Kalaiyarasi Ramachandran spent her childhood admiring the large handlooms in the quaint weavers’ lanes of Salangapalayam village in Erode district of Tamil Nadu. The rhythmic sound of looms and transformation of yarn into nine yards of sarees diligently woven by the weavers was magical to her.
“I would carefully watch the fine threads being woven in the loom. We would fear sitting near the weavers as the work required focus and no distraction. I would be tasked with small works like rotating the spinning wheel. We did not have a raatai (spinning wheel) in our house, so I would sneak to the weavers’ homes and admire the process,” she shares with The Better India.
As she grew up, Kalaiyarasi went on to study computer science and secured a well-paying job at an IT company in Chennai as a developer. A turning point came in her life when she came back to her hometown during her second maternity leave in 2017.
“I noticed that the looms in my hometown had reduced from 7,500 to only 2,500. A lot of weavers migrated to other industries to work as night watchmen, workers in textile mills, and catering businesses. They moved to cities to earn a daily wage of Rs 150. This pushed the community into poverty and eventually they started marrying off their girls at tender ages,” she adds.
She was determined to breathe new life into a declining handloom industry. “I was born and brought up in the same area as those weavers. I felt like doing something for the society and reviving this art,” she adds.
Kalaiyarasi spoke to weavers to understand the gaps behind this waning art. “I came to know that the younger generations do not want to engage in weaving. The loom also occupies a lot of space, typically taking 6×6 feet area in the room,” adds the 36-year-old.
To make the work interesting and engaging, she manufactured DIY handloom kits with the help of weavers. They help her with the designs and assembling of the looms with the process taking anywhere between 2-5 days. Occupying less space, it can be used by anyone, from children to senior citizens to weave fabrics from yarns.
With her startup ‘Raatai handlooms’, Kalaiyarasi introduced three kinds of looms. At the first level is ‘WeaveMate’ which comes with a loom frame and can be used to make purses, wall hangings, mats, coasters, and pouches.
At the second level is ‘WeaveAlly’ which can be used to make slightly bigger products like handbags, stoles, scarves, headbands, and table runners. At the third level, she has ‘WeaveFit’ which can be used to weave towels and handkerchiefs.
These DIY kits come along with a user manual with a QR (Quick Response) code that links to instructional videos, ensuring a seamless learning process. “By simply scanning it, you will be able to access a video that showcases how to use the loom. It is so easy that anyone can design their fabric,” she says.
Initially, she even mortgaged her jewellery to start the venture, receiving funding from IIM-Bangalore to scale up the work. In the past two years, she has sold 268 such looms. She has established a customer base across Tamil Nadu as well as in metro cities like Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru through her website.
Making weaving fun for all
Over the years, Kalaiyarasi found that these DIY looms not only serve as an innovative tool for crafting but also aids in developing fine motor skills and reducing screen time among children.
“This engagement in creative activities is a healthier alternative to prolonged gadget use among children. It can potentially alleviate symptoms of social depression among them. Also, children and adults alike find joy and a sense of accomplishment through the art of weaving. Children take pride in weaving purses and pouches to gift their parents,” she adds.
Malathy, who bought all three categories of looms for her young daughters aged eight and 11 years, shares the experience of using the looms. “Weaving on looms is skillful work but my daughters have learnt this art quickly. They patiently work on these looms and find weaving fun.”
Her daughters have made wall hangings, mats, purses, handbags, and even dresses for their toys. “They are not imitating any work but are unleashing their creativity. Now, they are trying to make dresses for themselves. Such an activity is extremely helpful to reduce screen time among kids,” she adds.
Remarkably, Kalaiyarasi also noted the therapeutic benefits of weaving in children with disabilities.
Sharing an account of a mother and her child with ‘special needs’, she says, “The mother informed me that her child cannot sit still in one place for more than three minutes. She was very afraid of the idea of taking him to learn weaving, a skill that requires focus and attention.”
“But after the first five minutes, the child found the work engaging and continued to weave for half an hour without getting distracted. His mother became so overwhelmed to see this that she broke down. The kid had anger or temperamental issues but weaving provided him calmness. This gave me an idea to introduce DIY kits as occupational therapy for children with disabilities,” she adds.
The initiative has already gained traction with 10 schools showing interest in including weaving as part of their curriculum, alongside partnerships for homeschooling, workshops, and textile exhibitions.
For Kalaiyarasi, this venture is not just a business but a heartfelt mission to contribute to society. “We are not only doing the business but we are doing something for the community. Hearing stories of such children and mothers is very rewarding for me. I am glad that this initiative is demonstrating how traditional skills can be adapted for modern times to foster creativity and wellbeing of the community,” she adds.
For more details, you can check the looms at Raatai handlooms’ official website.
Edited by Padmashree Pande. All photos: Kalaiyarasi.
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