Tinker, Tailor, Textile.
I bought some gorgeous stoles on a recent visit to Dilli Haat. Perfect seasonal gifts and thoroughly appreciated.
It’s such an enchanting place. Traders are weavers and weavers are traders. Apparently no one asks too many questions even if they notice a stall here or there seems to remain with one craftsperson though the allotments are on a rotational basis.
The visit set me thinking.
The Swadeshi Movement was launched on 7th August in 1905. We commemorate it as National Handloom Day and in the 75th year since Independence, perhaps we can look at the future for this segment of the textile industry.
Traditionally, textile knowledge has been passed down in families but since 1911 governments have attempted to formalise this process.
GoI runs 6 Indian Institutes of Handloom Technology (IIHTs) — Bargarh, Fulia, Salem, Guwahati, Jodhpur and Varanasi. The IIHTs at Venkatagiri, Gadag, Champa and Kannur are run by respective State Governments.
Last year, a full time B.Tech degree in Handloom and Textile Technology was introduced in these institutes. I don’t know if they were able to get applicants for all seats. I looked at the curriculum R-2017Full-Syllabus.pdf (iihtsalem.edu.in). It appears comprehensive but is it aligned to key requirements of consumers in the years ahead?
In its editorial this morning, ToI makes a good case for autonomy for educational institutions. This should be done so that the focus can be on those segments where resources and indeed the market is driven by policymakers. The Handloom Segment is one such.
There are a number of initiatives driven by individuals and NGOs passionate about handlooms across the country. Two of them fascinate me — The Handloom School at Maheshwar and Shuttles and Needles at Chennai.
The two are very different from each other and yet bound by a common thread — a connect with our heritage.
What is now needed is a network where all these initiatives come together to share curriculum, teaching methods, oral histories and inter- generational knowledge and know how.
This is important for multiple reasons. We are able to nurture our legacy by getting professionally qualified youngsters to enter the segment and we meet the sustainability goals we have set for ourselves by taking ownership of the circular economy value chain. Fits in nicely with one earth,one family,one future too!
An Atal Tinkering Lab at Dilli Haat set up by the Department of Handlooms in the Textile Ministry in Delhi could perhaps be the place where this network can begin to be built.
