Weaving made easy with CAD

Digital literacy has helped handloom weavers take their designing skills to the next level, through Reweave, a Microsoft initiative. Designing which usually takes three days to finish on a graph paper can now be completed in an hour and checked for suitability.

An online platform, Reweave was launched on Saturday where weavers can sell their handmade saris to customers and get the money deposited into their accounts.

A weaver and trainer, Mr Duddyala Shankar from Koyalagudem, said knowledge of Computer Aided Design (CAD) had helped them design confidently. “Earlier, much effort and time were needed to finalise the design. Now, the design can be modified in colour, shape and size on spot, within an hour. We can check its suitability on different cloth material such as bedsheets, dress material, saree and others.”

“Many weavers migrated from villages around 10 years back, as there were no profits. Now, people are coming back to Pochampally to resume their ancestral work as the conditions have improved now. Because of government policies and private companies’ encouragement, we are able to create new avenues,” said Mr S. Venu Gopalaswamy, who reverse migrated to Pochampally a couple of years ago.

According to the Reweave team digital empowerment centres have been expanding to more weaver clusters. Microsoft inaugurated two new digital empowerment centres in Rajoli, Choutuppal and will open centres in Warangal and Siddipet clusters. The clusters of Pochampally, Gadwal and Narayanpet have been operational for some time.

Speaking at the launch of the online platform, Mr Jayesh Ranjan, principal secretary, industries, said “Digital technology is changing the lives of Indians. Working with global technology leaders like Microsoft has enabled us to bring technology to the doorsteps of our weaver communities. Initiatives like ecommerce marketplace and design training will enable weavers to sustain themselves and provide livelihood to artisans.”