Gamcha Weaving
Gamchas are a traditional, two-metre, multi-coloured coarse cotton towels with stripes and checks, which are also used by men as a shoulder cloth (scarf) in the eastern part of India.
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It was interesting to see women weaving the gamchas at Tantipur village as till recently, weaving in this region was done mostly by men. The local trader provides the raw material and takes back the finished goods paying the weaver Rs.20 for each gamcha. The price varies depending on the pattern, and time-consuming designs fetch a little more. Women manage to weave three or four pieces a day, earning around Rs.80.
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Most of the men in these villages have migrated to cities, mostly in Kerala; or they have gone to the Middle East, where they earn more. Traditionally, when the men weave, the women make the bobbins. So I asked them what happens when women weave; who makes the bobbins? They laughed and said, ‘Who would make bobbins for us? We weave in the daytime and make the bobbins for the next day’s production at night. The men are not here, so this work helps us keep occupied and we earn to support ourselves. We cannot depend on the men, once they migrate.’
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There is a good local market for these colourful gamchas. As the wages in Bengal are the lowest, the product cost is low and traders send a large number of gamchas to other states such as Odisha, Uttar Pradesh and Kerala, where they are in great demand. The price is a big factor that pushes the sales, and as consumers cannot afford higher prices this reflects in the deteriorating quality.
Between Tantipur and Rejilapara villages, there were almost 25,000 weavers, mostly women, weaving gamchas. However, to further reduce the cost, gamcha production is slowly moving to the power looms, operated by men. A single man handles the production of two to three power looms. Production has increased, and the cost of production is marginally lower, but the women who have been weaving gamchas are being deprived of their livelihood. They are now reduced to making bobbins for power loom production, and are earning less than they did when they were weaving, which itself was meagre.
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These colourful gamchas and lungis in checks and stripes could be used to make smart shirts, tunics. . . fashion clothing, which would help to create work for the artisans within their villages and save them from the turmoil of migration to cities where jobs are hard to find and living conditions are brutal.
