Handloom is a more than 2,000-year-old craft. But today the segment mostly thrives on government support in Tamil Nadu, especially the free sari-dhoti scheme as well as initiatives from state-owned Co-optex.
The advent of mechanization and powerlooms had taken the focus away from handlooms towards mass production, which handlooms could not match. Globally too, the textile industry is moving towards manmade fibre.
Tamil Nadu is ranked third in the handloom sector in the country, after Assam and West Bengal. There are 2.2 lakh people involved in handlooms in the state, with 50% of them being women and about 50% of them being covered by the cooperative support system.
“If there were 50 looms earlier on a street in our town, it is now down to four. It is the elders who are still in the trade; youngsters have moved out to Tirupur or for other jobs,” says Govindarajan, a weaver-cum-trader from Gudiyatham in Vellore district, where handlooms thrived earlier. “It will take a week for an entire family to set the looms and weave four ‘lungis’, fetching ₹1,000. But the same set of people could collectively earn ₹10,000 in Tirupur. Handloom is no longer remunerative,” he says.
Handloom is a traditional craft and it will remain in vogue and will have its own market. Positioning of the products should be the focus going forward, says Dharmendra Pratap Yadav, secretary for handlooms and textiles, Tamil Nadu government. “But handloom products are no longer patronized by the common man. They have to find a niche market, which they are,” says Yadav.
The Tamil Nadu government plans to establish 10 mini handloom parks across the state including in Coimbatore, Gudiyatham, Jayankondam and Kancheepuram. Each park will house 100-150 handloom weavers, besides a market expert. Together they will form a special purpose vehicle (SPV). The handlooms in the park will make products based on requirements as assessed by the market expert.
At present, handlooms mostly focus on saris. For every sari woven in a handloom, six saris are produced by a powerloom. “Unlike a powerloom, which has the issue of minimum order level, one can take up small orders through handlooms. If it can add more niche products and tap the export potential, the profession becomes remunerative,” says K Vivekanandan, commissioner, textiles, Tamil Nadu government.
“Scalability has been an issue with handlooms. Traditionally, handlooms are housed in individual homes and collectively come under a cooperative society. The mini-handloom parks will bring them under one common roof to jointly produce for the market,” adds Vivekanandan.
The government along with Co-optex has been diversifying products to include shirts, kurtis, home and kitchen furnishings as well as accessories. The handlooms department has conducted awareness programmes in 150 colleges to create a market for handloom products among students.
Another problem with handlooms is that mostly a particular community is involved in the trade. Income has been a challenge since the focus was only largely on one product (sari). The next generation from this community is looking for greener pastures. The state is keen to make this sector secular so that all communities take up handlooms as a profession. So it has started weaver induction training programmes.
“We need to democratize this sector by not only inducting more people but also expanding the product range to attract young buyers. Better designs and products in the price range of ₹1,800-₹3,000 can expand this traditional segment. Removing middlemen would ensure higher returns for weavers. Sustainable clothing is picking up the world over,” says Jawahar Singh, cofounder and CEO, Avishya Trading Pvt Ltd, a Chennai-based company focused on procuring and selling handloom products.
