Melas* or Jhamelas**?

Rohit Bal and Suneet Verma make anything from Rs. 2,500 to Rs. 6,000 per outfit. The great Mussafar Ali’s lowest priced creation has a Rs. 4,000 tag to it (All estimates on silk garments only).

Christian Dior, Pierre Cardin, Karl Lagerfeld, Yves Saint Laurent and Channel ... clothes, accessories, jewellery and perfumes all exclusive and all exorbitantly priced. Such items cater to an ever growing faction of any developing society. With development, urbanite’s demand grow as does their buying power. Hand in glove with this is the growing desire to belong and to identify with an elite and high class group. Exclusivity being the catch Word, hand crafted prototypes are what’s in!

There are many other designers too besides these big names ... hundreds and thousands who work anonymously from several village based income generation project - Dastkar, Urmul, Sewa... to name a few.

Income generation projects (IGP) can only generate income for those who work on them if their products sell, and these products need a conducive market to launch off from. Efforts in this direction have resulted in a couple of alternative marketing strategies. The first being the creation of a permanent sales outlet in a metropolis DASTKAR outlets in the city of Delhi evidence this strategy. The KVIC emporia and shops also retail products made at small scale, labour intensive and income generating units scattered all over rural and semi-urban India. Even big stores like Fab India and Shyam Ahuja retail few items, the source of which is a small and unnamed Income Generation Projects or independent sector organisation.

The second type of market which is provided for these IGP products is an occasional exhibition-cum-sale or a Trade Fair/Mela - the OXFAM Bazaars and handloom expositions being evidence of this. At such Expos, the entire scenario is set and an atmosphere is created where by the rural ethos and the life of the craft itself is created within the metropolitan.

One such market outlet is the GRAM SHREE MELA organised by the Council for Advancement of People’s Action & Rural Technology (CAPART). An annual event for the past three years now, this mela is organised in the second half of October.

For the success of such a sales outlet it becomes necessary to consider some questions :

Who is the prospective buyer?

Is it good time of the year to have this sales outlet?

Is it centrally located and easily accessible to the client?

Is the pricing justified?

In the festival season, especially during Diwali shopping is heavy in North India and houses get refurnished, closets are refurbished and wardrobes expanded. In essence, a lot of purchasing is done.

The Gram Shree Mela is timed appropriately, making for good sales. On speaking to a few people present at the mela, however, a not so rosy picture presented itself.

"Other stores have very heavy reduction sales right now" - housewife out to buy necessities.

"The goods are priced quite high and we do not have the satisfaction of bargaining" - group of young girls. "The items are very unique but a bit crude" - college student.

Many points in favour of such an outlet were also voiced. The mela provided one with a lot more than just a shopping arena - cultural performances by puppeteers and dancers, delectable cuisine from different parts of the country, intellectual exchange by way of debates............

"The debate which was spontaneously organised by the people representing various IGPs (themselves) provided me a very good exposure to various issues faced by the artisans and the rural worker" - a programme officer from CAPART.

"My own work has benefited from such an exposure - my product range has expanded and the quality of my craft has improved" - a potter from Bihar.

"It is amazing when one sees the amount of work that is being done by small NGOs and IGPs all over India. I feel motivated to do my bit - by purchasing such IGP products" - a middle class school teacher.

There can be no doubt the IGPs will prove to be beneficial in the empowerment of those who seek employment with them. We need to consider the current status of IGP sales and must launch into an active marketing strategy. The pros and cons of permanent sales outlets u/s one time exhibitions on annual bazaars, the product positioning and ultimately carving out and cornering that market niche - all require careful and responsible attention.

As you walk towards the exit of the GRAM SHREE MELA, you leave behind the ambience of rural India-a huge mud camel stands colourful and richly decorated with beads, mirrors; a group of folk singers dressed in bright red long tunics and Rajasthani Pagris (headdress) armed with their instruments; small cave souvenirs, skillfully sculpted murals, herbal medicines, pure honey, Himalayan medicinal herbs.

Motivated to contribute towards empowerment of the rural folk, disillusioned by the magnitude of issue that need to addressed, disappointed in the piece-meal approach to sales & contribution and not really knowing how.

Where to from here?

by Radhika Ranjan

Back to Contents