Project on electric loom, interlocking brick making machine and setting up of honey bee creativity club: National Innovation Foundation-India

Abstract

Handloom industry is one of the most popular industry in Manipur and in other North East States of India. The traditional clothes of the North-East region are mainly manufactured by handlooms only and has been going through since ages. But the production rate of the handlooms are sluggish in nature i.e. takes lots of time especially in manufacturing plain clothes. The skilled weavers specially the young ones are shifting away from weaving towards more easier and higher paying job options like embroidery etc.. The retaining of skilled weavers has also proved to be costly. So , that has made Salam Rajesh kumar Singh an innovator of Manipur to think out of the box to innovate automatic electric loom which is more productive and faster than other conventional handlooms in Manipur. This automatic electrical salam handloom machine is made by using different used and new automobile and bicycle parts and ½ hp motor. Some parts are fabricated at his workshop only. This machine operates without any outside input. The machine requires only one weaver per machine to be operated. Initially the loom was successful in manufacturing surgical gauge bandages and Salam himself had a production unit for bandages to be supplied to various government and private hospitals (like RIMS) in Manipur and also in Assam (GNRC six mile). Three units of the machine has been sold so far. There is currently a demand of 6 numbers of looms in Manipur from various NGOs and established firms. Realizing the potential demand of the traditional clothes in Manipur, he is now concentrating on making his machine more flexible, capable of producing other traditional clothes too so that, the demand for his machine would simultaneously go up. He has started his experiments with the wrapper( Rani Fee), bedsheets, shawls and towels. To be successful in its experiments he requires financial supports from various government organizations, NGOs and other financial institutions. The machine is now currently in popularization and commercialization stage. The machine has greater advantages than other power looms in terms of cost, maintenance, simplicity and ease of operations. By some market study it has been found that the electric loom has a greater productivity than other conventional handlooms in North-East States. So, if the experiment becomes successful, it would be a great boon to the handloom industry in the entire North-East states. Now, since it has attained the perfections in producing surgical gauge bandages, it has a great market potential in the North-East States. The small and large entrepreneurs, Self-help groups, NGOs are its potential customers. He also received govt. fund under District Innovation Fund scheme for the upgradation of his workshop and scaling up his business.