Product Making and Entrepreneurship
This domain converts craft knowledge into a costing sheet. Questions are usually numerical (compute cost, price, margin, break-even) or institutional (which agency supports what).
Costing structure
Cost per unit = direct material + direct labour + overheads (rent, power, tools, wastage) + packaging. Selling price = cost + margin. Margin on cost and margin on selling price differ - state which you used. Break-even units = fixed cost ÷ (price − variable cost per unit).
Support ecosystem
GI tags protect origin for Odisha items such as Pattachitra, Pipili appliqué, Kotpad, Bomkai, Sambalpuri bandha and Khandua. Marketing channels include Utkalika (handicrafts) and Boyanika (handloom cooperatives), plus state and central schemes (cluster development, artisan credit, skill training, e-commerce onboarding) and women's self-help group federations.
Worked example
A Pipili chandua: cloth ₹300, thread and mirror ₹60, 8 hours of labour at ₹150/hour = ₹1,200, overheads 15% of material-plus-labour. Subtotal = 300 + 60 + 1,200 = ₹1,560. Overhead = 0.15 × 1,560 = ₹234. Cost = ₹1,794. Add 20% margin = ₹359 (round ₹360). Price ≈ ₹2,150. Note in the answer that wholesale and retail prices differ and that GST and shipping are extra.
Traps
Omitting the artisan's own labour; applying margin before overheads; quoting a price with no unit or size; assuming a GI tag sells the product by itself; ignoring wastage in expensive materials; forgetting packaging and freight in a quotation.