India

India has a rich weaving history that extends over four centuries, and it is the largest, most diverse carpet producing country in the world. Traditional Indian carpets are of an Indo-persian style—with knots and designs that are the same as those of Iran. Over the last several decades, however, the country has responded to changing market demands by adopting numerous other forms of weaving, such as Tibetan knots, Moroccan knots, hand tufting, Turkish Knots, flat weaving, and more.

India’s carpet industry has managed to remain relatively resilient to globalisation, yet the working conditions of the weavers have not necessarily improved as a result. Many weavers in India still lack access to basic social services, health care, and education. The industry is also highly susceptible to fluctuations in demand, which can cause unexpected periods of unemployment for the workers, who may be inclined to shift industries as a result.

STEP has been promoting better working and living conditions in the so-called ‘carpet belt’ of North India since 1995. During these decades of activity, STEP has been continually striving to improve working conditions and support social programs for carpet weavers, artisans, and their communities.

Early initiatives in the country were predominantly focused on improving health and working conditions. These were later expanded to provide weavers with access to governmental social services, such as pension funds, which were previously only available to workers in formal industries. STEP regularly runs its Weaver Empowerment program in all of the country’s major production regions where STEP is active and continues to expand its preventative healthcare initiatives with regular health check-ups, physiotherapy training sessions, and its Health Monitoring Camps.