KOCHI: Left on the verge of extinction by the savage force of floodwater, the handlooms in Chendamangalam are on the lookout for merciful hands to pull them out of dire straits.The Chendamangalam Handloom Weavers Cooperative Society, an organised body for handloom weavers, wants people to buy stocks - mainly hand-weaved saris, dhotis and set mundus - stuck at its warehouse. The Society has sought support from the general public, agencies and the government to save the looms hit badly by the floods.
Known across the globe for hand-woven textiles, Chendamangalam Handloom products have been in business for more than half a century. P A Sojan, secretary, Chendamangalam Handloom Weavers Corporative Society, said handloom garments worth around Rs 80 lakh were stocked for Onam sale. The floods left a major portion of the stocks drenched.
“Only with support from the general public and the agencies can Chendamangalam Handloom beat the crisis. We want the public to buy these handloom garments. Though drenched, they can be salvaged by dry-cleaning. If people come forward to buy the textiles, we will get at least some revenue to repair the damaged looms,” he said.
Of textiles worth Rs 80 lakh, around half was damaged completely. The remaining can be cleaned and used. “However, those textiles cannot be kept any longer as it will become damaged,” Sojan said.“We are getting enquiries, but we want people and agencies who can procure the stock in large quantities.” Last year, Chendamangalam Handloom could achieve sales of more than Rs 7 crore during the Onam season. But not even Rs 1 crore of handloom could be sold this time. For around 80 per cent of the annual sales for the sector taking places during Onam.
Apart from societies, there are more than 200 weavers who work on looms at their homes in the Paravoor and Chendamangalam regions. There are five such societies functioning in Paravoor. Each society has its own handloom manufacturing units. Of the five, the worst-affected were the Handloom Weavers Cooperative Society in Chendamangalam and Karimpadam.
Support to restore their looms
The public can buy various handloom clothing from the weavers at Chendamangalam. Similarly, the stocks that remain with the weavers can be bought for gifting it to relatives on marriages and other festive occasions. The handloom sarees are available at a price range of Rs 1500-2800. The set mundus cost from Rs 800 to 3500. The white mundus are priced at Rs 700 to 1400.
The normal mundus can be bought for Rs 600. It would cost around 60,000 to Rs 40,000 for repair the looms of the weavers which were damaged in the flood. The fund from the sale of the stocks can be used for restoring the looms. Interested people can directly buy the textiles from Paravoor Handloom Society contact 9446839979. Similarly, agencies also can directly provide aid for the weavers. Recently a few agencies approached various handloom societies with the aide. However, the weavers require further support to restore their looms.