A common facility service centre, for the Federation of Tie and Dye and Hand Printed Textile Cluster self-help groups weaving famous sungudi saris, was inaugurated at Avaniapuram in the state of Tamil Nadu on December 2.
The Indian Bank has given Rs. 1.8 million to around 73 artisans (Rs. 25,000 each) to buy the 1.1 acre land, while Rs. 2.5 million have been provided by National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) for constructing the building.
Small Industries Product Promotion Organization (SIPPO) is supervising the implementation of the centre, which is a joint venture of many agencies.
The artisans were also imparted training to upgrade their skills. Five design and technical workshops had also been conducted to introduce value added saris and bring out new products like hand bags.
Mr. R. Shankar Narayan, Assistant General Manager, NABARD said, such clusters would prove to be helpful to safeguard the sungudi sari and its 700 years of history. This sari had been registered in the Geographical Indication Registry through the Office of Assistant Director of Handlooms.
The State and Central Government have promoted the cluster model of development. This Common Facility Center will add more facilities and equipments soon.
Number of the artisans involved in weaving sungudi saris is falling down, as today only 250 families from Sourasthra community are working in this craft, while around 700 years ago the number of families involved was 1,000.
Around 108 artisans received Artisan Identity Cards under the Janshree Bima Yojana and their children studying in standard 9 to 12 have been provided education scholarships of Rs. 1,200 a month.
Fibre2fashion News Desk - India
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