EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Title: Developing a suitable strategy for marketing the produce of the poor (OTS)
Organisation : District Rural Development Agency, Chittoor.
Reporting Officer: Shri. P. Raghunandana Rao, Project Director
Faculty Guide: Prof. L.K. Vaswani
Student name: Rahul Kasinadhuni (25087)

Objectives: 1) To develop a thorough understanding of the various income generating activities

presently being taken up in the district so as to select one such activity for study. 2) To develop a
suitable system which aims at solving the current problems faced in the marketing of the
Terracotta products produced by the poor. 3) To practically facilitate establishing an institutional
mechanism and make the members capable enough to sustain the established system.

Scope: This study is confined to the potters of village of Ghantavoor, Plamaner mandal of
chittoor district who are engaged in the terracotta pottery. The findings and suggestions cannot be
replicated without understanding the enabling conditions.

Methodology: The study is done based on data collected from both primary and secondary
sources from the stakeholders. The market and industry related data was obtained through
triangulation. The project was carried in a fashion where both developing of the strategies and
implementation were carried out simultaneously.

Data Sources: The primary sources of data were, sample survey, focused group discussions,
meetings with Potters at Palamneru, Middlemen/Wholesalers, Retailers, Industry Experts,
Consumers. The secondary sources of information were the DRDA Project records, Industry and
market details from websites.

Major findings: Terracotta pottery is presently the main source of livelihood for around fifty
families in Ghantavoor village, palamaneru mandal. They make around fifty different varieties of
both decorative and utility items. There are two markets available here, one being the retail
selling on the highway and other being the wholesale dealers from Chennai, Bangalore and
Kerala. Today, amongst the fifty families engaged in this activity, around ten of them do both
wholesale and retail selling and the rest only do retail selling on the highway. Some of the rich
potters get exhibition offers also form handicrafts and other such departments. These potters are
competing in both the markets and have entered into a price war where it has been a lose-lose
situation to every potter. This has lead to high income inequalities due to high sales of the rich
and less opportunity for the poor.

Recommendations: Hence a collective marketing mechanism in the form of a co-operative was

proposed and the potters were convinced to establish such a system. The co-operative is setup and
the bye-laws were framed with the help of the members. In the present system, all potters have to
sell their produce through the co-operative society only as per the prices fixed by the society.
Both the risks and benefits are being shared in a manner to reduce the existing income
inequalities. An attempt is being made to expand the demand for such items by concentrating
more on making utility and innovative items which are currently in great demand.