TEXTILE
Rilli, the traditional, multicolored bedspreads and quilts, made out of tattered rags, is considered the largest non-farm sector work in Sindh. This rural industry is reported to be among province’s top sectors generating quite high volumes with an average annual target of more than Rs359 million.
The folk crafts are an integral part of life in Sindh. Rilli has a history spread over thousands of years and has come to be known as our cultural heritage.
Primarily done by women at home, this craft is a steady source of income for millions of family. In this age of globalization where women are being pushed out of work to sit idle at homes, the skilled hands of these women artisans have not only kept the art alive but made them economically productive.
Despite changes over the time and competing, alternate products, the demand of Rilli is improving day-by-day. Following high demands designs innovations are being done by artisans, who generate original ideas to attract the market. Women have distinct names of these traditional designs coming through generations like clouds, stars, moon, flowers etc. They also have design depictions of falcon, camel, duck, aero plane, toffees, leaves, glass and birds, done in intricate styles.
Razia Dahri from Moro, Noshahero Feroz district, who travels frequently to facilitate trainings on rilli product, links the market demand with emergence of a range of new products, including dresses, shirts, bed sheets, cushion covers, pillowcases, prayer mats (musallah) or floor coverings and other decorative items like wall hangings. So traditionally something that one could have seen spread out on a ‘charpoy’ in a Sindhi village can be seen taking a very different purpose in the cities.
Now a variety of ‘rilli’ items and not just bed spreads or quilts are prepared by these women with modern and traditional designs to suit the expanded market demands. The raw material remaining the same as thread and pieces of cloth, new or used, these women put their expertise to work and finish into an altogether new look to a traditional cultural product.
Razia Dahri was optimistic to promote this ancient craft, which has more potential in urban market. She travels to participate in exhibitions and usually displays her work and earns enough. She takes names of highly skilled women in the province and proposes the government institutions to encourage these crafty persons with financial support to develop their linkages to urban markets.
Commonly, all over Sindh and some parts of southern Punjab, the women recycle their old clothes’ pieces to make brilliant rilli, although the style does differ across various regions.
The issue remains that there are no proper centers to teach village girls to shift hands with modern designs to attract markets. This skill can be utilized for making diversified products in home textiles as well as garments.
Reports gathered from different areas and some craft centers show that there is huge potential of this work and some of them have created new designs with appliqué work, preparing dresses, bags and other products, as per demand in the market.
Rilli is the most inspiring work among various arts and crafts produced in Sindh province like ajrak, beads work, blue pottery, Sindhi cap, carpets, clay work, crochet, date leave products, lacquer art, leather products, mazri (peesh work). These all items have different varieties, value and market attraction. But only the carpet and clay work sectors have significant number of wholesalers and retailers present in their territories in the Sindh province.
A baseline survey conducted by Aik Hunar Aik Nagar (AHAN) working under the Ministry of Industries & Production of Pakistan found that the most of the products of rural sectors in Sindh have a minimum penetration in the urban markets, except caps, date leaves, wood carving, crochet, and mazri (peesh) products. The production and sales of all other rural non-farm products are in the rural areas of the province.
The study shows that this product even though being a higher volume generating sector in the province has 10,269 cluster facilities in different districts. The annual production units are 2,363,604 with different designs and recognition for their crafts and innovation.
There rarely are any vocational institutes, focusing specifically these rural products. The community-based model of rural development is yet to show the achievements despite their tall claims of providing skill training of rilli-making and embroidery. In many areas, these artisan women sell their products at a meager amount of Rs300-1000. Only in some varieties the cost ranges from Rs Rs3,000—8,000, depending on the texture and quality of cloth.
Otherwise, these artisans may only make a profit of Rs100-200 for an item that has taken three to four days to produce and in some cases the production time may go up to 15 days.
The prices of different designs vary and a tag rilli is available at Rs8,000, challa rilli at Rs5,000, garya at Rs5,000, pati at Rs1,500 and Heran wadi at Rs300. A bed sheet is available at Rs5,000, the profit on which as claimed by the artisan is Rs1250. Like this, the price of embroidered rilli is Rs2,000, cut worked is Rs2,000, table covers one might get at Rs300, cushions at Rs150-300 each, pillow covers for Rs100-200 and handkerchief for a 100 rupees.
But the artisans in the field have their apprehensions about original value and the marketed value as they know that they do not get their justified profit on the products.
They are aware that the color combination and different styles add beauty and change the price tags but the shopkeepers do not recognize this difference. They say “there is a high demand of their work, but mostly shopkeepers do not pay proper rates”.
Despite skill and interest to produce innovative culturally tuned items for markets the socio economic conditions of the artisans’ families are miserable. These rural artisan women are fully dependant on traders and middlemen for any orders of their products. Otherwise, women do not have access to urban market directly to get an appropriate price.
Due to lack of patronage by the government and reluctance to promote rural artisans, these non-farm products from Sindh face a decline despite having a rich cultural heritage. In absence of adequate retail and marketing system to encourage women artisans, due profits are being denied and workers feel discouraged to continue with this traditional art.
To keep this rich cultural heritage intact and more importantly continuation of a livelihood there is a dire need of skill enhancement of artisans in terms of product design, innovation and quality assurance. Apart for this, mechanisms for approaching urban market also need to be put in place for a direct access. These efforts combined with technological up-gradation, market linkages, strategizing and networking with financial institutions can boost this potential rural industry.
The women artisans say that when they calculate the time they spent for each item produced and the return on investment the resultant is not satisfactory. For this they suggest to follow the minimum wage system for the crafts persons.
Government's concerned institutions and departments must realize that proper marketing of these products will help boost this non-farm economic sector. Practical steps like placement and display of products in Foreign Offices in all countries might be a good idea.
Only a strong government interest in this sector can sustain the livelihood of thousands of women involved, some of who depend solely on this work to run their families.
Groups of craftspeople must be patronized to participate in events and exhibitions at national and international level to make them learn to promote their small businesses.
The writer is a staff member
