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
Cut off from buyers, artisans depend on middlemen who set the price and provide the loans they need to buy materials and equipment, leaving many locked into debt. When artisans leave the trade for other work, their techniques, refined over generations, disappear for good.
For the rural women who make up most of this workforce, a steady craft income is often the only alternative to migrating to a city for wage work, away from family. When the trade fails, that alternative disappears too.
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.