Emperical study on strategy for the development of household industries: A case study of carpentry industry in Jalpaiguri district, West Bengal (India)

The household industrial activities are specialized skills, which are passed on from one generation to another, and these are means of livelihood of a large number of people. These industries are interwoven with village life and use traditional technology based on local resources and skills, catering mostly to the local needs. Carpentry is an ancient craft and it caters not only to the needs of agriculturists but also of the aristocratic class. An overwhelming majority of carpentry industrial units are found in the district of Jalpaiguri district in the state of West Bengal in India. Except in a few units managed by the capitalistic proprietors themselves, the artisan is both a worker and an entrepreneur. The enterprises are located both in rural and urban areas, though majority of the industrial units are found in the rural areas. As scientific and technical knowledge is lacking due to illiteracy and poverty, the techniques of production remain inferior and the products lack standardization. The objective of the study is to identify the characteristic features of the carpentry industry in the study area. It identifies the problems and suggests policy measures for the development of the sector. The study is based on 66 sample units which are collected from the field using simple random survey without replacement.