PREFACE

This technical memorandum on small-scale weaving is the fourth of the series being currently prepared by the ILO and UNIDO.¹ It concerns the small-scale production of cloth for low-income groups. The analysis has been undertaken in the light of such development objectives as the generation of productive employment, the improvement of the balance of payments, rural industrialisation, etc.

¹ Technical memorandum No. 3 on small-scale fish processing was published jointly by the ILO and the FAO.

The memorandum describes alternative weaving technologies for eight types of cloth of particular interest to low-income groups in terms of both price and durability. It provides information on available equipment (e.g. looms pirning equipment, warping equipment), including equipment productivity, quality of output, required quality of material inputs, etc. Given the intricacy of weaving technologies and associated equipment, this memorandum does not provide - unlike the previous memoranda in the series - technical details (e.g. technical drawings) for the production of weaving equipment. It is assumed that either a national industry exists for the production of such equipment or that the latter must be imported from equipment manufacturers in developing or developed countries. A list of some manufacturers is provided in Appendix III of the memorandum.

The memorandum also provides a detailed methodological framework for the economic evaluation of alternative weaving technologies, and illustrative examples of the application of the above framework to concrete examples from developing countries (see Chapter IV). A chapter dealing with the socio-economic impact of alternative weaving technologies should be of particular interest to public planners wishing to formulate appropriate policies for the textile sector.

The effective dissemination of technical memoranda will require the active participation of various governments agencies, trade associations, workers’ and employers’ organisations and training institutions, etc. Seminars may be organised for the benefit of established or potential textile producers in order to review the proposed weaving technologies, identify those which are particularly suited to prevailing local conditions, and identify the type of assistance needed by weavers who wish to adopt one of the technologies described in the memorandum.

This technical memorandum is mostly intended for potential textile producers who have some difficulties in choosing and applying technologies best suited to their own circumstances. However, it should also be of interest to public planners, project evaluators from industrial development agencies, training institutions and national and international financing institutions. In short, the memorandum should be useful to all those who are in a position to influence the choice of public or private investments in the textile sector, and therefore the choice of technologies associated with these investments.

A questionnaire is attached to the memorandum for those readers who may wish to send their comments and observations to the ILO or UNIDO on the content and usefulness of this publication. These will be taken into consideration in the preparation of future technical memoranda.

This memorandum was prepared by the Shirley Institute (Didsbury, Manchester, United Kingdom) in collaboration with Mr. M. Allal, staff member in charge of the preparation of the technical memoranda series within the Technology and Employment Branch of the ILO.

A. S. Bhalla,
Chief,
Technology and Employment Branch