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The ICFAI University Tripura, Kamalghat-799210.
The handloom industry is both a traditional and a cottage industry in India, employing a large number of indigenous rural people. Tripura’s people consider weaving to be an integral part of their lives and they produce a variety of crafts. Out of the different crafts, handloom is one of the primary crafts in Tripura. Handloom provides livelihood opportunities for rural people, including a large number of indigenous women and people from disadvantaged social groups. Despite all these opportunities, the handloom sector still faces lots of constraints and challenges. Thus, the current research is about the socio-economic condition of handloom artisans in Tripura and also identifies the artisans’ consultants and challenges. The study was conducted in the region of sixteen villages in the Hezamara, Belbari, Mandai, and Lefunga rural development blocks of West Tripura. The information was gathered by utilizing a semi-structured interview schedule. A sample of 200 women entrepreneurs was selected based on the availability of handloom artisans. Data were gathered for the current investigation using convenience sampling. According to the study, it was observed that 91 percent of respondents are females engaged in handloom weaving activity out of that 38 percent of women artisans are illiterate, and the majority (51.50 percent of them) are in the age range of 18 ≤ 35 years. The study also revealed various challenges faced by handicrafts artisans, which include price fluctuation, a lack of marketing linkage, high marketing costs, a lack of infrastructural facilities, and many more.
KEYWORDS: Handloom, Artisans, Tripura, Crafts and Women.