Efficacy of Cluster Based Approach for the revival of Handloom Cooperative Societies in Kerala

Abstract

one of the key sectors, identified by the newlineDepartment of Industries Government of Kerala, for the cluster development newlineinitiative is Handloom, which gives employment to over over 50,000 people newlinedirectly. Despite its age old tradition and fame, the performance of the sector newlinevis-à-vis power looms is not very rosy owing to (i) competition from cheap newlinepower loom cloth from other states (ii) scarcity of quality yarn (iii) price newlineescalation of yarn, dyes, chemicals and other raw materials (iv) the shrinking newlinemarket for handlooms in Kerala (v) non-demand based production and newlineinadequacy of new designs and (vi) inefficiencies in the system, particularly in newlinethe co-operative sector. Cluster based approach is adopted in the handloom newlinesector with the objective of providing necessary support mechanism to come out of the crisis that the sector faces now. While four cluster schemes are being newlineimplemented in Kerala, it is under IHDS-CDP that the State got a sizeable newlinenumber of clusters benefiting a large number of societies and weavers- 24 newlinehandloom clusters, bringing 152 handloom co-operative societies and over newline19,800 handloom workers under the Programme. newlineThis research attempts to revisit the underlying rationale and context of newlinethe new direction and would attempt to broadly analyze the growth trends under newlinethe influence of cluster model adopted by the State IHDS-CDP for the revival newlineof handloom sector through a detailed study of the handloom co-operative newlinesocieties in Kerala. If handloom sector in Kerala can be revived using cluster newlinebased approach, it can be easily concluded that cluster is capable of taking the newlineMSME in Kerala to a high growth path. The study is aimed at understanding newlinehow best clusters emerge as appropriate industrial organization suitable for the newlinecurrent global structure of manufacture newline