Vol. 12, Special Issue 7 (2023)

Asia is home to the world’s largest camel breeding facility, and India’s only facility is in the Bikaner city of Rajasthan which is also known as “Camel Country.” Camel hair comes under the category specialty fiber. Specialty Fiber, are those fiber which are obtained from specific animals’ hair such as Camel, Goat, Rabbit, Yak this fiber is different from the commonly used fibers and they are valuable because of their properties such as luster, fine diameter, hand pleasing texture. Camel hair is mainly used for the purpose of high-grade overcoat fabrics and is also used in knitwear, blankets, and rugs.

To achieve objectives of the present study it was carried out in three stages. The first stage included collection of information related to present utilization pattern of camel hair and the preference for to be developed value added articles was taken, second stage was development of camel hair value added article with macramé knot and third stage was evaluation of developed value-added articles. The study was carried out in Bikaner district. Information about utilization pattern of camel hair was collected from 30 camel owners as they are using it. Preference for to be developed value added articles was taken from same 30 camel owners and 30 handicraft persons as they have wider knowledge about handicraft and present demand. By the scoring and ranking method 10 top ranked articles were selected, these were Tray, Bottle cover, Pot holder, Utility basket, Napkin holder, Coaster, Key ring, Pen stand, Curtain holder, Belt. In Second stage the ten articles were developed by researcher using macramé knot and under third stage the assessment of consumer preferences for developed value-added articles was made by 90 sample subjects. The 90 respondents were 30 camel owners, 30 handicraft persons and 30 consumers. A 5-point rating scale Performa was administered to 90 respondents for this purpose.

Finding of the study revealed that developed articles were highly appreciated by all the respondents. From all the articles the most preferred Tray with first rank followed by Bottle Cover and Utility Basket. Rest articles also got good scores.

Thus, it is concluded that developed articles, using camel hair and macramé knot found totally a unique and innovative idea by all the respondents.