Bhadohi — famous for hand-knotted and hand-tufted carpets for export

The story

Bhadohi is India's carpet city. Carpet weaving spread here from Persian weaving traditions, and the villages of Bhadohi, Mirzapur and Varanasi became a belt of rural weavers working on looms at home. Exporters in Bhadohi design and finish carpets for buyers in the US and Europe, while yarn dyeing, weaving, washing and clipping are done by networks of contractors and weavers.

In numbers

Bhadohi holds 50% share of the export of the carpet industry.
CEPC Post Show Report: 43rd India Carpet Expo, Bhadohi · 2022
The UP government built a Carpet Expo Mart at Bhadohi on 7.5 acres, with a 7,000 sq m exhibition hall and 94 permanent shops; it was inaugurated on 31 December 2020.
Carpet Export Promotion Council: Carpet Expo Mart, Bhadohi
The mart is meant to benefit approximately 800 exporters of the Bhadohi-Mirzapur-Varanasi carpet belt and approximately 10 lakh weavers.
Carpet Export Promotion Council: Carpet Expo Mart, Bhadohi

GI tag

Hand made Carpet of BhadohiApplication no. GI Application No. 148; Registration No. 129GI Registry, IP India - Application 148: Hand made Carpet of Bhadohi

Ways in for a newcomer

Carpet finishing, washing and clipping as job work
Yarn dyeing and wool processing for exporters
Design and CAD graph services for carpet patterns
Selling rugs directly to overseas buyers online

Problems the cluster faces

Heavy dependence on US and European orders and tariff shocks
Fewer young weavers taking up the loom
Compliance checks on labour and child labour by buyers
Competition from machine-made rugs

Businesses to start here

Handmade Carpet Weaving Unit →Silk Carpet Weaving →Carpet Finishing Unit →Woollen Durrie (Dari) Weaving →Cotton Yarn Dyeing (Hank and Package Dyeing) →

Sources (5)