What Has Been Done

Re-training of the weaver’s community

13,000 silk scarves were made in Varanasi in 2006 as New Year gifts for Bestseller organisation of Denmark, in a gesture to help the weavers’ community. During this period, their production methods were organised and the weavers received intensive training on production and quality control.

Re-orienting the products to a more contemporary context

Much research has gone into the product itself. Varanasi silk fabrics now have fast colours, which they didn’t have before (they needed to be dry cleaned). This is a big step forward in making the products more desirable and user friendly for the average consumer. The best Zari is now used in the products and it also has been tested repeatedly to make it machine washable. The fabrics itself have been made lightweight and are designed for daily wear and most important of all, is machine washable!

Organisation of the weaver’s

3 Dalit villages have been adopted.
35 looms have been restarted; they had been closed for months, some for years. These looms are currently weaving fabrics which are machine washable, of very good quality, and usable for making modern clothing.
There are about 60 weavers in the programme and more are joining everyday.
Some of the looms are making saris for uniforms for the Taj hotels.
An Office has been set up for the weavers in Varanasi, which will directly follow up on the weavers’ requirements.
The weavers’ community has been organised into groups, which are now ready to take orders for products and services.

Some of the group leaders of the project

Reviving traditional skills and employment of the women

Through this project, the design team has revived the Varanasi embroidered Zardosi buttons that are still much coveted items, but the skill to manufacture which has been largely lost over the past few decades.
90 ladies from 3 villages have gone through livelihood training programmes, and are currently busy with orders.

General Development

The weavers as well as the women involved in the projects have been taken for exposure visits outside Varanasi, a first for many of them!
To help in the overall development of the weavers and their families, solar lamps have been put up to aid the weavers in their work, hand pumps have been installed in their villages and health camps have been organised.