India is known for its rich handicraft and artisanal heritage. However, during the pandemic-induced lockdown, small businesses and craftsmen were the worst hit. Amazon India has stepped up to help artisans reach out to customers across the country, showcasing their unique skills through traditional tribal and local handicrafts. The dedicated online storefront, Amazon Karigar, is an effort to honour this spirit of diversity and creativity.
Ahead of the festive season, Amazon India has announced the launch of Karigar Mela in partnership with Tribes India. Customers can shop from a selection of nearly 1.2 lakh handicraft and handloom products, including crafts such as Bidri, Dhokra, Ikkat, Patachitra, Madhubani and blue art pottery.
Over 12 lakh artisans are benefited through the sellers associated with Amazon Karigar and through 25 government emporiums. Through this initiative, Amazon India supports the artisans in various ways in launching, scaling and marketing their businesses on Amazon. As part of the Karigar Mela initiative, Karigar sellers will also benefit from a 100% Selling on Amazon (SoA) fee waiver for two weeks starting from August 30, 2021, to September 12, 2021.
In the last 12 months, Amazon has launched other initiatives such as Stand for Handmade, a 10-week initiative to help artisans rebound from the economic disruption caused by Covid-19. This enabled over 4500+ Pochampally weavers from 56 villages of Telangana, 5000+ weavers from West Bengal, 1000+ artisans from East India, over 10,000 artisans from Chhattisgarh among many others to recover and resume their handlooms and handicrafts business.
On their partnership with Amazon, Pravir Krishna, Managing Director, TRIFED, commented, “TRIFED and Tribes India are a family of 5 lakh tribal master craftsmen and women who produce a rich volume of handicraft and handloom products in India. With Amazon introducing the Karigar Mela initiative towards the revival of this segment, tribal artisan sellers will benefit from a dedicated store as it will bring customer attention to their unique and differentiated products while providing them with a host of relaxations and benefits of selling online.”
“With the festive season coming up, we believe that such initiatives will empower indigenous craftspeople, weavers and tribal artisans and help the rich legacy of Indian art and craft to thrive,” stated Amit Agarwal, Global Senior VP and Country Head, Amazon India. He added, “We will continue to collaborate with government and non-government organizations to enable Indian artisans and weavers across the country to accelerate their growth through e-commerce.”
With Karigar Mela, it’s time for people to show their love and appreciation for products that are #HandcraftedWithLove.