Category “News”
Invitation to an Exhibition of Textile Legacies from Kutch and Sindh
Weavers Association of Kachchh expects provision of GI to Kachchhi Shawls from Government
Kachchhi Shawls have won many International and National awards and made our country proud. Kachchhi Shawls are heart beats of Kachchh and to give it name and fame Kachchh Weavers Association has requested to Government to provide Geographical Indication (GI) to Kachchhi Shawls during the one day seminar organized by Textile Ministry, Govt. of India.
During this seminar the president of Kachchh Weavers Association Mr.Gabhubhai Vankar, Vice President Parbatbhai Vankar, Govindbhai Vankar, Secretary Kantilal Vankar, Arjan Ciju, Premji Mangariya, Danabhai Bagda have participated in and presented application made for the GI recognition for famous Kachchhi Shawls.
Shri S. S. Gupta of D. C. Handicraft inaugurated this Seminar. Managing Director of Gurjari, Mr. A.K. Jha requested to invited guests of Textile Ministry to register Kachhhi Shawls under GI.
Workshop on Natural Indigo Dyeing on Yarns
Recently KHAMIR’s Textile Laboratory & Dyeing Unit team did experiments on Natural Indigo Dyeing with Yarns. Where team researched on following:
- Method of determining proportion of Indigo while dyeing
- Changes in color shades by changing proportion of indigo while dyeing
- What will be the change in proportions of auxiliary Dyeing materials (Caustic, Hydro) if the proportion of Indigo is changed while preparing dye bath
- Proper Color fixing methods
Results of experiments were shared with Weavers of Kachchh with hands on practical through a workshop. Again knowledge available with team on woolen & cotton fiber was also shared with artisans group in the said workshop. Below are some of the glimpses of the workshop.
KHAMIR @ Craft Roots Exhibition in Ahmedabad
Workshop for Leather Artisans of Kachchh on New Surface Colors
The colouring process on TC leather in the entire kutchchh region was assessed as not the best option available. Moreover the dyes were restricted to just four colours. Again the dye used by the artisans currently is actually meant for drum dyeing in industrial process and not for surface application. The colours gave problems wherein they lost fastness just by rubbing hand on its surface.
So to improve Artisans Skill and to introduce new colors for surface application two expert from Mumbai were called to conduct the workshop between 13th & 14th December 2010 where the best options available to colour TC leather were introduced by these experts who visited from Mumbai. The new colours gave better fastness, more variety in terms of shades, easy options to blend and formulate new colours.
Apart from this, the artisans were exposed to the traditional process of dyeing leather using natural ingredients like bark of trees, cooking oil, spices etc. the process was developed at the Khamir textile laboratory by our textile experts. Samples were preserved at every step of the dyeing process and shown to the artisans along with end results.
Response to KHAMIR’s Texlab
KHAMIR’s Textile Laboratory was inaugurated by senior artisans from the textile sector on 10th October 2010. All the tests available at the laboratory were demonstrated to the artisans with promotional offers. A lively discussion on problems related to quality control took place between experts & artisans invited by KHAMIR. It was suggested that the texlab should proactively work with artisans to create a manual of standards for natural & chemical dyeing, wet & rub fastness, shrinkage, etc as best practices from the textile sector of Kachchh. This would work as a guideline for buyers and artisans to interact professionally and with clear expectations of the textile products keeping in mind its unique character. This will become one of the tasks that the texlab will undertake shortly.
Here are some of the glimpses from inaugural event:
Inauguration of KHAMIR’s Textile Laboratory
Textile Laboratory is one of the value added services and the key objective of KHAMIR’s Quality Textile Laboratory is to upgrade and benchmark the quality standards of Kachchh textile crafts. KHAMIR intends to provide the service to artisans working in the following textile crafts: ajrakh block printing, handloom weaves, bandhani tie and dye, batik, mashroo, and embroidered textiles.
Textile Laboratory is being inaugurated on 10th October 2010. All the tests available at the laboratory will be demonstrated to the artisans with promotional offers. Problems related to quality control would be addressed by Mr. Jain the technical expert who has been guiding the KHAMIR team in setting up the laboratory.
Weavers of Kachchh come together for GI
Weavers from all over Kachchh came together to form the Kachchh Weavers Association. While the immediate objective was to file for the Geographical Indications for the Kachchh Shawl, this association will be a first of its kind by virtue of the unifying presence of all the weavers from Kachchh. This association is now formally registered and the application for the registration of Geographical Indications has been submitted to the GI office with the help of KHAMIR – Craft Resource Centre.