The transformation of a tribal village in Rajasthan
Sambhaavnaa Institute of Public Policy and Politics organised in September a three-day workshop, Tana Bana, for the weaver communities of India and those individuals or organisations that are working with the weavers and for the weavers. The workshop saw participation of almost 40 people from across the country and from different walks of life to discuss the present-day socio economic condition of the weavers and share ideas for the growth of the handloom industry in India.
The Institute is located on a beautiful hillock in a Palampur village and surrounded by mountains on three sides and a river gushing on the fourth side. Villages nearby are mostly occupied by sheep farmers, wool weavers and agriculture farmers.
The three-day workshop turned out to be a great learning experience for Team DEF. Not only did they discuss the problems being faced by weavers across the country, understand the reasons for decline of the industry and share ideas to revive the handloom culture, but they also truly understood the importance of sustainable living.
Sambhaavana Institute — built in mud, bamboo and wood — is a completely self-sustainable and eco-friendly campus. They grow their own vegetables, fruits and even tea leaves; buy no packaged food material; they believe in compost and manure; use solar power; and maintain lots of greenery around the campus.
The workshop was led by Uzramma, founder of non-profit research centre Dastkar Andhra and the Malkha fabrics, who has been associated with India’s cotton textile industry of India since 1989. While different people were attending the workshop for different reasons, the ultimate goal of Tana Bana was to share ideas among each other and understand the problems of weavers.
The conclusion of the workshop was that the revival and growth of the handloom industry of India is in the hands of individuals and organisations rather than the government of India. “If it (industry’s growth through government intervention) hasn’t happened in the last 27 years, it’s not going to happen,” she said.
On the last day of the workshop, children of Udaan, a informal school built on the same principle as that of Secmol in Ladakh, organised a fair where they sold items made out of trash, paintings and snacks like gol gappe and homemade chocolate cake.
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