Many entrepreneurs are working with rural communities to revive dying textiles and art. And one such entrepreneur and designer is Coimbatore-based Vijayalakshmi Nachiar, who was in Hyderabad to exhibit her saris. Vijayalakshmi, who has studied textiles, started an organic cotton clothing enterprise in 2009, along with her husband, Mani Chinnaswamy.
“My husband and I, both come from the same background. His family owned a cotton business for the past three generations, and my family has been in cotton trading with roots in Kutch, Gujarat.
So, when in 2008, my husband decided to venture in organic cotton farming, we thought why not add value to the product and make handloom textiles, which can later be processed as saris, bed linen and table linen among other things,” says Vijaylakshmi.
Many feel that handloom products are expensive. “The design, colours and textures of handloom products are quite unmatched by anything produced by power looms or the mill sector, and hence the price difference. However, I believe that people have the spending capacity, but they just don’t want to spend it on handloom. I see people going to malls and buying expensive cloths there without bargaining. However, no one ever buys anything from a weaver without negotiating the price,” says Vijayalakshmi.
She conducts seminars for weavers and farmers. “We help farmers take up organic farming and teach them how to use natural fertilisers to enhance the quality of the soil,” she says.
