Entrepreneurial Pursuits of Weavers in Low Resource Handloom Industry

Abstract

The study was taken to get insights about entrepreneurial capabilities of the handloom weavers in Coimbatore. Present day handloom weavers have been in this profession for many generations. The research attempts to study the willingness of the handloom weavers to overcome from the vicious cycle of poverty by expanding into the other activities in the handloom value chain. The descriptive research has attempted to study the socio-economic conditions of the handloom weavers, problems faced in adoption of technology and production, willingness to take up entrepreneurial pursuits, and marketing of handloom products. The population taken for the research is the Pollachi taluk, Coimbatore handloom weavers. Out of 116 villages in the identified weaving clusters, 7 villages were selected using purposive sampling method due to higher loom concentration. The researchers have taken a sample size of 150 handloom weavers; Area sampling method was adopted to have a random representation of the handloom weavers from these villages. The study has mapped various demographic factors with their economic activities. It’s the aged population who are in this low technology handloom industry, with less exposure to formal education. It’s found that willingness to invest, contact to produce raw materials, own business if support given and future interest to market products have the major influence on deciding weavers’ willingness to become retailer in future. It also reveals that education affects the willingness to start own business.