The story
Villages around Uluberia in rural Howrah took up shuttlecock making as a household trade, sorting duck and goose feathers and fixing them by hand into cork bases. The work suits small family units, with women doing much of the sorting, trimming and stitching. A registered cooperative now serves as the cluster's special purpose vehicle for common facilities.
In numbers
The Uluberia shuttlecock manufacturing cluster had 100 functional units, a turnover of Rs. 10 crore and employment of 6,000.
Brief Industrial Profile of Howrah District, MSME-DI Kolkata, Ministry of MSME · 2012
Ways in for a newcomer
- Buy finished shuttles from household units and sell to sports shops and online
- Supply graded feathers, cork and glue to makers
- Set up a quality-testing and packing unit for branded shuttles
Problems the cluster faces
- Feather supply and price swings
- Competition from Chinese and nylon shuttles
- Lack of R&D and testing facilities (as noted in the district profile)