Rangsutra Short Documentary (English Version)

Rangsutra designs a unique model where artisans are entrepreneurs

Difficulty in accessing funding led Sumita Ghose to explore the idea of converting the co-operative unit that she operated, into a company. Set up in Rajasthan, the unit supplied apparel for women, men and children and also produced home furnishings and accessories for large retail chains.

But converting this co-operative unit into a for-profit company was a challenge, more so as Ghose was clear that the artisans must also have a stake in the company.

In 2006, Ghose set up Rangsutra Crafts India , a company that started out with a paid up capital of Rs 50 lakh. 1000 artisans put in Rs 1,000 each for a quarter of the shares in the company. Ghose, social venture capital fund Aavishkaar, and Fabindia's Artisans Microfinance hold the rest. The company's products are sourced almost entirely by ethnic retail major FabIndia, a business that now has a turnover of Rs 8 crore.

Though Rangsutra works with producer units, they function independently. They have strong design and market linkages through Fabindia. The designs are given by Rangsutra and the units create the fabrics. One unit creates the fabric, while another does the embroidery and yet another comes out with the final output.

Ghose realized early on that the model would work only if there were economies of scale. With production scaling up and their main buyer Fabindia growing at a fast clip, Rangsutra broke even in 2009. However, there have been many difficulties on the way. The main challenge was to balance profitability with fair wages in a competitive environment. Also, a change in the mindset of the artisans was crucial, to create such an enterprise out of their work.

The company is clocking up around 8-9 crore in turnover. While the numbers are impressive, the real story is how Rangsutra has grown as an organisation, made strides in product development and has helped and engaged with artisans.

Directed By:
Aarti Shrivastava
A young emerging entrepreneur focused on media for social change

Unreasonable * (situation, people, strategy) = Unreasonable Impact

Media for Social Impact

Category:

Nonprofits & Activism

Tags:

• Social
• Innovation
• Entrepreneurship
• Enterprise
• India