Odisha Govt Weaves Plan For Global Branding Of Odia Handlooms

Odisha Govt Weaves Plan For Global Branding Of Odia Handlooms

Odia handlooms have carved out a special place in the world of fabrics and among the lovers of traditional weaves. Now, the state government has decided to push the handlooms of Odisha as a global brand by selling aspirational business models to private partners, scaling up international visibility and accessing markets across the world.

While chairing a meeting on promoting Odia handlooms, Chief Secretary Asit Tripathy emphasized on mobilising private sector investment in the sector.

As per the decision, the Textile, Handloom and Handicrafts Department will identify “good performers” from among officers and technical experts, who will work on aspirational business models and sell those to prospective private partners to boost the industry.

The idea is to benefit the weavers and artisans of Odisha by organising expos and exhibitions at prominent places including star hotels. The development of the Balijury Haat of Bargarh into the largest open ground cloth market of Asia with all modern amenities is an ambitious part of the plan.

Also, internship and scholarship programmes in the fields of innovative design, motif making, banding, mixing and yarn making will be introduced to attract young talents to the sector, thereby bringing in new energy and vigour to the industry.

In the first phase, the focus will be on Pasapali, Sonepuri, Bomkai and Kotpad designs. Internationally reputed designers like Rita Kapur Chishti, Abraham & Thakore, Rakesh Pratap Singh, Anjali Kalia and Bibhu Mohapatra would be invited to be involved in the promotion of Odisha’s designs.

The weavers would be provided good quality yarn in advance to keep their looms running. Boyanika, Utkalika and Sambalpuri Bastralaya would be provided interest-free working capital to purchase products from the weavers. The focus would be on e-commerce and the department has already tied-up with Flipkart, Amazon and GoCoop in this regard.

Director, Textile, Handloom and Handicrafts, Jyoti Prakash Dash said, “These varieties are mostly prepared in Bargarh Sonepur, Kalahandi and Koraput regions. The traditional weavers of these areas possess excellent traditional expertise in tie and dye designs.”

He informed that 166 new designs have already been developed and the process for the second phase of design and reference collection has started.