Characterizing the geography of artisanal production: case of handloom industry in Varanasi, India

Abstract

Although cultural and creative industries (CCI) have been recognized as drivers of sustainable development, those based in developing countries have received scant scholarly attention. Unlike technology-intensive CCIs concentrated in post-industrial cities of developed countries, CCIs in developing countries are majorly based upon cottage-based labour-intensive manufacturing of traditional crafts and artisanal products. Such production is typically led by artisan communities practising hereditary skill transfer over generations, while living in dense geographical clusters spread over urban and/or rural areas. Such a symbiotic interrelationship between place, culture, and economy has been explored in this paper by examining the geography of handloom production units in Varanasi, one of India’s oldest textile centres. Based on census data, location quotient analysis revealed that handloom weavers stay in two dense geographical clusters. Analysis of the sampled data on key qualitative attributes of production, particularly types of weaves and weaving techniques, identified spatial patterns to be heterogenous. It has been further argued that such heterogeneity is correlated with the distinctive identity of a weaver, which is shaped by his location, socio-economic status, and religious and sectarian belief. Hence, creative economic growth policies in developing countries require a deeper understanding of the latent socio-spatial structure of its artisanal production.