Over the decades, the experience of handloom cooperatives has been a mixed one. The arbitrary mergers, excessive control by master weavers and local power groups, politicisation and bureaucratisation and mismanagement of funds are some factors that have stymied the efficient functioning of cooperatives. Through a focus on two handloom weaver cooperatives - Angara and Koyyalagudem in Andhra Pradesh - this article tries to explore the experiences of weavers working in such set-ups.
