Background

Across India, lakhs of artisans make a living through traditional crafts, from weaving and embroidery to pottery, woodwork, metalwork, and many others. Their work carries generations of knowledge and skill, but being good at a craft does not always make it easy to run a successful business. Many people still work in small, informal setups and can struggle to reach new customers, understand pricing and finances, find the right equipment, or access money to grow their businesses. The Development Commissioner (Handicrafts), Ministry of Textiles, itself identifies little capital and lack of access to institutional support as some of the major challenges faced by the sector.

Access to finance is one part of this problem. According to India’s Sixth Economic Census, 85.88% of handicraft and handloom establishments were self-financed, while only 1.19% received finance from banks or financial institutions. This means that for many artisan businesses, increasing production, or taking on apprentices can be difficult even when there is demand for their work. 

Market access is another important part of the picture. An artisan may spend hours creating something by hand, but still have very few ways of reaching people outside their local community. Chowk.in has been conceptualised around this gap. The idea is simple: if artisans are given better access to markets, practical financial knowledge, and the resources needed to grow, their craft can become not just something they preserve, but something they can build a sustainable livelihood around.