Launching BRASS TACKS in Hyderabad

A film on the cotton handloom process

For
Dastkar Andhra's short film on the cotton handloom production process
visit
http://www.dastkarandhra.org/handloom-process.htm

Coming in February

dāram brings to Hyderabad a traditional range of Kanjeevaram Sarees, contemporary kurtis for women & a range of garments for men this February.

I) 10th to 19th February

Traditional Kanjeevaram and Chettinad cotton and silk sarees of Tamil Nadu from Santanalakshmi pure silks and cottons, Bangalore.

1. Thalampoo pettu - Cotton body and silk border traditional sarees
2. Kasakasa kattam - Check cotton and silk cotton sarees
3. Priyangata - Check cotton sarees
4. Kandangi - Striped cotton sarees
5. Vyraoosi - Striped cotton sarees

Mango border, Kanjeevaram saree

Kanjeevaram saree


II) 13th February onwards

A new range of cotton handloom kurtis in different styles & cuts, weaves and block prints for the summer.

III) 21st February onwards

Shirts and kurtas for men for summer. Also introducing knee length kurtas in cotton handlooms
Dates: 21st February onwards

Weaving a success story

D.V.L. Padma Priya
http://www.hindu.com/2009/01/12/stories/2009011251040200.htm

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Eight youths from the weaver community, employed in odd jobs, find a viable vocation after training in weaving and dyeing

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New skills: Youths from Kolluru village in Adilabad district attending a design workshop.

HYDERABAD: It was a skill that literally ran in their blood. But it was an opportunity that was missing for a good 20 years. For these eight rural youth from Kolluru village in Adilabad District, weaving might not have been a natural livelihood choice, but it surely paved a way out of their poverty.

For D. Bhaskar, A. Suresh, D. Damodar, D. Mahesh, D. Chandrashekar, D. Sampath. V. Nagesh and R. Srinivas, the wheel of fortune turned in their favour when they were identified by Dastkar Andhra (DA), a city-based NGO. Aged between 20 and 24, the eight hailing from the weaver community were living in abject poverty. Many had dropped out of school and had been employed in odd jobs.

Motivation

Their condition was brought to the notice of DA in 2006 when an older group of weavers in nearby Chennur informed them. A year’s training in weaving and dyeing, and the youth were all set to weave their own fortunes. “They were quick in grasping what was taught,” says V. Dharmender, in-charge, DA Production & Design, DA. Apart from appointing a master weaver to train them, DA also paid them a monthly stipend of Rs.1,000. “What motivated us to take up weaving was the fact that we didn’t have to work under anybody,” says D. Chandrasekhar.

Even after graduation, D. Sampath, a former teacher at a government school, finds weaving a sustainable livelihood optionHere to participate in a DA design workshop, they swear by their new found profession. Now named ‘Individual Weavers Co-operative Society’ as a group, they now earn anything between Rs. 6,000 to Rs. 9,000 individually per month.

“They are very confident now and have even paid back their bank loans,” says Ravinder of DA. He said they were identifying similar youngsters from backward regions of Andhra Pradesh. “As long as they are interested in learning weaving, DA is ready to assist them,” he says.”

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Also see

http://www.dastkarandhra.org/

http://pankaj-atcrossroads.blogspot.com/2008/10/plight-of-indias-unskilled-weavers.html

Maheshwari Sarees from REHWA

from Jan 8-12, 2009
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also

Gadwal and Narayanpet sarees in natural dyes and contemporary designs.
Dates: 1st to 15th January



Gadwal sarees

July 2008 - 1st anniversary celebrations of dāram

dāram celebrated its first anniversary on the 2nd of July with a day full of programs and activities. here are some pictures:

bablu ganguly of the Timbaktu Collective launched timbaktu organic's organic foods in daram. timbaktu organic products are now available for the first time in Hyderabad

bablu ganguly speaks to those gathered for the evening's program

a display of the various products from timbaktu organic

there was a cooking demonstration, followed by snacks made of millets and other products from timbaktu organic

friends, wellwishers and partners of daram who had gathered for the occassion

the evening concluded with an enthralling carnatic music concert by Sangeeta Shivkumar

Kurtas in Gold (Khari) prints

SAREES FOR SANKRANTHI

SAREES FOR SANKRANTHI

dāram brings to Hyderabad a special range of sarees from Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal and Madhya Pradesh for Sankranthi.

1) TRADITIONAL KANTHA and contemporary hand block printed sarees from Weavers Studio, Kolkata, West Bengal
Dates: 1st to 7th January

2) GADWAL and NARAYANPET sarees in natural dyes and contemporary designs.
Dates: 1st to 15th January

Gadwal sarees

3) MAHESHWARI sarees, dupattas, stoles and ready to stitch salwar kurta sets from REHWA SOCIETY, Maheshwar, Madhya Pradesh
Dates: 8th to 12th January

Maheshwari saris

New Winter introductions at dāram

dāram brings to Hyderabad a special range of Woolens and BodyCare products from the Himalayas this winter.

1) Pure wool handwoven shawls and stoles from ‘KUMAON GRAMEEN UDYOG’ from Uttarakhand

The products have been woven in a small weaving centre at village Buribana near Mukteshwar as part of KGU’s income generation programme.

2) Pure wool, hand knitted sweaters, mufflers and caps from ‘KULLU KARISHMA’, Himachal Pradesh

Kullu Karishma has worked over a decade to revive and revitalize spinning, knitting and weaving with local angora wool and develop livelihoods in the process.

3) Natural soaps, face wash and scrubs from ‘SUNDARAM’, Uttarakhand

Sundaram products are made from a range of natural products like rhododendron flowers, honey, goats milk, almonds, etc.
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dāram, Hyderabad’s exclusive cotton handloom garment store works towards strengthening traditional weavers and small farmers.
In continuation of this effort, the store has, in collaboration with traditional craftspeople and groups from different parts of the Himalayas, brought to Hyderabad a limited, but select range of products for winter. Produced with natural materials and by using minimal energy, the products contribute to local livelihoods with minimal impact on the environment.

Dhebariya shepherds with their flock of sheep, Kutch, Gujarat

Spinning wool into yarn, Kullu Karishma, Himachal

On the loom...

Naik Estate, ICICI Bank Lane, Beside Airport Lane, Begumpet, Hyderabad – 500016
Tel: +91 40 27765503. Fax: +91 40 27892905. Email: daram.da@gmail.com

Strengthening traditional weavers and small farmers

Food and clothing is generally believed to reflect the culture and state of any civilization. Therefore, the nature of production and consumption of these two categories is crucial to assess the health of the society. The challenge is not to increase productive capacity through increasing technical excellence which in today’s parameters is only speed and quantity but to look at technical excellence which is human and environment friendly.

Given the current crisis in agriculture, there have been large-scale migrations of youth out of villages. This correlates to the rising number of migrant workers in construction work, which is emerging as the largest urban livelihood. A movement upwards is still possible for those with access to formal education in the urban economy. There is no place for upward mobility for the migrants with scarce resources. The task before society is to rejuvenate the rural economy by supporting small farmers and traditional weavers.

Handloom weaving, till now seen as a craft based, cottage industry still employs a large number of rural families, second only to agriculture. But the perception of the industry only as a traditional craft has masked the trajectory of a large number of weavers who have, over the last ten years used it to achieve a reasonable livelihood, and moved their next generation into mainstream livelihoods. While urban India struggles to manage a growing populations’ infrastructure needs, the vulnerability of a fast changing polarized society is still a challenge that neither policy nor the market has been able to address.

It is our belief that handloom offers a hope to our villages, if it can be established as a viable livelihood for the next generation which faces threat of large-scale migrations into urban slums.