Coming together as an OFPO increased the average income of Sehar Carpet artisans by 3 times, resulting in significant drop in the average school dropouts in Baramulla and Bandipora; and encouraging women to actively participate in carpet weaving. Today they are leveraging technology by being on the ONDC platform to reach out to a greater audience.
Counterfeit products and exploitative trade practices are often the stumbling blocks to prosperity for artisans. The stakes are even higher when it comes to prized products such as Kashmiri carpets. To free the talented weavers from the shackles of poverty, uplift their livelihoods and give them the power of collectives, NABARD encouraged artisans to form Sehar Carpet Producers Company Limited - an Off-Farm Producer Organisation (OFPO).
They started their journey in 2020 with 287 shareholder members and a paid-up capital of Rs. 4.10 lakh. Sehar Carpet is the only OFPO as a Company with a GI tag in the state, for Kashmiri authentic handmade carpets. They have devised their own raw material and design bank. While Kashmiri carpets are their key product, the OFPO has also diversified into production of silk carpets, silk carpets with cotton base, staple carpets, woolen carpets and more. The economic uplift is reflected in the quality of work as the artisans have upgraded from 18 knots per inch to 24 knots per inch of carpet weaving.