Agartala, October 5: The Tripura Rural Livelihood Mission (TRLM) and the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Roorkee have entered into a three-year strategic partnership to transform traditional handloom weaving into a sustainable and scalable livelihood opportunity for women in the northeastern state.
The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed in the presence of Abhishek Singh, Secretary of the Rural Development Department, Government of Tripura.
TRLM CEO Tarit Kanti Chakma and Dr Bibhuti Ranjan Bhattacharjya, Assistant Professor in the Department of Design at IIT Roorkee, signed the agreement on behalf of the two institutions.
Under the partnership, the organisations will work together to strengthen the handloom sector by integrating technology, design, research, entrepreneurship and modern business practices with traditional weaving skills.
The initiative will benefit around 500 women weavers associated with Self-Help Groups (SHGs) across North Tripura, Unakoti and Dhalai districts.
The collaboration will focus on five key areas, including technological intervention, knowledge transfer, branding and packaging, entrepreneurship development and adoption of modern business practices.
As part of the technological intervention, the partners will explore improved looms, tools and process automation to enhance productivity and efficiency among weavers.
Knowledge transfer will cover areas such as contemporary design, quality standards, product diversification and sustainable production practices.
The partnership will also seek to create distinctive identities for handloom products through improved branding and packaging, making them more attractive and market-ready.
Entrepreneurship development will focus on building the capacity of women weavers to establish and manage enterprises, while modern business practices will include digital literacy, e-commerce and access to contemporary markets.
Officials said the collaboration seeks to bridge traditional craftsmanship with modern enterprise practices and create new economic opportunities for women members of SHGs.
The initiative is also expected to strengthen the handloom value chain in Tripura by connecting local weaving skills with institutional expertise, technology and market-oriented approaches.
The partnership is aimed at making handloom-based livelihoods more viable, competitive and sustainable, while enabling women weavers to expand their enterprises and gain better access to emerging markets, officials said.
