Bathiudeen forms high level Handlooms Taskforce, National Handlooms Centre next

For the first time in the handlooms history of Sri Lanka, a National Level Task Force (NLTF) has been formed by a top Minister for the development of the handloom sector and to prepare a viable business model for it on a high priority basis.

Minister of Industry and Commerce Rishad Bathiudeen said, “The Task Force I am setting up today is a national level effort and will infuse the Private Public Partnership model to this sector. It will give value and professional structure to it. It will also lead to a centralised National Handloom Coordinating Centre, create the essential roadmap for the development of this promising sector and will promptly begin to implement its targets starting from mid-January 2012.”

He was addressing the pioneering meet of the high level taskforce on 22 December at the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, where representatives from the USAID, National Entrepreneurs Development Authority (NEDA), University of Moratuwa, Export Development Board, Department of Textiles, Sri Lanka Institute of Textile and Apparel, joined together to map out the future direction of the promising Sri Lankan handloom sector.

“The overall objective of the Task Force is to identify the challenges and issues of the $ 13 million handloom industry in Sri Lanka and propose an appropriate Business Model for sustainable development it,” Minister Bathiudeen said, adding, “We should diversify our handlooms basket further. We need to minimise yarn import prices for the industry to be profitable. We also need to introduce many more private sector players to supply quality yarn for the industry. The weavers should now start to earn a decent, if not an attractive earning for their efforts, which is a key focus of the Task Force. The Task Force will also oversee capacity building of 100000 Lankan handloom personnel in the next three years so that the human resource void could be overcome.”

Industry experts and pioneers have already warned of the dearth of second generation skilled weavers once the current weavers vacate from the industry. Lack of recognition is a major reason for the youth to stay away from this promising industry.

“We also identified that efficient management of the enterprises, attracting the younger generation to the Industry, promoting the industry at village level and linking with national level programmes like the Divi–Naguma, as priority areas to be addressed.  As per the committed and guided initiative of Minister of Economic Development Basil Rajapaksa, we will begin to form District Level Handloom Coordinating Centres (DLHCC) very soon. These DLHCCs will bring in the much needed structure to the industry and will facilitate buyer -seller meets, design and development of products, giving weavers exposure to competitor’s products, and helping the designers to innovate. The DLHCCs will be coordinated by the centralised National Handloom Coordinating Centre (NHCC) to be located at Katubedda under the Department of Textiles. The focus areas of the Task Force are marketing, training and designing, entrepreneurship in handloom industry, productivity enhancement, procuring of raw material, analysing the problems faced by major buyers and exporters, examine and recommend improving the industry affected in North and East provinces,” Minister Bathiudeen announced.

The Task Force will review its progress in the first week of January 2012 and will begin implementing the initial recommendations before the end of January itself.

Among the tasks the Task Force will initially begin are combining the micro and SME segments of the handlooms industry, developing the Design Centre at Moratuwa towards a Centre of Excellence level, initiate and mediate negotiations between the weavers and the private sector buyers through organising effective buyer seller meetings, bringing in new innovations especially in design and development, work towards diversification of the basket of looms.

Sri Lanka’s handloom sector is one of the low cost but high earning industries. Its annual production exceeds six million metres of looms with an estimated annual production value of Rs. 1500 million ($ 13.19 million) all of which are swallowed by both local and international demand. The production is labour intensive and the industry consumes less electricity and utilities while generating higher employment.  

At present, there are 511 weaving centres with 2971 weavers and more than 10000 looms in Sri Lanka assisted by 22 dying houses. More than 15000 personnel are engaged in the handloom industry. The key Lankan provinces for handlooms are the Wayamba, Western, and Central provinces.

The eastern regions of Sri Lanka too were reputed for handlooms but the 2004 Tsunami disaster inflicted damage on the eastern production but despite this, eastern handlooms continue to command buyer appeal. The handloom textile export target for 2011 set by the EDB under the Ministry of Industries is US $ 1.29 million (Rs. 146 million).

 USAID/VEGA Expert Haoua Cheick who is currently on her second assignment in Sri Lanka on the promising Peace Collection, said: “This is wonderful. This is what the Sri Lankan handlooms sector really needs. Another supporting Task Force is also need to be formulated but as of this moment it is a major step since it brings in value and the professional structure to the industry. Weaving has always been traditional practice therefore it is very important that you revive it for its very continuity.”  Cheick will be traveling to Jaffna, Vavuniya, Mannar, Mullathivu, Kilinochchi, Polonnaruwa, Anuradhapura, Trincomalee, Batticaloa and Ampara during the next three weeks to finalise the descriptive materials required to support the product range.