Growing up in the small town of Dhenkanal - approximately 90 km away from Bhubaneshwar, Prasanta Sahoo had witnessed weavers, very closely since his early days. He observed that the weavers belonged to the weaker section of the society and a majority of them relied on their work as the primary source of income. Even now the talent somewhere is slowly waning further making the conditions worse. The government’s involvement in this matter is limited and there is a need for a complete solution to boost this sector to its true potential. In fact, if treated proper, this sector has the ability to transform ‘Make in India’ and ‘Skill India’ initiatives to the next level.

In 2013, Odisha Saree Store jump-started its journey with a similar agenda – primarily to improve the standard of living of the weavers by providing them employment. Henc, developed an eCommerce platform that offers India’s finest handloom and handicraft products to the world. With difficulties related to changing the mindsets of people, curating the products online, delivering the products, and exporting, the

platform soon began gaining recognition.

" Right from authentic hand-woven beautiful silks from the State of Odisha to various states handloom and handicrafts products; Odisha Saree Store offers a wide variety of products to choose from."

Explicating on the challenges, Prasanta says, “Unlike other online products that are available on different platforms, handloom and handicraft products need to be physically evaluated. Each product has its unique identity and a lot of detailed work is involved in making the product. As a matter of fact, the quality of artistry and complexity achieved in the handloom fabrics is exceptional and certain weaves & design are beyond the scope of modern techniques. Thus, creating the same experience for the users online becomes quite challenging. I feel we have understood our clients’ better and have curated the products accordingly.”

Personalized Handloom and Handicraft Products
Over the years, Odisha Saree Store has established itself as a one-stop platform for buying handloom and handicraft products from across India. Right from authentic hand-woven beautiful silks from the State of Odisha to various states handloom and handicrafts products; Odisha Saree Store offers a wide variety of products to choose from. “We take customized orders from our customers,” Prasanta says.

In addition to this, Odisha Saree Store has other verticals where they provide personalized handloom

and handicraft products customized as per client’s needs and preferences. “We are very open to our customers - be it from India, the US, UK or Middle East. When we get customized orders, we immediately work on it. We don’t see this from a business perspective. Only thing we want is to create an ecosystem that transforms the lives of people, and preserve the natural art, culture, talent, and tradition of our country,” he adds.

Summing up the Journey
Managing with a full-time job and with lesser spare time on the weekends, Prasanta has come a long way and to develop such a revolutionary platform from scratch. Before Quitting his job at Boeing End of Jun 2018 and work full time on his ventures, worthwhile to mention is the constant motivation and support he has received from his father (Sudhakar Sahoo) and wife (Rashmita Sahu) who have helped him in customizing the entire solution to build the product. The venture began with 4-5 orders on a monthly basis initially and at present gets close to 5-10 orders/Day. With its lean team approach in the backend operations, the team includes 300+ families across India.

Based in Dhenkanal, Odisha Saree Store is currently looking for ways to expand its business in the near future. Prasanta avers,“This sector has so much scope and it is high time the Govt., Banks and Investors step forward and contribute. We on the other hand will continue to do our best and add value in everything that we do in this industry."