The story
Jodhpur's carpenters and metal workers first made traditional furniture and household items, and later exporters began shipping 'colonial' and rustic furniture abroad. Local acacia, sheesham and mango wood, plus old doors and windows bought from villages, gave the city a distinct style. Boranada and Basni industrial areas now hold hundreds of export units.
In numbers
The metal and wooden handicraft cluster (Pal Shilpgram, Boranada) had 1,000 units, Rs 3,500 crore turnover, Rs 2,000 crore exports a year and 10,000 workers (district profile 2015-16).
Brief Industrial Profile of Jodhpur District 2015-16 (MSME-DI Jaipur, Ministry of MSME) · 2016Wooden Handicraft Cluster, Jodhpur is on the list of ongoing MSE-CDP common facility centres (March 2024).
Ongoing Common Facility Centres under MSE-CDP, updated 20.03.2024 (DC-MSME) · 2024
Ways in for a newcomer
- Finishing, polishing and packing job-work for exporters
- Selling furniture online in India
- Timber seasoning and treatment
- Making metal fittings and hardware
Problems the cluster faces
- Heavy taxes on raw materials
- Lack of industrial land
- Shortage of skilled labour and testing facilities
- Timber legality rules in export markets
Businesses to start here
Wooden Furniture Making →Wood Carving Unit (Photo Frames) →Wrought Iron Furniture →Metal Handicraft Unit →Carpentry Workshop (Wooden Furniture) →Wooden Crate Making →