7,000 artisans trained annually in Valley
Nawshaba Iqbal
Srinagar, Dec 22: The Department of Handicraft and Handloom is focusing on skill development as its “primary responsibility” to ensure the survival of traditional crafts in J&K, with around 7,000 to 8,000 artisans trained every year in Kashmir.
Director Handicrafts and Handloom, Masrat Zia, speaking exclusively to Excelsior about the initiatives undertaken to strengthen the sector, said sustained training remains crucial for its growth.
“To secure the future of crafts, we must continuously generate trained hands,” Zia said.
He said the department currently operates 432 mobile training centres in Kashmir and around 202 in Jammu, covering both handicraft and handloom sectors.
The centres, he said, include elementary, advanced and carpet training units offering courses ranging from one to two years, aimed at building a sustained and skilled artisan workforce across J&K.
Zia said the department follows a mobile training model to maximise outreach, informing that once an area or block is saturated, the training unit is shifted to another location to cover new craft clusters.
According to him, trainees are provided hands-on training along with raw material in notified crafts.
At elementary centres, trainees are paid a stipend of Rs 1,000 per month, while those enrolled in advanced centres receive Rs 1,500.
Interestingly, the items produced during the training period are sold through auctions or direct sale.
“As no labour cost is charged, the products are sold at affordable rates, and the revenue is returned to the government treasury, ensuring funds are recycled into the sector,” he said.
Beyond training, Zia said, the department is strengthening the artisan ecosystem by extending financial assistance under the Artisan Credit Card Scheme, which offers loans of up to Rs 2 lakh.
Artisans willing to work collectively are being registered under cooperative societies under the Self-Reliant Act of 1999, while educational support, including scholarships and allowances for artisans’ children, is also being provided.
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