This is the time of year when we celebrate Indian Handlooms; we are especially glad to bring attention to one of the weaving groups we work with.
The fabrics I will be describing below are made in a leprosy community in north India that we call KUKA. It was established in 1966 by a small group of people affected by leprosy who were not able to stay in their own families because of the stigma of the disease so they came together to make a leprosy colony. At that time people affected by leprosy would have little opportunity for employment because people were afraid of catching the disease from them so they often begged for a living. In about 1982 they started weaving in KUKA as a way to earn money and improve their livelihoods; MESH began to buy from them.
The present supervisor of the weaving unit is Mr. Janardan, his father Umashanker, was a gentle quiet man who would come five hours by bus or train periodically to MESH office to collect and deliver orders for tablecloths and napkins and bedspreads. Janardan learned from him and took over when Umashanker died. Janardan receives orders by e-mail. Sends the shipments by railway and has diversified into organic cotton and various types of textured weaves. He has learned how to take production videos and manage zoom calls and in about the year 2000 he introduced an electric bobbin-winding machine. A few years ago they also started tie and dying their yarn for a special mottled look.
Now there are 13 people employed, both people affected by leprosy and weavers from a local minority community whose livelihoods have gradually faded away. Last year MESH bought Rs 22 lakh worth of handwoven fabric from KUKA and we are delighted to see the work continue. It may be a small group but it has sustained and moved with the demand from the market and that we gladly celebrate.
I wonder if you know how cotton is woven for our kitchen and dining linen ranges.
The yarn is purchased and washed, it may be organic yarn or non-organic yarn depending on the customer’s demand. Whilst it is being washed, Janardan and his helper measure out the dyes and heat up the water in the dye bath. KUKA uses azo-free vat dyes that meet international standards for safety.
Hanks of yarn hanging over long poles are dipped in the dye bath and using a stick through the hank the hot wet yarn is rotated to give it an even colour all over. Some of our designs are tie dyed which means that before dying, the yarn in the hanks is tied tightly here and there, the result of that laborious process is that the tied areas of the yarn do not take up the dye creating a most beautiful mottled effect during weaving.
The dyed yarn is hung in the shade to dry before going on the electric bobbin winding machine ready for warping and weaving. The electric machine is one of the few areas of mechanization in this ancient weaving process. It was introduced to increase the speed of production. It eliminated a poorly paid job that was early usually done by women.
Once the yarn is on the warping tins the clever process of preparing the long warp threads begin. Every single length of yarn has a place in the final weaving pattern and is wound onto a long weaving beam ready for tying up in a process called drafting and denting.
There are more than one thousand warp threads on each of our tea towels, each one is individually threaded through or between metal eyes and then tied to the end of the last warp. When it is all tied, the warp is wound on the beam tightly and weaving can begin.
The predominant impression on entering a busy weaving unit is sound,. The shuttles carrying the weft threads shoot between the warp threads and clang as they meet the shuttle guard on each side of the loom. The weavers sit on narrow planks of wood with their legs hanging down operating peddles which lift the shafts of the loom separating the warp threads ready to receive the weft threads. After each passing of the shuttle the weaver brings the large heavy heddle towards him to press the warp thread in place. This kind of weaving is a simple and quite beautiful technique that has hardly changed in a thousand years and which still produces beautiful fabrics which we make into kitchen and table and bed linen that are enjoyed in homes around the world.
You can buy some of KUKA's wonderful hand woven products here and here and from our shop in Uday Park New Delhi.
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