Weaving For Chanderiyaan
“Currently I am weaving for Chanderiyaan and am able to save more than Rs. 5,000 monthly. This has really helped me paying my housing rent. Moreover, the idle sittings due to unavailability of raw materials or design aren’t there. This leads to an efficient working environment and effective weaving.”
……But the scenario wasn’t the same in past! Wasim’s association with Chanderiyaan is only anyear long and he, too, has gone through numerous ups and downs before Chanderiyaan happened. Before Chanderiyaan, Wasim used to weave in his home with neither adequate space, nor suitable working conditions. Moreover, constant delays in designs and raw materials contributed significantly in Wasim’s trouble. Unable to pay his home rent, and incurring a continuous loss of Rs. 400-500 per month, Wasim was not at all satisfied with his working condition. It was a similar day in Wasim’s life, when suddenly RizwanaBano, a member of the Tamanna SHG in Chanderiyaan informed Wasim about an opportunity for weavers such as him to weave for Chanderiyaan, and this proved to be the turning point in Wasim’s life. Currently, he is able to deposit his monthly rent on time and has even managed to purchase a mobile phone from his savings. Wasim has not only experienced a financial leverage, but also admits a significant improvement in his skills and learning, with weaving on high-end designs.
“I had always weft plain and/or light design sarees in the past. But here I got the opportunity to work with a professional designer. His designs are really high-end and definitely encourages me to work more. For the first time, I worked on a Jacquard loom, and I can feel some confidence in me to achieve high levels of weaving skills.”
Wasim believes that initiatives such as Chanderiyaan could really bring about a change in the current weaving segment of Chanderi. He envisions Chanderiyaan centers across Chanderi so that opportunities could be given to other weavers such as Wasim, and a strong weavers’ cluster can be achieved.
