By: Kunal Vaid
Resham Sutra’s activities in Assam and Northeast:
Resham Sutra is a startup working to improve the lives of silk spinners and handweavers in rural India. The company has innovated a series of machines that increase the productivity of rural textile producers by up to 400%. Apart from introducing the latest technologies, the company focuses on training for skill up-gradation of rural producers. The company has also introduced a digital platform to facilitate access to raw materials and markets improving the income of the rural producers. The North East region is the most prolific Eri and Muga silk-producing and hand weaving region in India. Presently many women spin Eri yarn and weave fabric as a part-time livelihood activity. Resham Sutra’s modern machines and business support help them to scale the activity as a full-time income-earning occupation. This increases family incomes. Resham Sutra is supported by ‘Powering Livelihoods’, an initiative jointly run by Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW) and Villgro Innovations Foundation.
Establishment of Silk Park in Kokrajhar in collaboration with BTC
Silk Park in Kokrajhar was established by Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) in 2020-21. The BTC region is keen to build local job opportunities to enable sustainable livelihoods for the rural demographic. Silk production has emerged as an ideal choice. Eri and Muga Silks are native to the region and have good demand. The Silk Park has a training center, cocoon bank, silk spinning, weaving, and printing facilities to produce diversified products. Quality Control and Assurance is given special emphasis to help Rural Women able to sell their products in the marketplace. The rural women are involved in spinning, reeling, dyeing, and solar-powered weaving. Digital Printing and Embroidery are value add operations. Weaving Training Centre in Nalbari in collaboration with Gramiya Vikas Samiti Resham Sutra provides training for upgrading the rural women who are working in the weaving sector. It has further helped in providing solar-powered machines to set up integrated ‘Yarn to Finished Product’ in the Eri Silk Value Chain. The objective is to develop more training infrastructure and modernization of the weaving sector in the region, to provide training and capacity building on design and product development, to focus on incremental income growth to the communities, and to showcase easy-to-operate solutions for consumers/entrepreneurs/local institutions.
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Solar powered looms in Arunachal Pradesh
Resham Sutra has established a modern weaving setup with solar-powered looms and pre-weaving activities. The Solar weaving centers have been established with support from the Department of Textiles in the Changlang and Bomdila districts of the state. Women in the region have been trained to weave on solar looms. Resham Sutra’s different initiatives have touched and helped over 1200 women develop their lives in the Northeast. Across India, its initiative has touched over 12000 women and helped them get closer to get an economically stable and dignified life. Resham Sutra is also working with local authorities to facilitate the Reeling, Spinning, and Weaving of Silk in all states of the Northeast Region.
The mission of the company is to develop modern machines that can revolutionize rural silk production and fabric weaving and leverage the experience of the founders in establishing the entire textile value chain from farming to yarn production, weaving, and marketing. How is the enterprise working in Assam & other Northeast regions The Company is working towards the vision of creating sustainable rural livelihood options using clean energy through new technology innovations. The company has partnered with various organizations working with the rural communities in the regions. Through these partnerships and with the support of the local institutions, the company is building an ecosystem that will enable a large number of rural producers to earn a healthy income while doing dignified work in their villages. Resham Sutra is organizing training programs for rural silk spinners in the Ri Bhoi district of Meghalaya and Kamrup Rural and Goalpara in Assam. The program is being executed with the support of the Central Silk Board, the Government of India, and the Selco Foundation. Resham Sutra is also setting up Rural Experience Centers and Rural Facility Centers in the region. These will provide support in bridging ecosystem gaps to ensure better livelihood generation for small-scale producers.
(The author is the founder of Resham Sutra)
