The Certificate in Design & Enterprise Management (CDEM) is The Handloom School’s flagship Level 2 programme designed to nurture the next generation of handloom entrepreneurs. The programme combines traditional weaving knowledge with contemporary design innovation, business management, technology integration, and market exposure to help young artisans build sustainable livelihoods within the handloom sector.
Each year, THS selects a cohort of 20 young male or female weavers from diverse handloom clusters across India for an intensive residential learning experience in Maheshwar, followed by continued mentorship and incubation support within their clusters.
The programme empowers participants to create original designs, develop market-ready collections, strengthen entrepreneurial skills, and directly engage with buyers and contemporary markets.
The programme combines immersive residential training, practical hands-on learning, peer collaboration, and post-training handholding support. Participants work closely with designers, industry experts, and mentors while gaining exposure to diverse weaving traditions and contemporary textile practices.
Measurable success and artisan empowerment as highlighted in our annual impact reports.
Understanding enterprise development, organizational structures, business planning, and sustainable artisan-led entrepreneurship.
Multi-shaft weaving, loom structures, drafting, denting, warping, and graph making for complex weave development.
Knowledge of fibres, yarn properties, handspinning techniques, and material selection for textile production.
Motif inspiration, colour theory, trend forecasting, mood boards, and original textile design creation.
Practical exposure to chemical and natural dyeing processes, colour extraction, mordanting, and sustainable dye practices.
Creating market-oriented collections through design briefs, sampling, product planning, and collection building.
Understanding production costing, pricing strategies, break-even analysis, and profitability management.
Learning branding, product positioning, packaging, exhibitions, government schemes, GST basics, and online market engagement.
Developing professional communication, email writing, buyer interaction, and practical English skills for enterprise management.
Training in product photography, visual storytelling, Instagram and Facebook marketing, content creation, and digital outreach tools to build an online brand presence.
Visualizing our engagement across India's diverse handloom communities.
Geographical distribution of our trained artisans and clusters.