Artisan livelihoods
“Why can't the world's artisans earn a living from work machines can't replicate?”
Root causes (expand to see solutions)
Artisan work is the second-largest source of livelihoods in the developing world, yet the people who make things by hand increasingly cannot live on it.
What's at stake
A lost craft cannot simply be restarted: the knowledge lives through people, not manuals, and can vanish for good. Rural women make up a large share of the artisan economy and lose a rare income source earned from home, and the independence that came with it.
The global picture
South Asia
High severity
Home to millions of handloom weavers and craftspeople undercut by cheap factory goods.Handloom Census, 2020
Artisans face the same squeeze from mass production worldwide, including craftspeople in wealthy countries.