Spotlight |
Hand in hand, the women dance the kummi around a mortar and pestle, next to a large peepal tree. As they sing, two of them smash a coconut, scattering pieces everywhere. The singing and dancing are to celebrate the completion of a 45-day weaving programme at Appachi Eco Logic Cotton, in Pollachi, Tamil Nadu.
Then, inside a well-lit hall, surrounded by the looms where they learnt about warp and weft, the 47 women wait for their viva voce. Examiners from the Weavers’ Service Centre, Salem (which comes under the Ministry of Textiles), and an examiner selected by the Union government, question them about twill weaves and yarn counts. “I could answer most questions,” says J. Benazir Banu, 23, happily. She is the newest graduate of Samarth, a skill development programme for capacity building in the textile sector.
