CUTTACK: The Odisha Rural Development & Marketing Society (ORMAS) has joined hands with TATA Trust to ease the hardships faced by the weavers of Maniabandha in Cuttack district in recent years.With an aim to infuse traditional touch of ‘Kataki ikkat’ with contemporary designs, ORMAS in collaboration with ‘Antaran’, an initiative of TATA Trust is working towards the development of handloom clusters.
Cuttack’s Maniabandha is a well-known hub of prolific weavers who have expertise in weaving Kataki or Maniabandha sarees.The economy of the village since 100 years is a craft-based and driven by the sale of Khandua sarees. Khandua sarees have a touch of traditionalism and in Odia culture has lot of significance as Lord Jagannath wears the Khandua Patta (silk) saree as his daily wear.
The women weavers of Maniabandha in association with ORMAS have formulated producer groups and SHGs are involved in weaving Khandua sarees and dress materials through traditional techniques.“Antaran through its initiative of Charkha to Market (C2M) aims to prevent drifting away of weavers particularly the younger generation from the handloom sector, so the programme will focus on the development of micro-enterprises led by local weaver entrepreneurs and thereby eliminating the role of middlemen,” said joint CEO of ORMAS, Bipin Rout.