Kerala handlooms take to silk

Pure silk handloom sarees likely to be available for Rs 2,000.

The traditional looms that have been hitherto churning out just the cotton handloom garments will soon rollout silk sarees, with plans in this regard by the Kerala State Handloom Development Corporation (Hanveev) having taken-off in a big way.

B Arul Selvan, managing director, Hanveev, said: “Our weavers in Palakkad district of Kerala are bring trained to manufacture silk sarees that will boast of pure 100 per cent genuine silk content. We plan to create a splash in the market with genuine silk sarees made by the deft hands of our skilled weavers in their traditional looms.”

Selvan added the weavers in Palakkad were being trained in the manufacture of silk sarees in their looms. The weavers had made silk sarees during the last Onam season. The product was well-received.

The Palakkad handloom weavers’ cluster, under the Integrated Handloom Cluster Development Programme, plans to undertake the job on a wider commercial scale.

“The Union government has sanctioned Rs 60 lakh as part of its cluster development initiatives, which will come in handy in Hanveev’s efforts to help its silk project take wings,” Selvan added.

Explaining the scope of silk handlooms and the rationale behind the shift, Selvan pointed out that silk handloom products lend themselves easily to value addition. “Significantly, the silk products that will be manufactured at the handlooms here would boast of 100 per cent silk content. The sarees will be tie-and-dye plain variants as well as printed silk products. The cost of each saree would be around Rs 2,000. This is affordable for any one wanting to own a genuine handloom silk saree,” he said. Most importantly, the wages that a weaver currently earns would go up if silk products are manufactured in the looms here, he added.

Hanveev also plans to extend the silk experiment to other apparel to in the long run. “After silk sarees, we wish to make a market for new products, such as silk shirts and silk tops for ladies. This apart, we plan to take or products to various retailers nationally. A few big names have already approached us and we are in discussions with regard to marketing,” Arul Selvan added.

With the realisation that the traditional looms in Palakkad and those in Thiruvananthapuram are more or less similar, Hanveev hopes to expand the silk project to the clusters in Thiruvananthapuram also in a short period.