Leather industry in Calcutta is right now in its growth stage. The working of the industry may be broadly classified in two categories: 
        Processing of raw leather 
        Making finished articles from the processed leather.

The processing of raw leather is done in the tannery. There are altogether 150 tanneries in Calcutta. The working condition of these tanneries is most unhygienic adding a considerable amount of pollution in the environment. Again modern technologies are hardly used in these tanneries. Though we are very much concerned about the environmental pollution and the poor working condition of the workers yet our hands are tied due to the financial constraint. Of late our state government has taken some positive steps in this regard. Some tanneries have already been shifted their establishment to a planned area conducive to the leather industry with every infrastructural advantages like central effluent treatment plant, scientific drainage system etc. and the rest are in process to be transferred within a time frame.

The next step is the formation of finished product from the processed leather involving the following steps namely designing, forma making, cutting, pasting, stitching and finishing.

The leather industry is basically a labour intensive one. Hapless labourers have to work for nearly 10 to 14 hours a day for a meager wage of Rs. 45 to 60 without any job security. Lack of proper shed, poor light, insufficient sanitation resulting in unhygienic working atmosphere are what they are provided with.

Poor earnings, improper working conditions do not impede these workers from making quality leather products matched with international standard. They produce unique designs of leather articles by their sheer imagination.

Witnessing such a situation prevailing in the industry we the members of Artisen-Well came forward to assist the workers in a small way. To fulfil our objective of improving the standard of living of the workmen, we assist to form a co-operative society - UTKAL LEATHER CRAFTS selecting a group of 12 enthusiastic young persons who have been closely involved in this industry for years together. Out of 12 members 4 are female and rest are male. A brief information regarding the group is given below.

Mr. Promod Mahapatra - Secretary of the society. 35years old. Originally he hails from Orissa. He is in the leather industry from his childhood and started his life as a tea boy in a leather factory. Now he is very skilled worker of making leather articles. Mr. Mahapatra is in charge of procurement of raw materials and overall incharge of the factory. There are six members in his family and Mr. Mahapatra is the only earning member.

Mr. G. Haider is the president of this group. He is a good designer. And in charge of sample development. Mr. Haider is 32 years old and also working in leather industry from his childhood. He is living with this wife and two children. Originally he is from Bihar, an adjoining state of West Bengal.

Ms. Lalita Dutta- 28years old. She is the treasurer of UTKAL LEATHER CRAFTS
Md. Khalid : 25 years old. He is responsible for production . He is also from Bihar. And working in this trade since a long time.

The other members are Mr. Ahad (24years), Md.Niaz (22years), Mr. Shayam Adhikari(30years), Mrs. Gauri Roy (32years), Md. Ubbas (28years) Ms. Jayanti Hazra (23years) and Ms. Rajia Khatoon (28years) and Mr. Samir Mondal (22years).

Initially Artisen-well have given a donation of Rs.10000/- towards capital of the Society and the twelve members invested Rupees One hundred each as their individual share capital. We have also provided a loan amounting Rs.200001- for purchase of machinery. This amount had already been adjusted against order.

Now Utkal Leather Crafts is doing well. We got good response from domestic market. But the order is not sufficient for the entire year. We do not provide jobs to the artisans for the whole year. So we are looking forward to the overseas market for orders. The quality of our products is of the international standard and we hope that we may tap the overseas market in the near future. We look forward to receive your support to make the organization a successful one.