Doors have been shut since March 22 and inside are existing stocks and incomplete work. With the COVID-19 lockdown, weavers find themselves running out of raw material and work.
“Mills are closed and transport is hit. We get paid ₹20 to ₹30 per metre (depending on quality). We make saris, shirts, dhotis, towels, and shawls. People have been paid till February. We are about 30 people working in a common workshed, which is now closed,” said Mallikarjun Rahut, a weaver from Shahpur taluk of Yadgir district.
In his 35-year career, he said he has never been out of work for so long. “We are getting ration from the government. But we do not know for how long we can survive without work,” he said.
Vijaykumar Guled from Ilkal said even for those working from home, getting raw materials was an issue, as they come from Tamil Nadu, Bengaluru, and Mumbai. The final products too would be sold in many other places. “This pandemic has affected everyone. It will take two to three months after the lockdown for things to get back to normal,” he said.
To keep the households of their weavers and workers going, Desi, the sister organisation of Charaka Women’s Multipurpose Industrial Cooperative Society, has started a unique campaign. Instead of asking for donations and charity, they are asking patrons to pay what they can afford now and use that amount to make a purchase once businesses are back to normal.
Located at Bheemanakone in Shivamogga district, the society, founded in 1994 to generate sustainable local employment as an alternative to intensive agriculture and large industries, is now a large production facility with multiple units employing over 700 villagers, most of them women. The campaign aims to support weavers till the lockdown is over, after which they will resume work. Customers will then be able to avail of a purchase with the amount they had paid.
“It has been a series of attacks by an insensitive society and government. First, it was demonetisation which destroyed half of the village economy. Then, GST made life miserable owing to multiple restrictions. Then happened the floods. Thick clusters of weavers are on the banks of the Krishna and the Malaprabha. The real tragedy is that Charaka was built to prevent migration of poor from villages through a viable model developed over 30 years and had almost succeeded. But today, millions of village poor are made to wander on the roads,” said theatre personality Prasanna, the founder of Charaka, adding that weavers have always got a raw deal.
“We have accumulated non-payment of dues. Desi is closed for three weeks. Before that, there was the slowdown. As a result, payments to weavers and workers are due. We don’t know how to handle the situation. We’ve requested customers to become activists,” Mr. Prasanna added.
To purchase Desi vouchers, call 7411120862.
