socio economic conditions of cooperative handloom weavers in the karimnagar

Abstract

SYNOPSIS Background: Clothing is a primary human need on par with food and shelter. Handloom is considered as any loom other than power loom. The handloom industry in India has a well glorious traditional heritage and culture. In the domestic oriented economic activities the handloom sector will be largest sector and employment provider next to agriculture sector. It received a different and peculiar recognition in the rural economy by providing the non-farm rural employment. As it is predominantly domestic oriented economic activity, it is the main source of livelihood of the rural people. But it has started to decline its glory due to industrialization which resulted in increasing the use of capital intensive technology and competition with power looms and mill cloth. Statement of the problem: The present research explores the existing condition of the cooperative handloom sector and the socio-economic conditions of handloom weavers who are under the cooperative handloom weaving sector in the Karimnagar district. When the master weavers and middle men shifted to the power loom sector, the Primary Handloom Cooperative Societies are the only source of employment generation to the handloom weavers under which 3500 handloom weavers are working in the district. Many rural people get employed in pre and post-loom activities in these cooperative handloom societies. But these handloom weavers working in the cooperative societies in the district have been facing many problems such as poor economic, education, housing and health conditions which led to the low standards of livingof the cooperative handloom weavers. The income earning of the cooperative handloom weavers on handloom weaving is Rs.100-150 even they spend 8-10 hours per day which is at any cost not viable to meet the daily expenses. Many of them are suffering from occupational diseases due to long working hours to work from various positions. The survival of the cooperative handloom weavers depend up on the performance and proper functioning of the cooperati