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Kolhpuris keep in step, ride IT wave

BS Regional Bureau

Kolhapuris are traditional Indian footwear, and normally you wouldn't think that every step you take in them has possibly been made a tad more fashionable through innovative application of IT (information technology).

Traditional artisans in the remote North Karnataka village of Athani, close to the north Karnataka city of Belgaum and some 720 kms north of Bangalore, are finding an unexpected ally in the computer.

From shaping better designs, to hawking their wares halfway across the world, the artisans -- egged on by some IT-savvy Bangalore-based initiatives -- are leaving behind a unique trail of footprints.

"Our design studio (at Athani) is using CAD-CAM (computer-aided design and manufacture) to bring out better products," says a proud Madhura M Chatrapathy, displaying a whole range of traditional 'Kolhapuri chappals' which now use raw-silk, intricate embroidery, braids and even crystals in a bid to attract new audiences.

Kolhapuri is the name of India's most popular traditional hand-crafted footwear, which has been adorning the feet of women and men here for centuries. Contrary to popular perception, Kolhapuri footwear is not made in the city of Kolhapur, as its name suggests.

Instead, some 1,600 traditional families make the age-old footwear around the village of Athani. Markets, however, lie mainly across the inter-state border in the city of Kolhapur, located in Maharashtra.

Today, thanks to the technological edge provided by this IT-savvy state, this once-staid leather footwear could be on its way to getting a foothold in the global market, while also becoming a fashion statement of sorts.

Chatrapathy, executive trustee of the Bangalore-based ASCENT (Asian Centre for Entrepreneurial Initiatives), points to the website www.toeholdindia.com. "We found that Kolhapuri footwear was being treated in too generic a sense. So we have launched our own brand, called 'ToeHold'," she said. ASCENT works towards fostering an "entrepreneurial society."

The artisans' website helps them to draw global orders. "They have accepted CAD-CAM. Though they can't work on it themselves (most of them being illiterate), they can still tell the technician what patterns they want exactly," says Chatrapathy.

"CAD-CAM really saves a lot of time. Otherwise, even to make small modifications, the artisans had to produce an entirely new chappal. They can also look at other models on the Net," she says.

Meanwhile, ICICI's initiative called communities.com is also soon linking the artisans up for online marketing. Currently, only offsite marketing is being done via the Net, and deals are done via letters-of-credit.

Chatrapathy says the artisans' work has found buyers from places as varied as Italy, Japan, the US, Germany and Spain.

In addition, using Internet connectivity, artisans have also been able to communicate with a designer based in Madras. "One thing strongly needed for any artisans' group is very strong design. The Internet can put them in touch with designers all over the world," argues Chatrapathy.

Also planned is an 'artisan-friendly' touch-screen interface, that would enable the artisans to demonstrate their product -- without knowing how to operate a computer -- to visitors and others who come by.

Recently, the artisans went to Dusseldorf in Germany, avoiding intermediaries to get a direct "feel of the market." They wanted to know why Germany lacked roadside cobblers who could mend shoes. "We told them this was one reason why they needed hardier footwear for the German market," smiles Chatrapathy.

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