site changes its interface and the content layout

according to the buyer. Based on user study three type of buyers were

identified 1) designers, 2) wholesalers or merchants, and 3) retail buy-

ers,. For designers and merchants the system would require to know

their profession or the purpose to visit the web site, so as it can show

related content. The user registration for them can be done in begin-

ning or in parts through the task flow.

1. Designer - The home page for designers would have ‘Newly add-

ed crafts’ and ‘Recommended craftsmen’ (fig 20). The ‘Newly added

crafts’ (fig 31.1) would have the making of the crafts, details of crafts-

men and the history of it. For a designer its important and advantage to

know about the craft, where is it done and how is it done, so as they

can design accordingly.

87

1.

2.

4.

3.

Figure 31. Home page for a designer

The Second main focus on the home page is the ‘Recommended

craftsmen’ (fig 31.2) ; since designers usually look for skills of crafts-

men, a list of recommended craftsmen would help them to decide

with whom they want to get their samples/products made.

The designer can connect his linkedin account with the site (fig 31.3),

which would tell how many of his friends are using the site (which in-

directly creates trust towards the system), and how many of them have

recommended which craftsmen. The number of likes and number of

people shopped creates trust with the system (fig 31.4).

In the search option here searches craftsmen rather than products.

88

One can search craftsmen by various parameters. Through the search

results, designer can have option of comparing craftsmen on basis of

ratings, punctuality, quality. This feature can be optional since it feels in-

human to compare people and it will make them feel as products. In a

particular craft there might now be so many options that one needs to

compare. Various craftsmen can be selected sent inquiry directly from

the web site.

On selection of a craftsman’s profile, the page would have his latest

Figure 32. On search for craftsmen Figure 33. Comparing and sending inquiry

89

product in focus and rest at bottom (fig 34.1). The benefit in designer’s

and merchant’s interface is that they would be shown all the product

from starting till now, by that craftsmen. Since designers and mer-

chants would be buying in large quantity and the deadline for order

completion can be discussed by them offline.

The craftsman’s profile page also shows his connection to or number

of designers he has worked with (fig 34.2). A percentage of custom-

ers is also shown who would deal with him in future again (fig 34.3).

These features authenticate the person and his service.

A feature of customer order inquiry (fig 34.4) is only available in de-

signer’s interface, since designers get a lot of sampling done before the

final order. On sending customer order inquiry, the craftsmen gets an

alert on his mobile with detail of the buyer.

Figure 34. A craftsman’s profile

1.

2.

3.

4.

90

On rolling the cursor over the image of product (fig 35.1), the right

side of page turns into a zoom in version of the image (fig 35.2). A

small translucent box appears in place of cursor and the user can navi-

gate through the details of the image.

1.

2.

Figure 35. Details of the product

91

On clicking read feedback, the web site connects to a forum where

buyers have commented and given rating to the craftsman. The forum

also lets buyer to connect to another buyer who have written com-

ments, through server’s mail service (fig 36).

The ratings and comments are translated in local language and sent

to craftsman’s mobile as sms. This feature would help craftsman to

improve and also positive feedbacks would help him in gaining confi-

dence in himself and his skills.

Figure 36. Feedback forum

92

2. Wholesaler/merchant - A merchant’s need would be different

from a designer and from a retail buyer. The price of the product is in

their priority list and merchants usually do not design products, they

go with regular designs going in the market. According to their needs,

their home page would have ‘best prices’ (fig 37.1) of products and

‘latest products’ (fig 37.2) as main focus columns.

93

Figure 37. Home page for merchants

1.

2.

3.

The ‘best prices’ feature would let them compare products based on

prices, material, punctuality of the craftsmen and maximum order the

craftsmen can take.

The search option of merchant would have an additional parameter

- ‘maximum order’ (fig 37.3). This feature would allow him to search

through craftsmen’s capacity of production and help him distribute his

order among craftsmen.

94

The compare feature would let him select various products and send

inquiry in a click. All the craftsmen, whose products are selected will

be notified through sms with details of the buyer.

Figure 38. Comparision of products and sending inquiry

95

The search option would let the buyer sort out products according to

recency, price, rating and most viewed (fig 39). As mentioned earlier,

all the products irrespective of the fact whether they are available for

sale or not are shown to merchant and designers.

Figure 39. Search result for product

96

3. Retail buyer - The retail buyer need not to register for buying any

product. The home page (fig 40) here would be the default one show-

ing ‘most viewed crafts’ and ‘featured products’. In this interface we

want visitors to have an option of going through the story of the craft.

97

Figure 40. Home page for retail buyers

On search of products the retail buyer would shown only the prod-

ucts that are available for sale.

98

While going through a product (fig 41), the retail buyer interface has

an additional feature called -’how would it look on you?’ The feature

gives the buyer on option of trying the fabric or accessory virtually.

Figure 41. Product details

99

On clicking ‘how would it look on you?’ (fig 42) would activate the

webcam of your PC or laptop and a dress or accessory would come as

a frame over that. The buyer can adjust himself accordingly and get a

feel of trying it on.

Figure 42. ‘How would it look on you?’

100

Figure 43. Order fulfilment, step one Figure 44. Order fulfilment, step two

101

Order fulfillment - Once buy option is selected , a three step pay-

ment interface uploads. First tab consists of details of buyer and the

order (fig 43).

Second tab is getting the card information of the user (fig 44). The user

can select the mode of payment suitable to him, i.e.; Debit card, credit

card, cash on delivery, cheque and demand draft. The order is recon-

firmed with buyer before final payment.

The payment button connects to secure payment gateway and after

that third tab confirms the payment with receipt of it with details of

delivery (fig 45). An receipt through email is also sent to the buyer. The

buyer also gets an option of printing the receipt.

Figure 45. Order fulfilment, step three

102

Figure 46. Backgrounds explorations for mobile application

103

Explorations

Various options were made for the background of the mobile applica-

tion that would go with the topic and theme of Indian Craft (fig 46).

Motifs from crafts and rangoli patterns were explored and a feel of

handmade was tried to achieve. The color theme followed was mainly

of warm colors going with the feel of village, dessert and handmade.

104

105

A few options for the web site’s layout and final look were also ex-

plored.

Figure 47. Layout exploration for website interface

106

Figure 48. Mock up exploration for website interface

In this option, I have tried to get

the feel of handmade with help

of textured paper in background.

The logo of Desi Haat is used just

as a suggestion for the final logo.

107

Figure 49. Mock up exploration for website interface

In this option, only the back-

ground has been changed. I

thought of using patterns from

Indian textiles and craft in low

opacity as backgrounds of pages

of the web site. The white, grey

background makes it more visu-

ally spacious as compared to the

earlier option.

108

As I explored the layouts, I real-

ized that in earlier options the

top portion of web site was not

doing the justice with space;

it was not being used smartly.

Here I have tried to use images

as buttons and the Desi haat title

bar has been reduced to a thin

ribbon. In addition, instead of

showing four options in smaller

sizes for featured crafts, I thought

of using a slide show option

for that. For search option also,

the extra options have been put

inside the advance search button;

users usually know what exactly

they are looking for. It makes the

web site less cluttered.

109

In this option, the buttons have

been moved from top to left

side, giving more space to use

to provide important informa-

tion without the need of scrolling

down the page.

110

With feedback from my col-

leagues, I tried to make the web

site to give to the point informa-

tion and more breathing space.

Another option of the same

layout with a darker background

was also made.

111

Here I was attempting to make

the look a bit asymmetrical with

giving option in form of logos in

left side. I am trying to use as less

text as possible on home page.

112

113

Final Interface

The final appearance of the web portal and the mobile application

was finalized based on discussion with guide and colleagues’ feed-

114

115

back.

There are various approaches to do evaluation of the final design;

evaluation of prototype on field: getting feedback of craftsmen, post-

men and end users of the system, evaluation on basis of innovation in

the system and evaluation of the system as a whole. For this design the

feedback would be taken from two groups of users –

1. Postmen and craftsmen’s feedback on concept and prototype of

smart mobile application. The application and concept would be eval-

uated on basis of learnability, its ease of use and appeal of the design.

2. The online customer’s feedback on the interface of the web site, its

appeal, the information imparted, their perception of the whole system

in terms of authenticity, trust and value.

9. Evaluation

116

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