Cottage Industry/Kutir Shilpa

1. Introduction
Cottage Industry is a concentrated form of small scale industry where the productivity of the
goods takes place in the houses of the laborers and the workforce include the members of the
family. The equipments used to generate products are not the hi-tech ones but generally those
which are used at homes.
Cottage industry is generally unorganized in character and falls under the category of small scale
industry. They produce consumable products through the use of conventional methods. These
types of industries originate in the country sides where unemployment and under-employment
are widespread. In this way, cottage industries help the economy by engrossing a massive
amount of remaining workforce of the rural areas. But on the flip side Cottage Industry cannot be
considered as the mass producer of products. It faces major risks from medium or large
industries which demand huge amount of capital investment for all types of hi-end technologies.
An industry where the creation of products and services is home-based, rather than factorybased. While products and services created by cottage industry are often unique and distinctive
given the fact that they are usually not mass-produced, producers in this sector often face
numerous disadvantages when trying to compete with much larger factory-based companies

2. History of Cottage Industry/Kutir ShilpaV

Cottage Industry refers to the traditional artisanship of rural people of Bangladesh, who produce
various household items with locally available raw materials and artistic skills inherited through
ages. For their own use and for livelihood, they make those artistic products by hand depicting
the design and motif of the nature of Bangladesh and its people, birds and animals, foliages,
plants and trees, rivers, streams and sky. Cottage industry is called a synonym of handicrafts,
artistic work in wood and metal, amateur artworks and rural artistry. At present the cottage
industry has expanded to urban area.

According to Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industries Corporation (BSCIC), Cottage industry is
a small-scale industrial unit run by the members of the same family either on full or part time
basis. Its maximum number of workers should be limited within 20; it uses indigenous
technology and is not run by power. If it uses power-run machinery, the maximum number of
workers should be ten. The NATIONAL BOARD OF REVENUE (NBR) considers the cottage industry
as an industrial unit run by a maximum of 50 workers using local skills without adopting powerrun mechanical equipment. It has been mentioned in the Industrial Policy-2010 that the net asset
of a unit of cottage industry without the land and the factory should be less than five hundred
thousand taka and its maximum workforce should be ten and they would preferably be family
members.

The history of cottage industry is very old. Moroccan traveler IBN BATUTA (1304-1377) in his
travelogue mentioned the world famous product of MUSLIN produced in Bengal which earned
appreciation from all over the world for its extraordinary quality. In pre-British Bengal, the
cotton industry was organized under the pure handcraft or the domestic system of production.
During the Mughal rule in Bengal, Cottage industry used to be patronized by the government.
financed the weaver and artisans, and other handicraft makers for producing goods of export
quality. Later, the employees of East India Company imposed a series of repressive steps on
weavers, artisans and other craftsmen engaged in cottage industries. As a result the export of
textile and handloom products reduced significantly. For instance, export earnings from fabric,
which was 13 million rupees in 1815 declined to one million rupees in 1832 and became nil in
the following year. Contrast, import of foreign made fabric, basically industrial product began in
1832. Only in that year, the East India Company compelled the domestic consumers to buy fabric
worth 4 million rupees imported from England. The partition of 1947 caused further damages to
the cottage industry in Bangladesh as many Hindu artisans and craftsmen left the country.
According to a survey conducted in 2005, there were 7 lake units of industries in Bangladesh of
which large-scale industries were 6000, medium scale 5000, small industries 76, 000 and cottage
industries 6 lake 20 thousand. Earlier, during the fiscal year 1999-2000, 4085 new industrial
units including 3240 cottage industries were registered. The total amount of investment in
cottage industry in the year was 508 million taka and the sector provided job opportunity to 40
thousand artisans and craftsmen.

3. Classification of cottage industries/ Kutir ShilpaV

According to the international standard of classification of industries, the cottage industries are
categorized into eight groups. These are: (1) Food, drinks, tobacco processing industries: milk

products, fruit processing and canning, fish processing and canning, ginger drying, pulse
grinding mills, flour mills, rice mills, oil mills, spice grinding factories, bakery, molasses
making, fodder and poultry feeds, ice factory, salt plant, catechu making, sweet meat making,
honey processing, bide factory, apiculture, fish farming, poultry farming, flattened and puffed
rice making; (2) Textile and leather factories: cotton yarn spinning, sericulture and making of silk
products, handloom, cloth printing, zamdani weaving, stitching and embroidery, hosiery, socks
and woolen goods making, coconut-coir products, jute yarn and rope making, netting, fishing net
making, garments factory, leather processing, leather product making, batik printing, shataranji
weaving and carpet making; (3) Timber and wooden furniture industries: boat making, wooden
toy and furniture making, cane and bamboo goods and furniture making, sports goods
production, musical instruments and hookah making, mat preparing, wood curving, wooden
agricultural equipment like plough, house decorating materials and timber by-products making;
(4) Printing, packaging and paper industries: recycling of old and wastage papers and making
goods there from, printing press, book binding, paper based handicrafts, paper bags, paper-made
flowers making etc; (5) Chemical and petroleum group of cottage industries:' allopathic, inane
and ayurvedic medicine preparation, printing ink and dying industries, paints and polish items,
auger and candles, cosmetics, soap factories, shoe-shiners, combs and buttons, pottery and glass
factories, chalk making, slate and pencil, plastic toys and bags etc; (6) Non-metallic industries:
limestone and snail-based lime, chalk powder and color chalk, shell crafts including buttons and
bracelets; (7) Metallic products machinery and equipment: steel furniture, electroplating, metallic
nets, metal plate making and printing, nails, brass and bell-metal utensils, steel tanks, hair clips,
machinery and agricultural equipment, electrical goods, jewelry products, light engineering and
blacksmiths production and (8) Handicraft products and other cottage industry.

3.1 Bambao and cane industries:

The survey of BSCIC (1985) suggested that 122 thousand artisans were engaged in the country's
42 thousand bamboo and cane crafts making units. At that time raw materials worth 224 million
taka were used per year to produce items worth 500 million taka. Major items of this category
are cane products, partition, mat, fishing trap, hand fan, sofa set, table-mat, wall-mat, tray, flower
vase, ash tray etc and they are mainly produced in Comilla, Sylhet, Chittagong and Noakhali.

Cane furnitures

3.2 Pottery:
According to a survey conducted by BSCIC, published in a book titled Karupalli in 1985, there
were 666 pottery villages in Bangladesh, where about 76 thousand people belong to 18 thousand
families had to earn their livelihood from this traditional occupation. The total capital investment
in the sector was 106 million taka and goods worth 367.4 million taka were produced during that
period. Pottery is a family and community based collective work localised on the basis of
availability of raw materials. Most of the artisans engaged in this industry hereditarily and most
of them belonged to the Hindu community.
Known as kumbhokar (potter or clay-modeller), the title of this caste is pala and they make dolls,
statues of gods and goddess, household goods, sculpture, tally, flower vases, pots for offering
worship, fancy kitchen pots made of clay. Bijaypur of Comilla, Madanpura of Patuakhali,
Champaknagar of Feni, Kartikpur of Shariatpur and Royerbazar in Dhaka are the most
remarkable and leading pottery localities.

Pottery

3.3 Textile and Weaving factories

In 1978, about one million weavers, artisans and workers were engaged in 437 thousand
handlooms and pure looms of 198 thousand weaving and textile factories of Bangladesh. The
average annual production capacity of these looms was 1045 million yards of indigenous
clothing like sharee, lungi, dhuti, muslin, jamdani, katan, malmal and traditional handloom
products of different tribes, gamcha, mosquito nets and towels.
Narshingdi, Roypura, Demra, Tangail, Shahjadpur, Bera, Kumarkhali, Magura, Rajshahi,
Khadimnagar, Mirgarh and Nasirnagar are very famous places of origin of these products.
Fashion and boutique houses are designing and making modern dress from traditional cloths of
tribal weavers, muslin, jamdani, and malmal taroyo sharee, sharees of Pabna and Tangail origin,
Silk and Khadi lengths.

Textile products
3.4 Embroidered Quilts:
The most famous stitch work of Bangladesh is embroidered quilts, known as Nakshi-Kantha.
Thirteen different types of high quality Nakshi-Kantha are stitched everywhere in Bangladesh,
but those of Rajshahi, Nawabganj, Rangpur, Faridpur and Kushtia are very special in terms of
traditional and exclusive design. According to BSCIC, 1500 cottage industries run commercially
as promoters of stitch work have 3000 high-class artisans with a production capacity of goods
worth 161 million taka per year.

Embroidered Quilt
3.5 Cool Mat:
A special type of mat made by bark of a tree named morta. The mat, very soothing and cool to lie
upon, is a traditional craft of Rajnagar, Balagonj, Baralekha and Mollarbazar area of Sylhet,
Sonagazi and Raipur of Noakhali, Swarupkathi and Neelgati of Barisal and Shatech of Faridpur.

Different designs and motifs of birds, animals and foliage from the nature and environment are
portrayed by the artisans beautifully on the mat with red, blue, green, black and violet colours.
About 15 thousand artisans produce cool mats of 50 million taka per year. Earlier in this country
cool mats were made by silver and ivory.

Cool Mat

Section Part:
4. Potter industry:
Mrittika is a pottery product manufacturing company will offer different type of artistic pottery
product for the customer with a wide verity design a product line.
Product description: - Mrittika has a verity of product line from which of choose during the first two
years. The product line will be include
Ornament (folk motive, modern motive, combination of folk and modern motive)
Sculpture
Terracotta
Competitive comparison: - mtittika product contains this feature that distinguishes them from that
product by competitor:
Mrittika products are combination of 100 percent handmade, cheap, artistic design and innovative
ideas, which differentiate their product from the competitor product.

The quality of the mrittika product will better because they using ceramics coat, which gives the
product durability and more shine.
Sales literature:- copies of mrittika product more specially ornament and other arrangement are
included. Upon production of advertisement and brochure these will be added.
Future product:- mrittika will introduce different type of new product such as vas, home and office
decorative pottery product and diversified their product line.
The art of pottery is perhaps a old as human civilization. Initially, it started WITH clay and then
passed through stage of molding various media like Wood, Stone, Shell and metal before reaching
the age of ceramic and porcelain. To stress the historical background of pottery one is to remember
that the production of pottery is one of the most ancient acts. The oldest known body of pottery dates
from the jomon period (from about 10,500 to 400 BC) in japans, and even the earliest jomon
ceramics exhibited a unique sophistication of technique and design.
According to a legend, the first pot was made to store amrita (the nectar of immortality). Thus the
khumbas, or Kumar the name also given to the potter's community, were hold in high esteem.
The history of Bangladesh pottery art is also very old as the Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa civilization.
Some earthenware was found after the excavation of Mohasthangarh in bogra (three hundred BC).
The folk arts of historical terracotta are
Being used in modern design and beautification in most of the tastefully decorated construction in
Bangladesh.
This is relatively an old industry but recent past this industry flourishes in our country. This industry
is now in the growth stage. Artistic pottery product introduce by Aarong, Vertical, Ideals, Jatra and
Kumodini five to seven years ago. Bangladesh is blessed with good quality of soil, which is main
row material for the product and the labor cost is cheap. Bangladesh started to export artistic pottery
product recently and its demand is increase day by day. Our proposed company Mrittika can earn
foreign currency by exporting artistic pottery product.

5. Promote the product:

Advertisement: - advert will focus on giving the information about our
Existence and try to emotionally attach customer with Mrittika product.
Sales promotion:Fashion show
Exhibition

5.1 Place (distribution strategy)

Initially we will start with their showroom in Dhaka city in Bangladesh by our Mrittika
department, located in various important places which are Gulshan, Assad gate, Shahadag. The
organization will gradually increase the number of outlets.

5.2 Category factor attractiveness

Bargaining power of buyers: - bargaining power of the buyer is low because few competitors are
present in the market. Customers dont have the abject information about the cost of product.
Bargaining power of suppliers: - bargaining power of the suppliers is high because few
competitor are present in the market, supply is limited, and supplier are highly concentrated
(ornament, terracotta, and sculpture)
Current category rivalry: - current category rivalry is low because number of competitor is
present in the market, low fixed cost, and for the strong product differentiation.
Pressure from substitute: - pressure from substitute is low and its decline day by day because of
the high price of the show piece and continuous price increase of the gold.
Category capacity: - category capacity is not so high normally they can diverse in the interior
decoration pottery product.

6. History of Ad:
Potters do hard work for selling the potteries.
Potter makes different products and his wife and children dry the products in sunshine and craft
on these. These designs show their feelings on their work.
After that in evening they sell the products in village market and earn money. This money is the
only source of making their meal and livelihood. But this money is not enough to support their
family.
As usually this poverty makes him disappointed about his life.
One day an industrialist gives him an offer to sell the products in the city. As a result he can be
able to sell more products and earn more money and make profit. The potter accepts the offer
and after a period of time he makes profit and finds happiness among them.

7. Target Market Opportunity:

Lower price: - pottery made product are mainly comes with lower price, and its labor cost
will also low, so customer can get better product in lower price.
Popularity of interior decoration: - as people are becoming a very conscious about home
and interior decoration. It creates a huge opportunity for the pottery made product. As days
are passing more and more demand for unique clay made product is created.

8. Conclusion:
After conducting the market analysis, category attractiveness analysis, S.W.O.T, PEST
analysis. We find that as there is no company with brand name producing exclusively only
pottery product and as the market size and the future market of this product is relatively
good, we find that the market potentiality of the "Mrittika" product is very good.