The government plans to provide online market access to various khadi units in Belagavi, one of the hubs of the Gandhian fabric. The district administration will not only organise all artisans under one banner and train them on how to be online vendors, but will set up a website for their products. Officials will also arrange a meeting of procurement managers of e-commerce sites and khadi product makers.
This is the brainchild of zilla panchayat Chief Executive Officer R. Ramachandran. He hit upon the idea when he visited Hudli, which houses the 94-year-old Khadi Gramodyog Sahakari Sangha, a heritage centre. He felt the village of around 5,000 members could benefit greatly if the products of their units are sold and the activities scaled up. “I spoke to the people who run the units, workers, and villagers. Giving them better market access could bring about change, I thought,” said Mr. Ramachandran, who is also holding charge as the Deputy Commissioner of the district.
There are nine units in Belagavi district where khadi is produced by hand. Among them is the Khadi Gram Udyog Sahakari Utpadaka Sangha, started in Hudli in 1924, when Mahatma Gandhi visited Belagavi.
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These units not only make khadi but also 20 other handmade products such as agarbattis, pickles, morabba, and honey. “The problem, however, is finding markets that offer remunerative prices for these products. Khadi gets better prices and a stable market if it gets tagged with a recognisable brand. Logistics is the second issue. People tend to buy what is more visible and easily available. Though the products are in great demand, the makers don’t have access to the people. There are some agencies — NGOs, activists, and khadi lovers — who are good at spreading the good word. We just want to connect these dots and act as facilitators,” the CEO said.
Some e-commerce companies have programmes to train vendors. “We will invite them and to the district and take them around the units. We will request them to train our artisans in the use of smart phones and sending email,” he said. The district administration will also rope in the National Informatics Centre to put up an online exhibition of the unique products of Belagavi.
There have been some efforts to take these products online. The Khadi and Village Industries Commission, Khadi India, and Khadi online have sold some of the items. Most notable among them is The Hudli Project that sells pickles made by women in the sangha. The company was started by Amit Wadavi, a Bengaluru-based IT professional, with roots in Belagavi, and his friends. It is growing slowly, has enlarged its staff strength, and has taken up awareness creation programmes in Hudli.
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