Marketing Difficulties of Jute Handicraft Products –A Study of SHG Entrepreneurs in Cooch Behar

Abstract

To bring the untapped rural women into the mainstream economy, the Government of India under the Ministry of Rural Development launched the National Rural Livelihoods Mission in 2011 across the country by revamping the earlier Swarnjayanti Gram Swarojgar Yojana, and in West Bengal, it is the West Bengal State Rural Livelihoods Mission and this has been implemented and popularised as Anandadhara in 2012- formed under the Panchayats and Rural Development Department. The mission has initiated a federal structure to make the poor and vulnerable rural women economically and socially stronger. As a result of this, the formation of SHGs, Sub-Cluster, Cluster and Federation has taken place. SHGs of Cooch Behar are involved in different income-generating activities, including the handicraft products. This paper will specifically deal with the different avenues of marketing jute handicraft products and the difficulties in marketing the products produced by the SHG women entrepreneurs, which are running under the clusters of Anandadhara (WBSRLM) of the NRLM. The study shows that the major marketing avenues for Jute handicrafts are their workhouses, fairs or exhibitions, local markets, city stalls, own shops and e-marketing platforms. The women SHG entrepreneurs sell their products at wholesale as well as at retail prices. The study has found that the women SHG entrepreneurs face several problems and difficulties in marketing the products. The major difficulties are the determination of prices of the products, high competition, the absence of a regular marketplace, etc. To overcome the difficulties the clusters and other Government agencies should provide hands-on training to the beneficiaries on pricing, packaging, branding, e-marketing and e-payment mechanisms with holistic promotion and publicity of the SHG-made Jute handicraft products.