Craft method of production
Topic: Secondary Activities: Manufacturing and Industrial Location · NCERT: Class 12, Ch 5 "Secondary Activities"
Meaning
The craft method of production makes only a few pieces, usually to a customer's order. Each item is made one at a time, often by hand, by a skilled worker. Output is small, so each piece costs a lot. It is the opposite of mass production, where factories make huge numbers of identical parts at low cost per piece.
Example
A Banarasi silk saree woven by hand in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, to a buyer's chosen design is made by the craft method. A weaver may spend many days on one saree, so it is costly.
Don't confuse with
- Mass production: makes large numbers of standard parts, with each worker repeating one task. Each piece costs less.
- Household industry: this is a size class of industry run at home by a family. Craft production is a way of making goods, and it can also happen in workshops.
Related concepts
- Mass production
- Assembly line
- Mechanisation
- Automation
- Division of labour
- Uneven distribution of manufacturing