Sukkur was well known for its cottage industries from early times. Boat building, leather work, and textiles were the important industries of the town. These cottage industries were discouraged during the rule of the Talpurs, as the Jagirdari system, thanks in large part to a rapacious taxation system, thwarted capitalist enterprise. However, the Talpurs made lavish use of imported goods, thereby stimulating foreign trade. In the early years of the twentieth century, as modern technology became available, the people of Sukkur started applying their commercial skills and industriousness to the establishment of small scale factories. The main products were textiles, biscuits, confectionery, kitchen utensils, medicines, cigarettes, tiles, and hosiery, as well as the more traditional items such as oil, locks, iron safes, trunks, leather bags, soap powder, ink, boot polish, durries, and carpets. After partition, and particularly after the construction of the Guddu Barrage, agricultural production in Sukkur increased rapidly, and agro based industries started flourishing, including the export of timber.

Photograph of men at work constructing wooden boats at Sukkur

Textiles

A quilt is a multi-layered textile, traditionally composed of two or more layers of fibers. Commonly 3 layers are used. These layers include a woven cloth top, a layer of batting or wadding, and a woven back combined using the techniques of quilting. This is the process of sewing or combining the three layers together in order to reinforce the material.

Quilt (Rilli or Ralli) Sindhi رلى Urdu رلى are the traditional bedspreads and quilts handmade by women from remote villages of Sindh (Pakistan)

Ajrak

Ajrak (Sindhi: اجرڪ) is a name given to a unique form of blockprinted shawls and tiles found in Sindh, Pakistan. Ajraks are also worn by the Seraiki people of Southern Punjab and Kutch.

Sindhi Topi

The Sindhi cap, also known as the Sindhi ṭopi (Sindhi: سنڌى ٽوپى‎), is a skullcap worn predominantly by Sindhi’s