In #Bhujodi village of #Gujarat’s #Kutch district, more than 350 weaver families have been engaged in #dhabla weaving for many generations. What started as weaving shawls for the Rabari community, the nomadic cattle herders of north-west India, is now an international enterprise that has expanded to weaving of stoles, sarees and dress materials for global buyers.
The weavers belong to the Vankar community and are said to have migrated from Rajasthan to Gujarat hundreds of years back. The Rabaris, who already lived in Kutch, had access to sheep wool and excelled in #embroidery. But they did not possess weaving skills. Thus began their association with the Vankar community members, who would weave dhabla used by Rabaris during the cold winter months. And the craft came to be known as #dhablaweaving.
Full story here: https://30stades.com/2020/12/09/bhujodi-gujarat-village-that-turned-nomadic-tribes-dhabla-shawl-into-global-fashion-statement-handloom/
Ramji Valji Vankar is a famous artisan practising this #weaving. #Artisans weave dhablas, shawls, stoles and even sarees depending using cotton, wool and silk. Hand-woven shawls generally weigh around 400gm but those made using readymade yarn weigh about 250gm, Shamji points out. Cotton shawls made using lighter readymade threads, weigh around 200gm.
The process starts with #spinning the raw wool fibres or cotton on the traditional wooden wheel (charkha) to make yarn.
Women and youngsters of the house often participate in spinning.
Shamji dyes the yarn with natural colours and has revived the use of lac dyeing and indigo dyeing.
He uses pomegranate peels, onions, leaves, kesuda na phool (flowers of Flame of the Forest plant) and other natural products to produce vibrant colours.
“We dry pomegranate peel, powder it and boil it in the water at 50 to 60-degree Celcius for 3-4 hours. The water is sieved through a cotton cloth and used next day for dyeing,” says Shamji, who also uses natural indigo dyes extensively.
The dyed yarn is then dried and starched before being put on the warp (tano) on the loom while the yarn for the weft (bano) is filled in bobbins using the charkha. Weaving is done on a pit loom, which is used even in eastern Indian states of Odisha, Assam and Manipur. Here, the weaver’s feet are below the loom while he sits at the ground level, giving it the name of pit loom.
“The extra weft ornamentation is what sets dhabla weaving apart from the rest,” says Shamji. Onecthe weaving is finished, the artisans add shiny mirrors or other accessories. It is then washed and ironed.
It takes around a month to ready a dhabla. The price ranges from Rs6,ooo to Rs15,000. The shawls can be made in 2 days or two months, depending upon the design, with their prices starting from Rs500 and going up to Rs15,000. The family also makes mattresses and dress materials.
Each artisan earns between Rs20,000 to Rs25,000 a month during the peak season between October and February. The rest of the year, their monthly earning is between Rs10,000 to Rs15,000.
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