In a bid to create awareness among youngsters about handlooms and to showcase the processes involved in hand weaving, Co-optex is organising awareness tours to weaving clusters in the State.
Among the various clusters, Coimbatore and Tirupur districts are famous for hand-woven cotton and soft silk sarees.
The project was launched this financial year. Initial reception has been modest, but it could pick up in the coming months. In November last, 18 people went to the Kancheepuram weaving clusters. About 20 of them visited Madurai (Chinnalapatti) in December 2016. A similar tour will be organised in Coimbatore District on January 21.
According to a Co-optex official, those who take part in the tour will get to see hand weaving, dyeing, warping and designing.
In Coimbatore, the plan is to take the visitors to Sirumugai, which has over 2,000 handlooms and is known for its soft silk sarees, and to Vadambacherry, which has over 1,000 handlooms and is known for production of organic cotton sarees.
“The visitors can see men and women weaving sarees and they can also buy the products at the societies. The weavers are all those who supply to Co-optex,” the official said.
The tour will start at about 7.30 a.m. and after seeing the two clusters, the visitors will be taken to the Co-optex showroom in Coimbatore.
By the end of this financial year, an awareness tour will be organised to Arani in Tiruvannamalai district.
Though there are several handloom clusters in the State, the number of handloom weavers is reducing.
Those interested in taking part in the Coimbatore District programme can contact the WhatsApp number 9791980213 to register themselves. The cost per person is Rs. 750 for the trip.
