only a preliminary introduction to lacware. They were not taught to incorporate contemporary trends for existing and new markets, nor any form of business administration. Furthermore, the Centre offers almost no opportunity for systematic skill development for trained workers. Outreach to new trainees has also been poor. Until now, women have never had access to training on the power lathe and have been limited to turning on the hand lathe.
Lack of comprehensive intervention
While the lacware industry makes a substantial contribution to the government exchequer, in the face of declining sales, skills, and interest in lacware, the industry lacks a comprehensive strategy for surviving and thriving as it moves into the future. Despite a few well-meaning government interventions, the lacware sector has thus far not been able to generate the interest of powerful stakeholders in the sector (government, the enterprise owners, developmental workers, communities, etc.)
Both the workers and the employers have to contend with these lapses in macro-level systems. Workers are expected to adjust to sectoral rules and guidelines dictated by an exploitative hierarchy. Attempts to influence rules come only at the risk of workers losing their jobs and entrepreneurs failing to get orders. MAYA ORGANIC recognises that all the stakeholders, along with the workers and the employers, need to learn to share the responsibility of reviving this ‘dying’ industry.
2.22 The Garments Sector
During the last two decades, India's textile industry has witnessed a tremendous expansion, particularly in the area of ready-made garments and apparel. This industry contributes more than 12 per cent to total exports and is the next largest employer after agriculture and construction. By 2010 the workforce in the Indian textiles sector is expected to reach 12 million in the organised sector alone, which will be approximately 25-30 per cent of the entire formal sector workforce. In Bangalore, more than 400,000 workers work in the garments sector at present. This number is expected to exceed the number of workers in the Information Technology (IT) industry, as the city expands as a hub for the garments and construction sectors. This high figure does not even account for the many suppliers and informal garment sector workers.
Although the Indian ready-made garment sector comprises only a fraction of the global readymade garment sector, in India, this sector is poised for growth, given a relatively low investment requirement and a huge surplus of cheap labour. Though not comparable with the growth rates of the software industry, an annual average growth rate of 11 per cent over the past years in apparel means that growth has far exceeded average growth rates in other sectors.
India’s textile industry (this includes apparels, cotton and yarns, silk fabric, dyeing, weaving, embroidery and other related activities) is known for its diversity and decentralisation. With the exception of a handful of fast-growing large-scale export houses, most of the enterprises in this sector remain relatively small. The advantages of such decentralisation include the assurance of large-scale coverage for labour opportunities and the production of traditional materials in rural areas (particularly in weaving, and cotton and silk production), as well as the preservation of an impressive regional diversity in production processes and product design. The disadvantage lies in the fact that sourcing material for production comes with a very high transaction cost, and that it is difficult to control production/manufacturing, quality, and timeliness of delivery.
