Fabindia is changing the way the artisans work, the new model is changing the way Fabindia works. The typical central warehouse system has given way to several warehouses owned by community-owned companies from which goods travel directly to stores across India. This reduces logistics costs and minimises the role of middlemen.
While the system seems to be working for all concerned, challenges remain. One of
them is developing secondary markets so that the companies can stand on their own
feet.
Critical to that will be introducing a "consciousness" of the design element in the
artisans so that their products have a wider appeal. Bissell says the model will
depend on the artisans beginning to understand the benefits of joining together in
something that's not a cooperative.
"A cooperative imposes many restrictions upon them and doesn't give them much in
return. If you get together, you must create something that's bigger than the sum of
the parts."
That seems to be happening in Chanderi. Ansari says his family of seven had tired of
poverty and an uncertain future. Weavers were down to earning Rs 13 a meter and
haggling with the "seths" on a per saree basis. Payments were erratic. His fellow
weavers had begun to leave the village in search of alternative livelihoods.
A Unido project tried to help, but FabIndia's entry made the biggest difference as
it began to source fabric worth Rs 1 crore (Rs 10 million) a year from Chanderi. The realisation has risen to Rs 23 a metre. Ansari's two looms are busy all day. Safely tucked away are 10 shares and the promise of a better future.
Image: German Chancellor Angela Merkel checks outs Indian weaves | Photograph: Sajjad Hussain/AFP/Getty Images
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