The Gorajan Mising Gaon situated at a remote corner of the Titabar subdivision of the district is set to become another weaving village after Sualkuchi with a little help of the administration.
Having been adopted as a model handloom village the pilot project launched here recently by the administration aims to give the weavers much needed market linkage which will take them to economic prosperity. Training them in product diversification and skill up gradation and arranging bank loans are also on the anvil. .
Ready for a challenge? Click here to take our quiz and show off your knowledge!
Jorhat Deputy Commissioner Narayan Konwar told Northeast Now that the weaving scale of the village had expanded over the years with about 110 women now engaged in the art and 10 self help groups operating.
“Most of the women of the Mising community have been traditionally engaged in making handloom products and a few years ago, one among them took an initiative to go for a commercial venture by forming Self-Help Group,” Konwar said.
Konwar said that Romina Mipun had taken the lead in forming the first SHG which she named Kang-Kang. The number now has increased to 10 SHGs with 110 weavers being involved in the venture.
Ready for a challenge? Click here to take our quiz and show off your knowledge!
Konwar said that after coming to know about the initiative of Mipun, he visited the village and decided to extend support to the weavers to make their venture a better-organised one commercially through tie ups with handloom shops.
He further said that a plan was in the pipeline to enable the weavers to sell their products online given the fact that clothing of ethnic designs was in high demand all over the country. Konwar said that efforts had been initiated to connect the SHGs with banks so that they could avail loans under government schemes. He said that two semi-automatic weaving looms had been provided to the weavers to boost production and there was a plan to expand their weaving shade.
Konwar said that a meeting had been held under his chairmanship with traders dealing in handloom garments in the district to discuss about lifting products made by the weavers of the village and selling them through their shops and outlets. Assistant director of Handloom and Textiles department (Jorhat) Krishna Borkakoti was present in the meeting.
Additional deputy commissioner Kamaljit Talukdar, who is the in-charge Titabar (SDO-Civil) said the state handloom and textiles department had been tasked with imparting training to the weavers for enhancing their skills.
He said that faculty from the textiles and apparel department of the College of Community Science under the Assam Agricultural University had also offered their services in preparing new designs for the products.
“Under the project efforts will be on to diversify products like making curtains and similar house-hold items of regular use,” the DC said.
If this initiative turns out to be successful other villages in the district where weaving is done too could be supported, the DC further said.