Craft Promotion Organisation

India

Craft Link member group

Purpose

The aims and objectives of the Craft Promotion Organisation are to provide for:

the promotion of craftspeople
skills and management training
their education
health and working conditions
the promotion of women in craft
the support of the most disadvantaged.

Producers

Production comes from fifteen jewellery groups, about 200 jewellery makers in total. Many are in Old Delhi but not all. Producers are Muslim men, mainly in their early 20s, mostly illiterate, and migrants from Bihar. Many send all their earnings home to support families living there.

Benefits

Wage levels are good, but rather than spend them on their surroundings or accommodation most artisans choose to send their earnings home to Bihar to support families. Employment opportunities in Bihar are restricted to agricultural work.

Generally conditions of employment include meals, and in some cases workers sleep in or near their workshops. Bonuses are paid on religious holidays and help is given in times of emergency.�Sales are not always high enough to support producers full time, however interest-free�loans have been made available to producers to start businesses that supplement jewellery making income.

Training workshops are a new feature of the new structure�and�Craft Promotions has plans to hold regular workshops for all producers focusing on a�range of topics from health and safety through to marketing of�products and production techniques.