PR No. -305
August 22, 2022
New Delhi
Mr. Mehmood Ahmad Shah (JKAS) Director Handicrafts & Handloom Kashmir was accorded a warm welcome by a delegation of PHDCCI-Kashmir led by its Co-Chair Mr Vicky Shaw, EC-Members Mr. Jan Muhammad Kaul, Mr. Shahjehan Ahmad and Mr. Iqbal Fayaz Jan Deputy Director PHDCCI-J&K.
Speaking on the occasion Mr Vicky Shaw Said that “I warmly welcome Mr. Mehmood to handle this very important department dealing with Traditional Art and Craft of Jammu & Kashmir. We are confident that under Mr. Mehmood`s leadership the Handicraft and Handloom Department will reach its full potential. Mr Vicky further added that in earlier tenure Mehmood’s contribution and interventions to the Handicraft was the driving force behind the renaissance of Kashmir handicrafts and handlooms; and he has always played a vital role for the upliftment of the socio-economic standard of Artisans by pioneering the co-operation at various levels of Handicraft Trade.
The Delegation discussed on the issues and future plan of action for development of traditional Art and Craft of Kashmir. The delegation was apprised by Director of Handicrafts that to develop and promote the marketing channels in domestic as well as export market in an integrated manner the department is working on Domestic and International Market promotion by Organizing Expos, events, Craft Melas, Development of web Portal for e-marketing, Publicity, branding, and designer intervention for marketing Support and implementation of Geographical Indications of all Traditional Art and Craft of Kashmir. Mr. Mehmood further said that the Technology is making advancements at a rapid rate but at the cost of a valued tradition—the crafts industry. Although mechanization of crafts poses a challenge to safeguarding traditional crafts. Some makers see machines as a time-saving blessing since they accomplish difficult and demanding tasks with relative ease. These machines might give a better finesse to these products but they don’t stand out as handcrafted. Quantity has overtaken quality in this traditional industry. A need to highlight the importance of the handmade aspect is required by both the government and private sectors, in order to amplify awareness and also support the culture of making handicrafts the Handicrafts and Handloom department will rejuvenate and revive this rich traditional craft culture and heritage, although it’s an uphill task but we will tackle this by working together with all stakeholders. He further said that, the average earning of a craftsman when compared to that of other fields is very low. Hence, the younger generation is moving to other fields with only the elder craftsmen being left behind.
The Kashmir needs younger generation of craftsmen to carry on the tradition of handicrafts, and this is only possible by ensuring the assistance of craftsmen to improve their techniques, availability of quality raw materials, direct marketing channels, credit and better wages and providing them with socio-economic benefits and Social recognition, therefore our focus will be to help buyers understand how to distinguish authentic Kashmiri Handicrafts from fake products that will help us to achieve our targets added Mr. Mehmood.
Warm Regards, Media Division PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry