A dying art

At the corner her grimy two-room tenement in Pochampally, 50 kilometers from Hyderabad in south India, Laxmi, 30, is hard at work on the loom. Her two impoverished children are playing outside.

Her village is famous for the renowned Ikat silk that has been produced for generations – a closely held trait handed down over the years as carefully as a family heirloom.

But Laxmi, who has spent over 10 years spinning fabrics, is disappointed these days.

"The trade is horrible and there is no money. I have a family to support and living on just 4,000 rupees (80 US dollars) a month is difficult," she says.

Weavers are leading a difficult life

That sentiment is shared by many in this village of weavers who are considering leaving to find work in the city.

Kandaswami, 60, and his wife, Uma, 52, who have been spinning cotton for over 30 years have decided that their children will take on different vocations. With their humble hands they have woven classy and elegant fabrics that have sold for exorbitant prices.

"The handloom industry was once the backbone and most important sector for the rural economy. But all that has changed. It is going to disappear," rues Kandaswami. He plans to send off his sons to work as factory hands in the city.

An endangered tradition

Realizing the fate of thousands of weavers across the country, activists are calling for government intervention to help save a precious Indian tradition that is presently endangered.

In Andhra Pradesh alone it is estimated that 700 weavers have committed suicide since 2008 because of starvation and their inability to pay off loans.

"The mill-centric textile policy of the central government and the neglect of the weavers community by the states has become the bane for the once proud and prosperous community," remarks P. Murlidhar Rao, an MP from the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). He was on a three-day fast a few months back to highlight the weaver community's plight.

Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh and Tamil Nadu are some of the other Indian states which are keeping the weaving tradition alive.

According to the Handloom Census of India, more than 2.9 million weavers reportedly worked in the handloom sector from 2009 to 2010, as compared to 3.47 million workers in the sector between 1995 and 1996 – meaning there has been a 16 percent reduction within in 15 years.

Globalization – an anathema?

The steep rise in material prices, globalization's push of cheaper, factory-made products into the market place, and a continuous rise in the cost of living have all threatened the livelihoods of artisans.

"The average weaver gets a maximum per day wage of 250 rupees. Is that enough? Obviously these people are moving on. But we must do something to keep this centuries-old tradition alive," says, Pooja Eppanapally, founder of the Save the Weavers Organization.

The weavers' plight has finally led the government to belatedly wake up to their problems. Earlier this week, the government approved a 23.5 billion rupee package for the benefit of handloom weavers in the country, hoping the package will enable the crisis ridden handloom sector to buy cheap hank yarn and get credit at low interest rates.

It is expected that this belated announcement will benefit 300,000 individual weavers and 15,000 cooperative societies.

But many are asking if the government's intervention is too little and a trifle too late.

Author: Murali Krishnan
Editor: Sarah Berning