GI tag doesn’t cheer Kothawada weavers
Cotton durries were in demand in Japan, US, UK, Germany
Weavers of Kothawada in Warangal are not celebrating the allotment of the Geographical Indication (GI) tag to the world famous Kothawada durries
(jampakanas or cotton rugs). Many do not even understand the implications of the tag. “What is the use of a tag when the art itself is near extinct?” asks Dasari Rama Narayana, who has been weaving jampakanas for more than 50 years, his handloom and hand-knotted durries having found buyers in Japan, Australia, Germany, England and America. A sharp dip in demand, however, has pushed the lives of several weavers like Rama Narayana to the brink of survival.
“TSCO (Telangana State Handloom Weavers Cooperative Society), the sole buyer of our durries at present, has asked us to reduce production as they are unable to find a market for our products. The state government boasts of the mega textile park in Warangal which is bringing foreign companies, but it has failed to provide a platform for local weavers to survive. The mega textile park is meant for big companies with power looms. It has nothing to do with handloom weavers,” Rama Narayana says.
There are 3,000 families in Kothawada who are still part of the age-old tradition, but their income is getting progressively more meagre. Only the elders are still working the looms, while the younger generations venture out in search of alternative livelihoods.
The GI tag may be the final hope for traditional weavers to promote their products in India and abroad. “The state government must not delay its efforts to provide a market to handloom weavers. The crafts of Pochampalli and Siricilla have received government help, but the Kothawada weavers remain forgotten. At the same time, the Centre must exempt these durries from GST. That way, it will be affordable for the consumer and increase the market for weavers,” says Weavers’ Welfare Association state vice-president Chippa Venkateshwarlu Netha.