Ilayangudi silk yarn makers yearn for twisting unit

“We can offer jobs to more women and increase production”

Doing well:The reeling unit of the silk yarn making facility at Ilyangudi in Sivaganga.

Slum Level Federation (SLF), a minority conglomeration of women self-help groups, which is successfully running a silk yarn unit here for the past two years, seeks government support for establishing a silk twisting unit to add value to the yarn.

After setting up the unit to reel silk yarn from cocoons, the SLF, headed by Rajia Begum, recruited 20 women, mostly widows and those deserted by their husbands, and trained them as makers of silk yarn with the support of Central Silk Board (CSB) and Department of Sericulture.

The SLF, with support from ‘Magalir Thittam,’ set up the unit at a cost of Rs. 13.40 lakh in September 2013 and has reeled out about 15,000 kg of ‘A’ grade raw silk so far. “In the initial period, we had difficulty in procuring bivoltine cocoon (white) but we stabilised the procurement after purchasing cocoons from the Sericulture Department in Theni,” Ms. Begum told

The Hindu .

In the first year, they produced about 170 to 180 kg of silk yarn a month and from January this year, they have been producing close to 220 kg. Now they are procuring about 600 kg of cocoons a week. They sell the silk yarn at Rs. 2,250 a kg and if they could add value to the yarn by twisting, they could sell them for Rs. 2,800. “We can make a profit of Rs. 200 a kg if we get help to set up the twisting unit,” she said.

They established the reeling unit with a bank loan of Rs. 5.5 lakh and have repaid Rs. 2.5 lakh so far. “The women have mastered the art of reeling silk yarn and get a good salary,” Ms. Begum said.

The SLF runs the unit in a rented building. “We can offer employment to more women and increase production if the government and the silk board provide a building or offer government land for building a shed,” she said.

“The twisting unit costs about Rs. 12 lakh but we can avail 50 per cent subsidy after making an initial investment of Rs. 2.5 lakh,” she said.

The SLF has approached the CSB. “If everything goes well, the unit can be opened in October or November,” she said. A Parliamentary Committee, which reviewed performance of Magalir Thittam in Chennai recently, commended the performance of their unit, Ms. Begum said.