Women broke the rules and entered weaving, thanks to the cooperative
It was right after the drought of 1987 that the people of Bikaner started looking for alternate livelihood options, says Surjan Ram Jaipal, chief of the Urmul Marusthali Bunkar Vikas Samiti. The drought, which wiped out nearly half the livestock of North Rajasthan, was the catalyst for Urmul, a milk cooperative, to think beyond just support services, to build and grow sangathans that could help the most vulnerable with integrated development projects.
Part of this development was the establishment of weaving cooperatives, and in 1987, a group of 30-odd weavers got together to establish an NGO, which then became formalized in 1991.
The weaving technique, Pattu, is unique, in that narrow strips of cloth are woven and stitched together, using supplemental wefts that give the appearance of embroidery, not weaving, as seen in the handwoven pouch below.
Woven colours that resemble embroidery!
This is now a successful weaver’s community in Jodhpur district with over 150 registered weavers. Women, earlier excluded from weaving, have broken that norm and are successful weavers in the society.
The numbers hide an issue, says Surjanji. “We have members, but slowly, they are dropping off. You will not see many young people working the loom,” he says, echoing what we have heard across the country.
“Every year, buyers ask us for new designs, but we are already dealing with weavers leaving the profession because of the long hours and low earnings. It becomes tough for us to look at new colours and designs within our contexts without a degree of certainty in terms of the market,” he says.
Supporting the artisans by purchasing their products is the way to keep them from leaving the craft entirely.
