After agriculture, the traditional handloom and handicraft sector is the biggest generator of employment in the country. But sadly, mechanisation has spelt disaster for the sector, which is now dying fast. To revive traditional handloom, the Aikyam Community for Sustainable Living will organise a three-day event titled ‘Swaraj Handloom Discovery’ from Friday.
“What better time [for the event] than close to the 70th Independence Day. We want to revive the idea of Swaraj and Charakha and put the focus back on Gandhian economics, which is about small-scale, community-based production using local resources,” said Sandeep Anirudhan, founder of Aikyam Community.
The event, to be held at three venues, will feature talks by founders of organisations trying to revive the sector. Among the participants are Prasanna, founder of Charaka Trust, which is modelled on Gandhi’s ideology of creating a self-sustaining handloom cooperative owned by women; Ananthoo, who established Tula India; Arup Rakshit of Mahatma Gandhi Gramodyog Sewa Sansthan; and Latha Tummuru from Dastkar Andhra, which helps traditional weaving communities sustain by adapting to contemporary designs.
“Our traditional handloom products are sustainable and are a better choice to factory-made ones, which are energy-intensive, use up precious fossil fuel, are filled with chemicals, and have a negative impact on the health of consumers and on the livelihood of those working in the sector. We need to educate people about shifting to these sustainable garments,” said Mr. Anirudhan, who started the community in March 2016. Today, it has over 2,000 members and conducts sessions on sustainable living on every second Saturday of the month.
The event is being held in collaboration with Bhoomi College and Ragi Khana. “Muslin, which is considered the finest fabric, has not been receiving the necessary support. Similar is the case of other handspun and handwoven fabrics. Only when there is a demand will weavers be interested in making these fabrics. I hope the event will help generate this demand,” Mr. Rakshit said.