HT Bureau
Guwahati, May 26: To preserve the legacy of hand-spun Eri Silk, Indian Weavers Alliance Silk Farmer Producer Company Limited (IWASFPCL) has launched an initiative ‘Polash’ that promises to be a game-changer for the handspun yarn segment. Polash has registered many people engaged in hand spinning and has developed a strategic road map for the upliftment of the entire sector. After prolonged research coupled with a deep understanding of the sector, the bottlenecks hindering the growth of the segment were identified.
“IWASFPCL has been privileged to have been able to start the process of creating a common facility center at Borihat, Polashbari, Kamrup, Assam. The facility, spread across 8000 sq. ft., is planned to stock over 300 to 500 kg of grade one cocoons. However, the best part is that the myriad spinning artisans have been made dividend holders who are going to be directly connected to the profits,” said Saumar Sharma, acting CEO, IWASFPCL.
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The FPC is expected to enable the sale of around 60% of the cocoon to spinning mills and the remaining 30% are proposed to be distributed among registered artisan. Sharma informed that the cocoons will be provisioned free; all they have to do is to produce the yarn and sell it back to their IWASFPCL.
“The producers will have the leverage to sell it in the ready marketplace, i.e., the CFC of the IWASFPCL, next door within a radius of 5 kms. The spinning price of these yarns is more than what is being offered in the market. In other words, the income of the various grassroots stakeholders is likely to be supplemented,” Sharma further added.
The Polash initiative is planning for the yarns to be processed, polished and packed into different weight packaging and would offer both chemical and natural dye color palettes under the brand name ‘Polash’. This would create a visible brand for domestic and international buyers. The profit earned from all the activities of the IWASFPCL is also planned to be linked to all dividend holders. With the intent of targeting both B2B & B2C segments for sale, Polash aims to become an end-to-end stakeholder in marketing and business development. There is also a unique opportunity for promoting this ‘Ahimsa’ concept. Ahimsa Silk, also known as peace silk, cruelty-free silk, and non-violent silk, refers to any type of silk that is produced without harming or killing the silkworms.
