“Livelihood Sustainability of Handloom Weavers of Odisha; a Case Study in Subarnapur District”

The study tries to examine that how far the livelihood of handloom weavers is sustainable and also examined the challenges prevalent in the handloom sector in Odisha. Subarnapur district is an essential center of the handloom industry and has been chosen as the study area. The study is based on primary data of 60 households. The district has 6 blocks, of which the Sonepur block has been selected through multistage sampling. The 60 handloom weaver’s data are collected through random cum convenience sampling. The descriptive statistics, ratio, percentage, average, and frequency are used here to outline the results. The study found that there are more marginal weavers in the Subarnapur district whose expenditures are more than their income; therefore, the socioeconomic condition of handloom weavers in the Subarnapur district is low. From this study of 60 household’s survey this study found that the average income of the handloom weaver in Subarnapur district is 15248.33 which are very low if we compare the World Bank report on the income of a household; that’s why more than 50 percent of weavers are not satisfied with the wage determination system. They mainly used traditional looms and worked under master weavers. The study itself suggest that the government should provide financial support, subsidies and provides inputs cheaply to the weavers for promoting advance method of weaving such as power loom and tent loom along with the training to the weavers about the modern way of weaving for better productivity and make it sustainable as a livelihood for the Subarnpur district handloom weavers.