Handloom is much more sustainable than common views and standard government policies recognise. Instead of a linear migration out of weaving into other forms of livelihood, weaving communities show a more strategic mobility - flexibly departing from and again returning to weaving, depending on circumstances. This mobility can be traced in weavers' discourses about their vulnerabilities and aspirations.
Links:
[1] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/feature-article/mobilising-discourses-handloom-sustainable-socio-technology
[2] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/category/author/wiebe-bijker
[3] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/category/author/syamasundari-b
[4] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/category/author/annapurna-mamidipudi
[5] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/category/journal/economic-and-political-weekly
[6] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/category/thesaurus/handloom-workers
[7] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/category/thesaurus/cottage-industry
[8] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/category/thesaurus/poverty
[9] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/category/thesaurus/ngo
[10] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/category/thesaurus/andhra-pradesh
[11] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/category/thesaurus/women
[12] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/category/thesaurus/migration
[13] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/category/thesaurus/textile-industry
[14] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/category/thesaurus/technology
[15] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/category/thesaurus/india