Kokrajhar district is situated in the Western part of Assam and Northern side of the river Mighty Brahmaputra. The district is bounded by Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan on the north, Dhubri district on the south, Chirang and Bongaigaon district on the east and State of West Bengal on the west. The district is the gateway to Assam and other North Eastern states by road as well as railways. Kokrajhar district lies roughly between 89˚46 to 90˚ east longitudes and between 26˚19 to 26˚54 north latitudes. Total geographical area of the district is about 3169.22 sq. km, while the population of the district is 886999. Distance of the District Headquarters from the state capital of Guwahati is about 236 km.
The Kokrajhar Traditional Dress Making and Embroidery cluster is an age old naturally developed cluster. Unlike other prominent cluster this cluster is also having unique historical background of its development. The Kokrajhar cluster was formed with the dedicated effort of few rural women of Titaguri block. Few decades before, the household under the cluster were having limited agricultural land with low socio-economic status. For better livelihood and support their family the female members of these cluster engaged themselves in few off-farm activities like- Weaving, artisanal work, embroidery etc with limited capital or zero investment. With passages of time they (weavers & artisans) have become more efficient and skilled in these activities. Earlier the activities were limited to their village only. However, at present most of the cluster weavers are performing their weaving and artistic activity for commercial point of view. The Bodo community comprises the majority in Kokrajhar district. The district also has a sizeable Rajbongshi and Santhal population. The total population of the district during 2001 was 905,764 with a decadal growth of 15 percent during 1991-2001, which is lower than the state and national average. However, during the period 1971-1991 the district had shown a growth of 76.8 percent. About 7.1 percent population in the district lives in urban areas, which is lower than the state average of 12.9 percent. Altogether 33.7 percent population in the district belongs to various scheduled tribes, mainly the Bodos, and 3.4 percent is from scheduled caste communities.
The Traditional Dress Making and Embroidery Cluster, Kokrajhar is located nearly 10 km distance from District Headquarter Kokrajhar. It is situated at Titaguri Development Block of Kokrajhar district covering with more than 10 different villages. However, for the SFURTI project only following five (5) villages has been considered i.e.Singmaari, Dolegaon, South Khasibari, Part-1 Khargaon, Part-2 Khargaon. Dress making and manufacturing of traditional ornaments are the symbol of their traditional art and culture of Bodo community. Weaving is another integral part of this culture. Besides, many families form this cluster rear silkworm, the cocoons of which are then spun into silk. The weaver under this Traditional Dress Making and Embroidery cluster is dominated by the women members of the society. The products are- Dokhonas, shawls, Gamosa etc.
