The industry, which is generally run at home, is known as ‘cottage industry’. Such industries are normally found in villages in a small scale. They provide bread to many poor workers who may not be fairly educated, but technically skilled in some particular trade. Such workers are both men and women. Without going out of doors, the women can earn a little money and thereby lessen the financial burden of the family.
Cottage industry may be of various types, such as hand- spinning, handicraft, fishery, poultry-farming, dairy farm, cattle-breeding, fruit-growing, and similar other professions that can bring profit to the workers.
In Indian villages, now- a-days cottage industries are growing more and more in a co-operative system. There are many co-operative societies which have been working successfully. The profit earned is shared by the members of the society. Such joint efforts have shown tremendous success in many cases.
Today, even in the prosperous countries of Europe and America many people are engaged in such industries. They maintain large farm-houses where many kinds of products are found, such as agricultural products like fruits and vegetables, dairy products like milk, butter etc., poultry products like chicken, eggs etc., cattle-breeding that yields meat, skin, fur etc., of animals like sheep, goats etc.
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In India, there are certain sections of people in the society, who live on particular cottage industries for generations. They learn the work from their forefathers and adopt the traditional profession of their family. They are generally florists, weavers, clay-modellers, handloom-operators, basket-makers, carpenters, jewellers, or makers of various kinds of household articles with cane, bamboo etc. These articles are not generally made in large workshops. They are made manually by skilful artisans with perfection.
Indian handicrafts have found good export market all over the world. Hand-woven clothes and garments, woollen carpets, mats, towels, brass utensils with fine carvings designed on them, leather bags, shoes, hand-gloves and similar other articles are sold not only at home but also abroad. All these articles are made in a small scale in cottage industries situated in the villages. By the side of the large industries, Indian cottage industries are also growing day by day with remarkable glory and success.