How Kashmir artisans are exploring e-commerce to end middleman monopoly

Srinagar: Mohammad Ayaz Bhat, a handicraft artisan from Gojwara Srinagar would make little money by selling his hand-carved wooden products through a middleman.

His income, which has been solely through his art, would hardly suffice his daily needs including the education of his three children and expenses at home.

It was one of his relatives who told him to tie up with an e-commerce company to sell products directly to customers in India.

“The biggest problem that artisans face is the middleman in this trade. They give peanuts to the artisans while making a good sum by exporting it to different countries,” Bhat said.

Bhat has made use of social media handles and has received orders from across the country.

“I have tied up with various logistics companies to ship my products to the customers. The idea of eliminating middleman has helped me grow as an artisan,” he said.

Using social media, local Kashmiri artisans are leveraging e-commerce platforms to build their brands and enhance their reach countrywide.

From pashmina weavers to paper mache, carpet weavers, and leather artisans, thousands of artisans from the valley have made their presence on social media to promote their work.

The craftsmen now have access to new markets where they can sell their goods. By utilizing platforms like social networking, e-commerce, and other digital ones, they now reach a larger number of people.

As such many e-commerce sites including Handicraft Mall, Etsy, marketplace, and Amazon Handmade, are made especially for artists and craftspeople. These sites offer features catered to their requirements, like customizable storefronts, simple tools for listing and managing products, and secure payment processing.

Additionally, these platforms give artisans access to analytics and customer information, which can help them understand their customers better and enhance their marketing initiatives.

Logistics service providers said that the booming of e-commerce has certainly helped local artisans to grow their businesses.

“E-commerce has provided a platform for our artisans and traders to take their products to the global level. We are now more engaged with the shipping of products from Kashmir to the rest of the states, which indicated that our artisans are getting good demand for their products,” said Umar Ahmad, an employee at Xpressbees logistics company.