In this article some of the negative effects of rapid economic development, industrialisation and more open-markets are having on the hand-woven sari industry in India. Economists are always saying that with any economic development, whether it be from trade liberalisation to industrialisation or realignment of an economy to a more beneficial industry, society will suffer some pain in the readjustment; but that the overall gain to society vastly makes up for it. One needs to only look at the lives that people in developed countries lead as proof of this.
But, and it’s a big “But”, the reality of this suffering is not often brought to one’s attention often enough. In developing countries, like India, where so many people live in poverty, living off less then US$2 a day, such developments can mean the difference between surviving and absolute impoverishment.
One would like to think that in this day and age societies would have developed mechanisms to help people who fall through the cracks of rapid development in third world countries. However it seems that we do not know enough about the intriquicies of industrialisation and development to properly predict these things and deal with them. Come to think of it people are still debating how to start and maintain such economic development in the first place let alone fully understanding it when it does happen.
I agree with the article in that the hand-woven sari industry needs a good dose of marketing but what surprises me is how the NGOs and civil society groups doing the marketing are only marketing in India. It would make good sense to expand that marketing to foreign markets in places like the US, Europe, South America, ect.
Whilst it is doubtful that even the most successful of marketing campaigns will help all the weavers it will certainly go a long way towards mitigating the problem.
On the other hand there is also a darker side to the industry as discussed in this BBC article. Where due to the poverty of the parents and loan sharking by loom owners children are made into “bonded labourers” and forced to work for next to nothing; further entrenching them in poverty as they do not have to time to get even a basic education.
This part of the industry must be dealt with and the marketing of hand woven sari’s must be done in a way that does not encourage this part of the industry.
References:
*An Ancient Indian Craft Left in Tatters: Washington Post
*Misery of India's child sari weavers: BBC
