Kolhapuri chappal on a global trek, eyes $150,000 in sales this fiscal

It was her first flight. That too an international one. But more than the anxiety associated with entering an aircraft for the first time, Sujata Sahadev’s thoughts were concentrated on her footwear which she was going to display at the International Shoe Fair in Dusseldorf in Germany.

Locally made footwear sells like hot cakes abroad for skyrocketing prices was an unheard concept for the lady from Athani, a small town in North Karnataka, whose family has been in this business since ages.

Foreigners were quite interested in knowing how we crafted the designs with our hands, she says.

Her friend Balabai Kamble has also been for the Dusseldorf fair and is confident about her designs and the price they command.
With the money made from selling footwear, Kamble was able to not just repay loans taken from a money lender, but also invest in gold for her daughter.

Both friends are part of the Toehold Artisans Collaborative (TAC), an enterprise owned by 15 self-help groups (SHGs), which in turn are owned by over 200 women in Athani, which prides itself in making traditional Kolhapuri chappals.

“We export to EU, Japan and Korea,” says Kamble, who along with her husband ends up making about 100 pairs each month.
TAC exported about 20,000-25,000 pairs in 2010-11 and had a turnover of $85,000, says K Raghu, general manager, TAC. This marks a long way from 2001-02, when revenues were only $20,000.

This year, the enterprise is eyeing a turnover of $150,000 by aiming to export over 30,000 pairs.

“The products are all high-end and the enterprise works on a high value low volume concept,” says Madhura Chatrapathy, trustee director, Asian Centre for Entrepreneurial Initiatives, which helped set up TAC. “Prices start from Rs250 and go up to Rs1600.”

Before TAC was incorporated in October 2000, the artisans, most of them belong to the Samagaara community, worked as bonded labourers in factories owned by traders who gave them a low price and often returned unsold items after months.

Kamble says her family owed loans of Rs40,000-50,000 to a local trader. “Earlier we lived life on the edge.”

Chatrapathy says first the SHGs were created and then training was provided to the people and TAC was formed. “Production is decentralised with artisans crafting in their homes, and later sold in a centralised manner to wholesalers and in international shoe fairs.”

Artisans earn a monthly income through TAC, while profits are shared, with 40% going to the artisans, another 40% to TAC, and 20% to the SHGs.

“Depending on the designs, I end up earning between Rs1500-2000 in a month,” says Kamble.

TAC is run like any business enterprise, says Chatrapathy, with a customer-centric approach and looks at making profits. “However at the backend, it is a social enterprise focused on developing values.”

Crafted from leather that is locally tanned using vegetable dyes, the Kolhapuri chappal making process involves both men and women, with the former making the hard soles, and the latter the intricate designs.

“With men and women working jointly, evils like domestic violence and alcoholism have reduced drastically among artisan families,” says Chatrapathy.

Raghu says artisans have been trained to create designs with embroidery, silk, crystals. “We have over 450 designs.”

They have also been trained in identifying different foot sizes according to geographies, as well as concentrating on the finish, with special emphasis on comfort and quality. “Compared to some years ago, rejection rate has gone down by 50% as quality has greatly improved”, says Raghu.