Poor wages, uncertain employment prospects and stiff competition from power looms have forced many cotton handloom weavers in and around Musiri to shift to silk handloom weaving due to assured orders and steady wages.
Also, efforts made by the Department of Handlooms some five years ago to infuse new life into cotton handloom trade did not yield the desired results due to financial problem. Introduction of modifications meant additional expenditure and space constraint was another problem. So, a growing number of traditional handloom weavers, who have been engaged in producing cottons saris and dhoties for more than five decades, are shifting to the silk handloom sector.
For instance, M. Thangavel of Manamedu, a hamlet about five km from Musiri, is fully trained in weaving cotton saris and dhoties for the past 25 years. But his talent neither fetched him adequate wages nor orders. So, he and his wife Parameswari underwent a four-month intensive training in weaving silk goods.
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“We get assured orders from the master weavers of Salem, who supply the raw materials to us. We then weave the dhoties or saris,” he says. “The monthly wages in cotton goods was just ₹ 3,000, but I can now get ₹ 10,000 a month making silk shawls, dhoties and saris.”
Echoing the same sentiments, a cross-section of weavers in Manamedu say the master weavers from Salem ensured an assured income for their community in Musiri and Thathaiengarpet. Manamedu alone accounts for about 6,000 weavers attached to six weavers societies.
“Initially, Sarvodaya in Thanjavur ensured assured wages in silk products. But, we had to go there to get the raw materials from the Sarvodaya unit there. On the other hand, the master weavers from Salem reach our village and distribute the raw materials. They collect the finished goods within the stipulated time,” they point out.
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