கதர் மற்றும் கிராமத் தொழில்கள்

The Khadi and Village Industries Board is a statutory body under the Handlooms, Handicrafts, Textiles and Khadi Department, with the Minister as its President and the Chief Executive Officer running day-to-day work.

The Khadi movement began with Mahatma Gandhi's call for Swadeshi cloth and Grama Swaraj - every village self-sustaining in the necessities of a decent life.

Khadi is hand-spun, hand-woven natural fibre cloth of cotton, silk, wool or a blend.

Polyvastra is 67% cotton and 33% polyester. Khadi today therefore has three types - Khadi Cotton, Polyvastra and Khadi Silk.

Slivers bought from the Central Sliver Plant of the Khadi and Village Industries Commission go to Rural Textile Centres, spinners turn them into yarn, Khadi Sub-Centres pass the yarn to weavers, and the Kora cloth is finished at the Central Khadi Godown, Tiruppur.

69 Sarvodaya Sanghs certified as Khadi Institutions by the KVIC produce and sell khadi alongside the Board's own units.

The Board directly engaged only 487 spinners and 101 weavers in 2025-26 - the direct establishment is small, and most khadi comes through the Sarvodaya Sanghs.

31 retail outlets trade under the brand Khadi Kraft, selling the Board's products and One District One Product village industry goods.

Khadi silk from four silk sub-centres carries Silk Mark certification from the Central Silk Board.

Soap is the Board's most profitable village industry - 5 bathing soap units, 1 washing soap, 1 detergent and 1 liquid soap unit.

Kumari Soap is the best-selling variety. The Gopuram brand covers laundry bar, detergent cake, liquid detergent and powder; Saaral shampoo and Vaigai hand and body wash complete the range.

Soap production was Rs.681.70 lakh against sales of Rs.820.69 lakh in 2025-26 - sales above production, drawing down stock.

Carpentry and blacksmithy units supply furniture to courts, universities, libraries, hospitals, HR&CE, the police and other departments - a captive Government market.

The two footwear units make conductor cash bags, footwear, file boxes and rubberised coir mattresses for hospitals, transport corporations and local bodies on indent.

Raw honey from Kanniyakumari beekeepers is processed at the Amsi unit and sold through Khadi Krafts with Agmark certification, with packing centres at Ambattur, Tiruchirappalli, Tiruppur and Madurai.

Smaller village industries make Jawadhu powder, sambirani, camphor and rose water at Vedapatti, agarbathi at Kandanur, Mooliga tooth powder and Sugapriya balm at Poondi, and wood-pressed groundnut and sesame oil at four centres.

The Welfare Fund for Spinners and Weavers takes 12% of wages from the weaver, matched by the Board, paid out in full on retirement. A further 10% of basic wages is paid as incentive.

Khadi Spinners and Weavers Welfare Board assistance: Rs.1,00,000 for accidental death, Rs.15,000 on natural death, Rs.2,000 for funeral, Rs.1,000 a month old age pension and graded education, marriage and maternity support.

32 Pottery Industrial Cooperative Societies with 3,816 members work under the Board - pottery being among the oldest industries in the State.

A rainy-season maintenance allowance of Rs.5,000 a family reached 9,209 potter families at Rs.460.45 lakh in 2025-26 - pottery cannot be dried or fired in the rains.

KVIC's Marketing Development Assistance began in 2010-11 and became the Modified MDA scheme from 2016-17.

MMDA gives 30% of the prime cost of khadi production: 40% of that goes straight to spinners and weavers as wage incentive by ECS, and 60% to the Sanghs and the Board for production and infrastructure.

The State adds 20% of production value as its own Marketing Development Assistance - Rs.4.00 crore to the Board and Rs.22.00 crore to the Sarvodaya Sanghs in 2025-26.

116 Industrial Cooperative Societies work under the Board, with its Chief Executive Officer as Functional Registrar; they produced Rs.2,700.70 lakh and sold Rs.2,932.61 lakh in 2025-26.