Using AI for Economic Upliftment of Handicraft Industry
This addresses the economic survival of artisans in rural and underprivileged communities in India by modernizing designs to compete globally.
The paper tackled the decline in sales of traditional Indian handicrafts by using novel AI techniques to generate contemporary designs for Ikat and Block Print, resulting in designs that were significantly more likeable and marketable, leading to greater appeal and revenue for artisans.
The handicraft industry is a strong pillar of Indian economy which provides large-scale employment opportunities to artisans in rural and underprivileged communities. However, in this era of globalization, diverse modern designs have rendered traditional designs old and monotonous, causing an alarming decline of handicraft sales. For this age-old industry to survive the global competition, it is imperative to integrate contemporary designs with Indian handicrafts. In this paper, we use novel AI techniques to generate contemporary designs for two popular Indian handicrafts - Ikat and Block Print. These techniques were successfully employed by communities across India to manufacture and sell products with greater appeal and revenue. The designs are evaluated to be significantly more likeable and marketable than the current designs used by artisans.