The unprecedented demand for Kalamkari products in the European market has helped weavers in Pedana and surrounding areas come out of crisis.
As many as 13 weavers have committed suicide in and around Pedana since 2009 owing to debt, thanks to crisis in the weaving industry. Meanwhile, a breakthrough experiment on yarn by Shyamala Arts and Crafts (SAC), a traditional Kalamkari firm, is offering opportunities for weavers, who can now involve themselves in weaving of dress materials with the yarn dyed with natural colours.
Natural colours extracted from various roots, leaves and stems, which is normally meant for the traditional Kalamkari products, is applied on the yarn. “Our experiment with natural colours has proved successful. The results are found on dress materials with varying designs and textures. Now, we require more professional weavers to meet our demand from European countries for the fabric,” SAC artisan Pitchuka Srinivas said.
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Mr. Srinivas and his team exported more than 4,500 metres of the fabric, with the yarn dyed using natural colours, to Korea in 2009. A few similar samples were also sent to the United States recently. “I have a handful of orders from my European business partner for the fabric that can also be used to make curtains and quilts. The notable result of our initiation is that it opened up a source of huge work for weavers throughout the year,” Mr. Srinivas added.
In the first phase, the SAC is offering work to those who were hit by the crisis in the weaving industry. “Crisis has forced us to down the shutters of two cooperative societies. Meanwhile, the SAC’s offer to weave dress material on handloom came to my rescue,” Balla Venkateswaramma, a Pedana-based weaver said.