For artisans like Kohinoor Khatoon, becoming a digital entrepreneur is a milestone, not the journey’s end. While digital access is opening doors in the villages of West Bengal, it is also surfacing persistent barriers, shifting the challenge from connectivity to competitiveness.
Digital entrepreneurs need to:
- Acquire trade licenses,
- Navigate e-government platforms
- Secure loans
- Market online
- Accept digital payments
Shifting Tastes Threaten Crafts
Global demand for jute bags dropped 30% last year even as plastics flooded India — polluting waterways, cities and villages, harming wildlife and popping up as microplastics in food. Despite rising global interest in sustainable products, most jute items remain basic sacks and bags.
Jute artisans — rural women entrepreneurs who hand-make jute bags — face challenges beyond cheap synthetics. For the jute artisan to be competitive it requires reimagining jute fiber itself — not just as a plant used to make traditional handicrafts items, but as a quality base for beautifully designed, functional accessories.
This may involve rethinking design, adopting advanced treatments for softer thread, and applying modern finishing to enhance form and function. Only then might just be able to compete with synthetic products and keep its eco-friendly edge.
Artisans also need to embrace circular economy principles — designing for durability, repair, and reuse, while repurposing waste — to unlock the fibre’s potential and position Bengal’s jute as a sustainable alternative to single-use plastics.
Modern consumers seek authenticity, innovation, usability, and style. They want artfully woven products for fashion-forward accessories and décor. Even as every product needs to meet benchmarks for aesthetics, creativity, and durability, they also need to undergo rigorous quality control and adherence to international standards.
Digital Skills Extend Beyond Marketing
For the artisans, digital skills will need to extend into production and beyond.
Integrating technology into fiber extraction, loom operations, and design enables them to create diverse, high-value products — from packaging to fashion and décor. As they seek bigger international markets, they will need help navigating trade standards, certifications, and export logistics.
Building an integrated ecosystem requires artisans, to work with technologists, designers, and market experts.
Artisans need to learn to communicate complexity. Beyond annecdotes about product origins and heritage, storytellers will need to communicate concepts such as environmental stewardship and circular economy.
If digital adoption is the start of an entrepreneur’s journey; innovation in design, and excellence in quality might ensure Bengal’s bags thrive globally, embracing the future, while keeping tradition alive.
