Women’s Empowerment Through the Revival of Traditional Industries Transforming the Lives of Artisans in Pashchim Medinipur, West Bengal

Babui grass grows naturally in the eastern state of West Bengal in India. Women in households have been utilising this naturally grown grass to make multi-utility products like baskets and decorative items. The products are sustainable and environmentally friendly. The handloom mat weaving in the Pashchim Medinipur district of West Bengal holds a rich cultural heritage. For hundreds of years, the local people used to weave mats on a bamboo structured loom fi xed on the fl oor, which were used as fl oor mats or bed mats. Earlier, these products were utilised only at the household level, but the women-led Mat & Babui (Sabai)1 Grass Craft Cluster in the Markandachak village of Pashchim Medinipur district, located 150 km away from Kolkata has provided livelihood opportunities, especially to the women artisans. The grass is listed as a cash crop. The Indian Micro Enterprises Development Foundation (IMEDF) and Child and Social Welfare Society (CSWS) identifi ed the opportunity to set up a cluster through the Scheme “Fund for the Regeneration of Traditional Industries (SFURTI)” under the Ministry of Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSME) that promotes the revival of such traditional cottage industries. IMEDF is a Nodal Agency with the Ministry of MSME. Its primary line of business is cluster development.