Chennai
The move will help to reduce the labour and increase the production of the famous mats that are crafted out of korai grass found along the banks of Thamirabarani river through hand weaving in the Pattamadai panchayat of Tirunelveli district.
“The recently designed jacquard gives the loom versatility and is being tried out for the first time in Pattamadai and the results are encouraging in the last few months,” said TNHDC Managing Director B Chandramohan. There are several ongoing indigenous projects funded by the Corporation to promote handicrafts and prevent artistry from facing extinction. Wherever, technological intervention is required the assistance is provided and the IIT team has been working on the project for severalmonths, he said.
According to TNHDC sources, the Pattamadai mat industry was once thriving due to demand from different parts of the country, but after power looms and plastic mats entered the domestic market, Pattamadai industry suffered due to high input costs. Still, there are is a huge demand for these mats, but the number of families taking up the handmade production has reduced from around 600 families to around 200 in the past decade, sources said.
“Now with brand marketing through social media and less strenuous production techniques, more capacity building is the need of the hour. Online retail sales are also picking up for Pattamadai mats which are unique due to their designs,” said Sandeep Gangaram, Centre for Social Innovation and entrepreneurship, IIT Madras.
“A state of the art handloom has been developed to reduce labour. The production time will reduce by 60 per cent after training and this will be a boon to women weavers of Pattamadai,” said Sandhya, project officer involved in promoting the rural technology among Pattamadai weavers. The young women from the village are now getting trained in laptops and multimedia designs. Soon, there will be a fusion of technology and handicraft taking the celebrated mats to a different level,Sandhya added.
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