NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF FASHION TECHNLOGY

RABEARLI

MASTER OF FASHION MANAGEMENT

Final submission

“Challenges and Scopes of Black Pottery

Nizamabad ( UP, India) of Global market”

SUBMITTED BY
PRIYANKA TIWARI
ANUPMA CHAUHAN
RAJESH KUMAR

SUBMITTED TO
Mr. AMITAVA CHOWDHURY
 “CHALLENGES & SCOPES OF BLACK POTTERY
NIZAMABAD (UP, INDIA) OF GLOBAL MARKET”
Abstract:
Pottery is unique art of making artifacts from clay. It
produces different kinds of clay and pottery items such
as flowerpots, water and grain storage jars, large vessels
for distilling rice, cooking pots, tableware, stoneware
cups, bowls, and plates, stoneware pitcher and mug etc.
This research aims to examine challenges faced by the
pottery industries and to examine scopes of the pottery
industries in Nizamabad of Azamgarh district in global
market.
The results show that there is good scope in the this
industry but the people involved in this industry are
facing different kinds of challenges or problems like
shortage of raw materials, manpower, and lack of space
to dry the formed pottery, firing pottery, to store the
finished goods along with the different raw materials.
The sales of the product in the national and
international markets are being increased. This industry
is being affected by the change in lifestyle and different
substitute products. The intermediaries get good profits
but they face the problem of getting the products
damaged, demand dependent on the festive occasion,
problem of transportation, etc. Study shows that there
is a huge demand for handmade ceramic products in the
international market due to their improved quality.
Key words:

- Introduction : Black pottery,

- Challenges
- Scope
- Global Market
Introduction:
The beginning of clay art is associated with the beginning of
Indian civilization. We all know that the remains of pottery
vessels and clay idols have been found from the major cities
of the Indus Civilization. Mentioned the chalk, mold,
technique, method of cooking clay idols and gray black
pottery used in the Indus civilization.
It is known from these mentions that from the period of
Indus civilization, the art of pottery was an established art in
India.
In the present paper, the black pottery of Nizamabad of
Azamgarh have been discussed, it is necessary and important
to mention here that during the time of Indus civilization,
gray / black pottery was made.

Maintaining its art tradition for almost 300 years. The potter
men are making the world convincing with their skills.
Discussion regarding the technique and preparation of
Kali Mudhand art of Nizamabad is absolutely necessary.
The pottery prepared here is mainly of the following
types such as – Vase, Trash, Jug, Matka, Rotwa (with lid),
Holwa, Kettle, Ballak, Cup, Paper weight, Ash tray, Wall
decoration, Table lamp, Pan Ganesha , miniature pots
and some toys are also made. These are specially made
on demand basis.

Black clay pottery from Nizamabad in the Azamgarh

district of Uttar Pradesh, India is a unique type of
pottery known for its deep shiny body with engraved
silver patterns.
How to made black pottery:

In Nizamabad, potters dig out clay from ponds during

the dry months of April and May and store it inside their
houses for use throughout the year. Their units have
small pits into which the clay is filtered, mixed with
water and left for some days. When it thickens, the clay
is kneaded by feet or using machines to make it lump-
free. It is then put on a potter's wheel and shaped into
utensils.

The pottery is partially dried in the sun to retain some

moisture. It goes back on the wheel for 'kharat' or
peeling off uneven surfaces. This also adds glaze. Kavis,
a colour made using clay and water, is applied and the
pottery is then left to dry. Mustard oil is then rubbed on
it to make it shinier.

A fine iron needle is then used to draw intricate

geometrical and floral patterns on the pottery. Women
usually do this fine work though men also are experts in
the art. The pottery then goes inside the bhatti (oven),
which is then fully covered with cow dung cakes.
"When the pottery is inside the oven, it is important to
ensure that there is no scope for oxygen to enter and
the heat level remains high. The presence of oxygen can
turn the pottery red and it won't get the black colour,
which is the hallmark of Azamgarh". It is ensured that
there is no scope for oxygen to enter the oven. This
gives black colour to the pottery.
The oven cools down after 10 to 12 hours and then
pottery is removed. A powdered mix of lead, mercury
and zinc in equal proportion is now filled into the carved
design, giving it a silver finish. "Water is then applied,
rubbed and applied again to ensure that the silvery
powder sticks permanently on the carved design.”
Nizamabad: POTTERS' VILLAGE
The village is famous for a unique form of black pottery,
and almost every family in the village is engaged in this
home-based craft. Silver on black gives it an elegant
look and due to the black base surface the silver color
and geometric patterns are well highlighted. Pottery has
received a geographical indication for its production
that is Nizamabad in particular for its location.
Nizamabad pottery is made by a small group of artisans,
approximately 400 to 500 families. The clay is procured
from local ponds. The objects are then formed on
potter's wheels. Designs are etched or painted, and the
objects fired in ovens fueled with cow dung. Unlike
many other artisans, the Nizamabad potters incur
virtually no production costs, as most materials are
freely available locally. Nevertheless, they live in abject
poverty, as they are dependent on traders from Delhi
and Mumbai, who purchase finished objects.
ODOP (One district one product)

Brought to you by the One District One Product (ODOP)

initiative of the Government of Uttar Pradesh launched
in 2018 to revive the state's craft clusters and improve
livelihood opportunities with heritage conservation. Any
industry should be developed in a cluster as it brings a
lot of economic benefits. There is abundant availability
of raw materials along with skills and the government
can help in finance and marketing. It promotes and
improves traditional crafts.
It was registered for the Geographical Indication tag in
December 2015.
Methodology:
The descriptive research model has been used in this
study. According to research, there are more than 500
families involved in this industry in Nizamabad.
Most of the people associated with this business are in
Azamgarh district.
Prajapati says the results of the government's efforts
are clearly visible. "Now youngsters are returning to the
village as they know there is a market for our products,"
says Sohit Prajapati, another potter.

Traditionally, only Prajapatis were potters and the skill

was passed on from one generation to another. But
now, with support from the state government, people
from other castes are also learning and making black
pottery. "Gaur, Kahar (traditionally palanquin bearers),
Musahar (marginalized landless laborer’s), Yadavs and
others are also making black pottery now," he adds.
Challenges:
Suppliers:
At the beginning of the chain come the raw material
suppliers, who supply producers with materials needed for
production. These include firewood, purified clay or mud,
steel cylindrical containers and machines and tools used in
shaping clay into different products. Suppliers constitute only
4% of total respondents and only exist in three districts;
Alshamayteen, Almusaymeer and Bani Qais.
This is one cause of the lack of supply in raw materials. Yet,
one reason for the inexistence of suppliers in some areas with
the availability of production is due to the fact that essential
raw materials can be found in the nature, and equipment
used needs to be purchased once only.

Producers:
After purchasing raw materials from suppliers or getting them
from nature, such as mud and firewood, producers shape clay
into usable products like Mawfa, Mabkhara or Madara, then
set them under the sun to dry before burning them in ovens
to absorb the remaining water. After this procedure is done,
the finished product is ready for decoration and packaging to
be sold. Producers are the most common market actors in the
chain, representing 41% of respondents.
Distributors:
Distributors act as a middle point between producers and
other sellers. Usually they take finished products from
producers and distribute them between wholesalers, retailers
and brokers or deliver them directly to customers. Among the
value chain actors, they make the most income due to their
trade volumes and by sourcing products directly from
producers. The main challenge is capital as they have to
purchase large volumes to compensate for the high cost of
transportation.

Intermediaries (Brokers and Traders):

Brokers and traders are the link between sellers and
customers. They usually sell products to customers in their
homes which makes those unable to visit the market loyal to
them. Brokers and traders are also used as an advertising tool
which spread products of the business to wider geographical
areas and target customers in specific locations.

Ministry of Trade:
Insufficient support is provided to businesses in the pottery
industry, which makes it unable to compete with some
international products.

Black Market:
Gas as a raw material used in pottery production to light ovens used
for burning products and fuel used for transporting vehicles are
most of the time unavailable in large quantities as needed for those
ovens and vehicles. This restricts the production and delivery
capacity, which makes producers depend on the black market. The
use of firewood has become an alternative to fossil fuel but this has
environmental implications.

Ministry of Public Works and Highways:

Another main issue in the pottery product movement is the
unpaved and closed roads. Due to the closure of some main
roads, partial, narrow and unpaved roads are used for
distribution of the fragile pottery products. The Ministry of
Public Works needs to pave the roads and prevent their
closure.

Key Infrastructure, Inputs and Market Support Services:

Storage and transportation facilities are important for a
strong infrastructure as they allow increasing production
levels and meeting demand more often. Unfortunately, such
facilitates are not available for many businesses in the pottery
market and are the reason behind their deficiency.
Scope:
The pottery business in India provides mass employment to
the people and the upgraded standard of living. Both the
rural and city people comprise the massive workforce in the
industry and have contributed tremendously to India’s
economy.
Among the pottery products shipped from India, the most common
ones are chemical porcelains, handicraft art ware, ceramic utensils,
etc.

Business expansion is the aim of many business owners. In

order to expand business, owners need to hire more
employees if they want to increase productivity, yet there are
some who believe they can handle the expansion load
themselves so they would not spend on hiring. This depends
on the current size of business, the number of employees
working in it and the extent of expansion aimed at. 56% of
the respondents said they would need one to three new
employees to be hired to fulfill the expansion.
23% of businesses admitted the need for 4 to 10 employees
and 7% thought of hiring more. On the other hand, 14% of
business owners thought they can handle the expansion
without adding extra workers.
The pottery industry comes under the small scale industry of India.
Pottery is exported to over 140 countries from India. In the year
2019-20, India has exported pottery worth of 9.97 USD million. The
volume of export in 2019-20 was around 5164429.

In 2018, Yemen imported pottery and ceramic products valued USD

3,232,000 and exported USD 206,000 (Trade Map ITC, 2019).
According to UNDP enterprise survey, firms use some sort of
supplies of foreign origin, but only 4% of the enterprises are
involved in export. It takes over 20 days to clear imports from
customs. The study revealed that imported products are less sold in
the local market as indicated by 84% of the actors, while 16%
perform sales with less dependency on middlemen services. Apart
from that, business actors face a number of challenges to distribute
their products outside the district. The other challenge related to
imported goods was the increase in prices and the unstable currency
exchange rate which accelerated deterioration of the Yemeni Riyal
against the United States Dollar. As a coping strategy, the business
actors reduced the volume of goods and raw materials and started
purchasing the minimum quantity that enables entrepreneurs to
start up their businesses.
SWOT Analysis:
Global Market:

Business Development:
It is crucial for businesses to define their points of
weakness in order to be able to determine the best
solutions. While most workers in the pottery
industry are somehow trained on technical skills
related to making pottery, maybe what they
actually are in need of are other skills, such as
product creativity and innovation, marketing,
management and entrepreneurship, especially if
they are not producers.

Business Growth:
Business expansion is the aim of many business
owners except for 11% from Taiz and Abyan who
have no interest in taking such a risk. In order to
expand business, owners need to hire more
employees if they want to increase productivity, yet
there are some who believe they can handle the
expansion load themselves so they would not
spend on hiring. This depends on the current size
of business, the number of employees working in it
and the extent of expansion aimed at.
56% of the respondents said they would need one to three new
employees to be hired to fulfil the expansion. 23% of businesses
admitted the need for 4 to 10 employees and 7% thought of hiring
more. On the other hand, 14% of business owners thought they can
handle the expansion without adding extra workers.
Potential Impact of COVID-19 on the Sector:

Value Chain: Pottery production as such need not be much affected

by COVID -19 since it is based on locally available raw material and
as most pottery businesses are family owned and run from home.
Wholesale and retail business at the end of the value chain is more
affected. However, consumers now spend on food products rather
than non-essential products such as pottery. This in turn affects the
entire value chain from production to retailing in terms of quantity
demanded and sold. With shops and markets being closed, people
being confined to their homes and with obstacles for cross city trade
due to restrictions on mobility, sales of pottery products will
continue to drop, with a possibility of nearly zero sales in some
areas.
Although market closures were not applied everywhere, there are
still many market players who had to cut production due to the low
demand. With the change of customer priorities during the
pandemic, especially since many people have lost their source of
income, pottery products are rarely on the shopping list. Therefore,
retailers and wholesalers are trying to sell their stock on hand. This
caused producers to stop or at least decrease production to avoid
additional costs with no profit in return.

The inter-governorate movement restrictions have added a burden

to market players, especially those depending on supply from
outside the governorate. Looking for alternative solutions imposes
additional costs to the product and forces players to increase price
to maintain profit. This, as a result, lowers demand further. Around
half of pottery businesses have been forced to at least temporarily
stop operations.
MSMEs:
Most pottery businesses were struggling before the COVID -19
disruption and are ill equipped to take on a prolonged crisis. This
affects all actors, leaving them with very low or no income. The low
demand for pottery products due to cautious consumer behavior for
non-essential consumption has worked as a disincentive for MSMEs
to look for alternative solutions by which they could still operate,
even if dealing with much lower quantities.

Retailers depend on sales to random customers visiting the market

and they do not have a database of consumers that they can reach
and sell their products to by alternative means.

Most of the MSMEs depend on daily income that can fluctuate

depending on the season. They suffer from weak infrastructure and
lack of liquidity. This makes them incompetent to adjust their
operations to meet the current needs. Most of them are unable to
adapt to new practices such as online sale.

The uneven distribution of market players between governorates

makes it difficult for retailers to look for substitute vendors in the
same area, or alternatives such as vertical expansion of the business
and in-house production.
Livelihoods:
Since only 7% of businesses in the pottery market have more than
three permanent employees, not many lay-offs are to be expected.
Yet, temporary suspension of two or three employees in businesses
with more than one employee is likely to take place.

The main reason behind temporary suspension of employees,

reducing the number of working hours or laying employees off is the
inability to pay their wages, caused by decreased demand and
therefore loss of business income. Social distancing and movement
controls affect retailers .

and distributers more than others since they interact directly with
customers and mostly operate from shops or visit customers at their
houses. Producers, on the other hand, mostly work from home and
do not face similar problems regarding physical distancing.
In the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, not many changes in
employment practices are expected, except that young people might
be preferred over elderly workers, even though they have not
acquired similar skills and work experience. Average wages in the
sector will likely decline.
COVID-19 Coping Strategies:
Marketing Strategy and Customer Retention:
Marketing is one of the main functions of a business and an
important criterion for evaluating the level of sophistication. It was
shown that SMEs do not have the necessary expertise to study
consumer preferences. Additionally, the data concerning the client
feedback, supply market, and competition is not readily available. In
addition to the lack of expertise in ability to do proper pricing for
their products, SMEs rely mainly on walk-in clients.

Businesses that are not located in main business areas are not able
to grow and prosper. When taking into consideration the quality of
SMEs products and services one can conclude that the lack of
marketing knowledge and skills is one of the major constraints to
business growth (Qais, 2013).

The study highlights that a large number of actors in the pottery

business are not applying any sort of marketing strategy as stated by
92% of the respondents. 8% of the business actors plan and
implement strategies related to marketing. The poor marketing
planning refers to the limited knowledge about markets and
marketing in the industry. Apart from that, female business owners
experience problems in accessing markets with limited production
volumes and low quality products. Noting that, women in particular
experience more obstacles to access markets than men because the
social norms usually restrict women to stay in their homes. Women
can only sell to other women in the neighborhood and have limited
access to other markets.
They are usually deprived of business networks and benefits of
business training opportunities (IFC, 2006).
96% of entrepreneurs and SMEs have never received any kind of
support in marketing strategies. Marketing strategies include
product development with improved designs and appeals, quality
improvement to provide additional product functionality and
reliability, and improved product usability in the vertical markets,
such as restaurants. Pottery products can be positioned among
consumers as traditional high quality products, fashionable antiques
to have at home and on food tables, and reliable home equipment
that provides valuable benefits. To overcome imported substitutes,
production cost needs to decrease to maintain attractive pricing.
Strong distribution networks that can reach and

maintain low average transportation cost per unit is critical to the

marketing of pottery products. Besides, advertising and promotional
efforts can maintain consumer interest.
Suppliers and producers rely more on word-of-mouth marketing
strategy. It can be noticed that 57% of the respondents follow this
strategy which becomes less effective in bigger cities. As an
alternative, those covering wider geographical areas advertise their
products through social media as people in those areas have access
to the internet or hire sales agents to handle product marketing.
This method is not applicable in some rural areas where high levels
of illiteracy are registered, and where customers are directly visited
by sellers as a marketing strategy. This implies that the marketing
strategy to be followed by a business needs to be flexible and
adjustable based on locations of operations and target customers.
18% of the customers were unaware of the importance of marketing
and thus did not care much about advertising.
Women and Youth Involvement in Pottery:
Women face several barriers to engage in business. In addition to
the social barriers that limit and keep them from accessing markets
and engaging in business, they have limited access to finance.
According to the Yemen GEM survey conducted by IFC, only 1% of
women had commercial bank loans. 63% relied on their own savings
and family to finance their businesses (IFC, 2006).

The study revealed that less female employment was observed in

the pottery value chain as indicated by 76% of respondents. 24%
stated that women are involved in employment in the business. The
absence of women in employment refers to the lack of
opportunities in doing business for females, difficulties in getting
access to loans, and the effect of culturally sensitive environment as
indicated in the literature.

In addition, women entrepreneurs lack business trainings and have

limited opportunities to grow their businesses. Noting that, the
study highlighted that women are more engaged in production
business and most of them are illiterate.
In the pottery value chain, engaging women in business is only
practiced in the production stage and in related tasks. Actors
reported that women are not able to collect supplies and raw
materials or heavy tasks which affect women’s dignity. Therefore,
their employment opportunities are limited to production phases in
adding value or enhancement of the finished products in particular.
Due to budgeting or capital issues, entrepreneurs resist hiring extra
female staff.
Conclusion: the cycles of pottery:

The relationships between pottery making, its function and use, and
the cultural context were studied in three main steps.
First, the fabrics were analyzed from the perspective that the
composition refers to the potter's awareness of fabric properties in
relation to vessel use.

The most important interpretations are repeated at a slightly more

abstract level, starting with the cultural taxonomy for categories of
form, or more general appearance, and use.
All data point to a limited degree of differentiation in functions, as
expressed in the fabric composition and/or morphology. While this
‘under determination’ of functions through technical properties fits
the research model and also corresponds with the actual use
residues, it makes the step from ‘fabric and form’ to ‘function’ a
difficult and uncertain one.
The functions as proposed here should be studied in more pottery
assemblages from the same region and period, in order to establish
a firmer basis for further interpretations. Especially the role of
pottery in food-processing deserves more attention.

This study shows that all the members of the family of potters
(potter makers) are involved in the pottery industry. It shows that it
is family and traditional business. There are many problems in this
business for both producers and sellers. Hence there is a need for
training the pottery producers about the export of the products. This
industry has seen tremendous demand and use of its products and,
in turn, has provided a means of livelihood to a large number of
workers directly or indirectly employed in it.
Despite its vast potential, the industry still suffers from several
limitations which have resulted in its unreasonable, unbalanced and
inadequate growth. That is why it deserves the attention of
economists, planners, researchers and concerned authorities. This
study shows that the pottery industry has potential and
opportunities to increase the sales of the product in the national
and international markets. The industry is being affected by lifestyle
changes and different substitute products. Intermediaries get good
profits.

Making the pottery:

The definition of the raw material composition is
hampered by the fact that all clays are secondary
deposits which lack a clear ‘fingerprint’ to define
them by. There is no chemical or other analytical
method that can distinguish between primary
composition and the secondary changes that took place after
burying. Despite these limitations, the overall characteristics of the
clay types could be established by a comparison with local test clays
from the settlement areas. The composition of the test clays
indicates that the pottery clays were selected from specific layers or
locations in the immediate surroundings of the settlements. Within
each site, all fabrics are quite similar and even between the fabrics
of both settlements the variation is limited. The overall similarities
of the fabrics therefore point to a conscious selection of the clay
type by the potters. It can even be questioned whether the
distinctions made here between clay types 1 and 2 were at all
recognized by or important to the potters
Use and deposition:
The analysis of actual use residues in pottery is a valuable addition
to that of form and function and it is rather surprising that so little
use has been made of this type of information in archaeological
research. The condition for the survival of residues is the way
pottery is treated during and after fieldwork. Since the time
archaeologists less often clean the surfaces by scrubbing, use
residues have been found in far greater numbers. Especially the
residues that are caused by contact with a fire, soot and chars, have
a good chance of surviving in any depositional context.

In the pottery studied here, soot is present on many vessels from all
pottery groups, except on the black polished ones. They indicate
that many vessels were in contact with a fire on at least one
occasion. The presence of charred residues on the interior surfaces,
however, is more limited and indicates.

The social/cultural framework:

That pottery making was a household affair is
supported by the fact that each individual vessel is
a unique combination of characteristics. A
substantial part of the variability between vessels
can no doubt be explained by this mode of
production. For both sites it was observed, that
some pots do share certain constructional details
pointing to the same ‘hand’, and that the individual
characteristics and perhaps the individual freedom
or preferences contributed to the observed
provide more insight into the meaning of different -kinds of-
variables, be they technical/technological or referring to categories
of function and use,

variation. At the same time, the potters clearly shared the same
basic rules and ideas about the technology, forms, and appearances
for the whole range of pottery over quite a long period of time and
throughout the West-Frisian culture region.

All vessels are highly similar in the overall characteristics of the

fabrics, the construction techniques, finishing treatments and firing
process. The visible features and the basic distinctions in these
features basically did not change during the first two to three
centuries AD. The shared cultural framework may have included
further distinctions in functions, expressed in the minor variations in
the shape of the upper wall and surface treatment, especially within
the large group of cooking vessels. The present data do not allow
firm conclusions about these finer distinctions, but further study
probably can. The result of this study, that the most essential
distinction is made between ceramics for daily use and for
ceremonial use, also has important implications for stylistic
typologies. These basic categories are not expressed in decoration or
any other element, usually considered ‘stylistic’, but in surface
treatment and firing methods, i.e., in aspects generally considered
technical rather than stylistic. It is equally clear
Pottery studies: looking back to the future:
This study has shown that through the combination of different
fields of pottery research, a much more comprehensive view of both
meaning and use of pottery in the past can be obtained than is
hitherto the case. The structural approach used here and the
methods derived from this framework not only

but especially into that of their recursive relations. Trough this

approach, attention is focussed on all possible variables and
variations which can be recognized, now as well as then. It enables
us to pay attention to both shared and unique properties of each
individual vessel and especially to everything in between, without
sacrificing one level of analysis and reality to another.
Methodologically, the two should also be as close as possible; by
avoiding a priori determined, closed categories, and instead using
open and even 'fuzzy' sets, the latter become more and more
defined through the proces of analysis itself. In other words, taking
the fluidity of (time/space) levels in socio-cultural reality as a
starting point, some articulation of these levels for the society
concerned are the result of the analysis. This also requires working
at different time/space and cultural scales: the larger cultural unity
in time and space .
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