Friday, June 28, 2019

Indian Ethnic Wear - Saree

                      
Saree/Sari has been on every Indian women's list of clothing. It has a permanent space in every Indian women's wardrobe. Saree is an evergreen fashion flavour of every season. There are different types of Sarees from Synthetic machine made to handwoven sarees. The Sarees which are handwoven is an ancient age-old tradition which dates back to many centuries. Handloom Cotton fabric have been evergreen due to eco-friendly and skin-friendly nature and less prone to fire accidents. Cotton fabric is the most preferred form of clothing in Semi tropical region. While silk is for occasional wear due to its heavy constituency and inherent party look. The handwoven/handloom sarees are losing their authenticity as they are at a higher price, it involves a lot of manpower and it takes 3 to 40 days to make a saree based on the design and the materials.


The Handlooms have many variants based on thread count and the place of weaving, to name a few are Mangalgiri, Venkatagiri, Pochampalli, Dharmavaram, Uppada, etc. The handweaving skill has percolated from generations to generations. The weavers are now facing a tough time because of the synthetic cloth revolution in the industry which is cost effective and low maintenance. The weavers have meagre knowledge on digital marketing and online platform for promotion of their products.

To uplift these weavers KALGUDI is working with SERP (Society for Elimination of Rural Society) in Andhra Pradesh to bring all their products online under the brand name of eMahila. The products went live on Kalgudi platform and they are receiving orders from various locations.


Thus, Kalgudi brought the weavers online and increased their visibility and widened their market sphere.

Sunday, June 23, 2019

Silver Jewellery


Silver is known as the poor man’s Gold. This precious metal is been into usage from time immemorial. Silver metal has significant health benefits hence been used across cultures for centuries. Silver has a proven track record as a powerful antimicrobial agent fighting infection and aiding in cold and flu prevention, wound healing, etc. Silver jewellery helps with internal heat regulation and circulation. Ancient Ayurveda recommends the usage of silver jewellery and cutlery to improve energy levels, balance in moods, blood circulation, body temperature balance, and maintain cleanliness and immunity. If silver jewellery turns blue when worn too long, indicates the presence of elevated levels of sodium in our body. Silver cutlery is used as it purifies the food and fights against harmful infection and disease hence the custom of gifting silver utensils is still live. Silver has anti-ageing properties hence used in cosmetics for skincare.

Researchers at the University of Southampton have proven that wearing silver ornaments helps to alleviate symptoms of arthritis. The study revealed that wearing silver ornaments helps reduce pain and hyperextension in rheumatoid arthritis and restore stability and range of motion in the inflamed joints.

Silver is a highly reactive metal so it is not advised to wear pure silver hence for making ornaments Sterling silver is used. Sterling silver is an alloy of 92.5% silver and copper. Oxidized silver is a process that many jewellers use to give sterling silver a black patina by using Potassium Sulphate. It gives the jewellery an antique or tarnished look.

https://kalgudi.com/store/search?query=Jewelry&limit=20&view=grid

The rural women SHGs (Self-Help groups) supported by SERP-AP (Society for Elimination Of Rural Poverty) are into making oxidized silver jewellery for earning their livelihood. These handcrafted authentic silver jewellery are very attractive and crafted catering to all the age groups and occasions (Chokar, Long chains, Bracelets, earrings to name a few). Kalgudi in collaboration with SERP-AP brought their products online @ emahila.org. Let us all incorporate the habit of using Silver metal to reap health benefits and support rural women.



Tuesday, June 18, 2019

Uppada_Jamdani_Saris


On the coast of Andhra Pradesh resides a quaint little town called Uppada. A seemingly unremarkable place, Uppada, is home to several fisheries and most importantly the famous handwoven Uppada sarees. These sarees always come in bright colours with tasteful designs. They’re extremely light and soft to the touch and are of superior quality due to the intricate weaving process involved. Although the origin of this fabric can be traced back to Bangladesh, the Uppada sarees are popular throughout the Indian subcontinent.

The saree is made with cotton or silk (cotton is much more challenging to weave than silk) and bordered with gold or silver zari with floral motifs and geometrical patterns. Unlike other sarees, the patterns on the sarees are shown on both sides because it is woven into the fabric and not added as another layer. Prior to weaving an elaborate method is followed to ensure the high quality of the material. The yarn is washed, dyed, rinsed and allowed to air dry so that it becomes stiffer and the colour lasts longer. It is finally ready to be woven!

It’s arranged onto the loom which is operated by two people and they work for over a week to create the beautiful sarees. The saree once finished is extremely light weight because of the pure cotton and zari that is used.

https://emahila.org/search?query=Uppada&limit=20&view=grid
Uppada sarees are made by the traditional Jamdani method of weaving with almost no mechanical aid. The skill of Jamdani weaving reached Uppada in the 18th century and the designs were modified to suit the taste of the locals. The sarees became very popular over the course of 10 years and the profession was taken up by many of the village people. 


Majority of the weaving community belongs to the Padmasali caste who have passed the skill down through the generations and almost 40% of the weavers are women. A weaver can earn ₹10,000 to ₹25,000 depending on the number of sarees they make. As the fabric is mostly handwoven, it is extremely time and labour intensive. One saree could take anywhere between 10 to 15 days for 2 to 3 weavers working 10 hours a day. It is an exceptionally difficult technique of weaving but most of the artisans have grown up learning the skill from their parents and are very adept. As the skill of making these sarees itself is as unique as the product, Uppada sarees were given the Geographical Identification in 2009. Even as early as 1972, the weavers were recognized by the government of India with the President’s award for their exemplary talent.

Over the years, the weavers have modified the designs and experimented with new colour palettes to keep up with the times. The village has over 3,000 looms in total. Although some of the people leave the village to pursue higher education, several come back to take up weaving as a profession. The rise in demand in the last 5 to 6 years has guaranteed more publicity to the hands working on the looms. The sarees are becoming increasingly available at handlooms, Cottage Industries Emporia and lately even on e-commerce platforms such as the government initiated Kalgudi platform.

                                                                                                 

 www.emahila.org

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