Abstract:

The paper explores the problems and scope of handloom sector in north- eastern region of India for economic upliftment of the people. In NE region, women dominate the weaving occupation but in other States like Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Odisha, West Bengal, Haryana and Karnataka, men play a major role in weaving while women are involved in pre-weaving. The women weavers of NE region perform multiple roles of being handloom producers and trading of handloom products. As there are no cloth mills, or large number of powerlooms in the region, weavers put their hard labour by working manually. In the process of earning income, they preserve our culture and heritage by laboriously producing traditional clothes.