There’s good news for workers in the khadi industry and for those who love the fabric. Khadi and Village Industries Board (KVIB), Karnataka, has tied up with National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT), Bengaluru, for designing and branding 400 khadi products.
The first batch of 218 tailors and craftsmen have been given training in khadi products by NIFT. New products designed by tailors and master craftsmen will reach the market soon, KVIB officials told The Hindu , and this is expected to push the demand, especially among youth.
Under the ₹3.5-crore training programme, tailors and craftsmen will be given training in batches in the next few years on contemporary design of khadi clothes, products, and packaging.
“Training will help in churning out garments and product designs in tune with contemporary fashion trends and demand,” Yaluvahalli N. Ramesh, chairman of KVIB, said . The training programme will enhance quality of products — skirts, kurta-pyjamas, jackets, belts, churidars, tops, chappals, and shoes — and bring in uniformity. “The new products will be more elegant to suit the present generation, particularly middle-class families,” he said.
About 25,000 people are dependent on khadi products for their livelihood. A total of 146 khadi societies have been bringing out products and selling them in showrooms across the State. To market the new products, KVIB has decided to set up Khadi Plazas in Bengaluru and Belagavi at an estimated cost of ₹10 crore each. The Union and State government will share the cost of plaza on a 75:25 ratio.
KVIB, with an annual turnover of about ₹110 crore in 2016-17, plans to promote online sales of khadi and handicrafts, Mr. Ramesh said. It has set a turnover target of ₹119 crore in 2017-18.