Handloom in India has a a rich history. My personal favourite is When Gandhi encouraged people to start spinning their own yarn and weave their own fabric, helping emerge cottage industries. While our ancestors enjoyed products by these weavers scattered all over India by the dozens, our generation sees the effects of industrialization and the dying of such a skilled craft.
Power looms, sweatshop, calculating quantity instead of looking and appreciating the design and quality we have de-moralized the hand loom sector by comparing them to the powerloom sector, expecting the prices to be the same if not cheaper showing no respect to the craftsman who has toiled over the product for many days worrying about every knot, every breakage and every weave.
There is no machines, controls or computers to tell them when to stop to add a colour, when a thread breaks, when a smaller and intricate design has to be added - all this and more are all done by the craftsmen so that when the product is ready its his pride and Joy! Whereas the powerloom sector is like an assembly line. People come people go working on many products a day as qunatity is the name of the game. Nobody cares and knows who is the creator.
Please remeber to buy handlooms when you shop next as you might be the very few in future to own one!!!
To read more: http://www.sarisafari.com/handlooms.html
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