HYDERABAD: Fifty-year old Ramaraju from Nalgonda district is seated in the middle of the room, working on what is called the pre-loom of the Telia Rumal. With only a handful of weavers, one of the many weaving techniques that Chenetha Colour Weaves(CCW) is trying to revive is the making of a Telia Rumal, where the threads are designed before putting them on the loom.
Karghaa, the brand of CCW store in Banjara Hills, will play host to a weaver-customer interaction as it marks its one year anniversary. While it may seem like any other store that houses handloom produce, what makes it special is that it’s a weaver-run enterprise.
“The employees and board members are all weavers and Karghaa is the brand name of Chenetha Colour Weaves,” informs Sudha Rani, CEO of the enterprise.
Started during 2006-07, Chenetha Colour Weaves was a response to the handloom crisis and distress that weavers were facing, as they were dependent on master weavers for raw materials and capital.
“Back then, when we were dependent on master weavers, our produce used to go through a number of people and the cost automatically increased and the amount we received was very less. Here, direct interaction with customers makes us aware of the market,providing us the route to stay stay self sufficient,” says Ramaraju who has been weaving since the mid-seventies.
Sudha Rani tells us that this was the main reason why she thought a model that is controlled and run by weavers was necessary. “Oxfam, International Non Governmental Organisation (INGO) commissioned a lot of studies to find out the real reason behind farmer distress and found out that handloom weavers in the last 15 years became solely dependent on master weavers. Though market demands were met, wages of these weavers remained stagnant for years together. Then, Oxfam partnered with a local NGO called Chethana Society.”
The aim of this partnership was to engage weavers in a production and relieve them from the clutches of master weavers. As most of them were indebted to them, it took almost four years for Oxfam and Chethana to break those chains.
“In handloom business, money doesn’t come immediately. The product has to be sold. Since an average warp cycle goes on for 45 days, weavers are provided with half the amount of capital before each cycle,” informs Sudha.
(The production cycle in handloom is called a warp cycle and a weaver produces seven to eight sarees in a warp cycle) Once the capital provided by Oxfam was utilised, the Society for the Elimination of Rural Povery, SERP came in handy, providing them enough to sustain for three warp cycles.
“A total of 120 weavers are already self-sustained with this and another 700 are in the pipeline. More importantly, the weavers’ accounts are registered in the names of women in the household, because we hear a lot of stories about men misusing money,” she says proudly, showing forms that contain all the monetary transactions.
From classy and authentic Pochampally designs, to a lot of contemporary designs, the brand is looking to reach out to a wider customer range. Working with silk, cotton, tusser and also mixed fabrics, they have experimented with contemporary kurtis, waist coats and overcoat furnishings and curtains, where the weavers collaborate with designers.
“While the intricate designs and classic designs that cost much higher are always there in our collection, we are working on combinations of good colours with simpler designs, making it more affordable,” says Anuradha who is currently volunteering at the organisation.
Apart from widening the market, the organisation wants to draw more people towards identifying the beauty of this art form. “We don’t hesitate to spend as much as it costs on all the international brands, but when we utter the price of these handloom products, they gasp with surprise. No body looks at the skill and technique that goes into making it,” opines Sudha.
If you want to take a look at the variety while interacting with weavers, you can visit the Karghaa store on Road no 12, Banjara Hills and the price of the collection starts from Rs 650.
Making it work
Karghaa sources to Fabindia and Indian roots
CCW currently has 120 weavers working on a continuous basis, who are paid equal wages based on the designs
The process helped in a lot of skill restoration where weavers who blindly met the needs of the markets are now given a chance to innovate and design
Telangana being a separate state now, members of CCW feel that it provides a better market and there is recognition for the art, skill and techniques