Punara utha jibita
Design Support - Morigaon
The project punara-utha-jibita (Resurgence – an increase or revival after a period of little activity, popularity or occurrence), is about a journey of how the art of weaving was brought back to life in the Villages of Morigaon.
Since weaving currently is a leisure activity, the women did not spend much time on the loom. In the beginning I documented motifs by visiting every weaver’s house and dig into their trunks for the oldest fabrics they had and long conversations with the weavers and the senior weavers who now don’t weave anymore. This helped us realise the value, understand the evolution of motifs and the colour symbolism.
Although the weavers considered Eri special as it is the only silk that is processed without killing the worm, as it is a tedious process, presently the weavers only cultivate the cocoons and sell them in the market. Since Morigaon is a very green place, we found ample resources for organic yarn dyeing and we decided to bring the art of dyeing and weaving eri silk again. Step by step we learnt the process from market exposure to creating a platform to sell products to exploration in yarn spinning, degumming, sizing, fabric washing, finishing and weaving. The revival of a craft is a tedious job and requires the immense dedication from every person involved and ICCo provided great support and helped us patiently.
Although the project had to be stopped in the third month due to the outbreak of the Corona virus disease, the weavers are constantly exploring new possibilities in dyeing and staying in touch with the help of technology. With the first batch of the woven stoles, ICCo launched their design label ‘Satyavati’ a platform for the weavers to sell their products. It was a beautiful experience to work with team ICCo and the team at Morigaon. Although language was a huge barrier for us to communicate, the weavers made me feel warm by engaging me in all their conversations by enacting, cooperating throughout the journey. It is just the first step towards creating a self-sustaining livelihood, and there is more to come in the future.
After a throughout assesment of the current market working with handwoven silk and natural dyes within the state of Assam, it was easier to understand the possibilities, materials and areas of improvisation. It also helped in understanding our target audience, and pricing of the products we will be producing. By analyzing the competitors, it was easier to work on our positioning. Observing the motifs on the Gamosa, Mekhela chador, Dhoti and Seleng are the stripes and checks. The key elements of their clothing – stripes and geometric motifs. A combination of the motifs used on the clothing of Men and Women in morigaon were explored to recreate them on the stoles. While exploring motifs, layouts were explored simultaneously. The layouts were inspired from the stripes and checks from the gamosas, dhothis and mekhelas. The layouts were designed with a combination with a combination of two or three different dyes and mordants. The final sketches of the stoles were inspired by the people I caught a sight of, in city and villages of Assam. As Eri silk has thermal properties it is warm in winter and cool in summer, it can be carried for different purposes for any event.
