In August 2018, a sleepy handloom village called Chendamangalam was left reeling from the floods and torrential rains that devastated Kerala. The small hamlet, perched in the Ernakulam district, is most renowned for its handmade kasavu saris that stand out for their quiet elegance and visual restraint. “The saying that when you entered Chendamangalam, all you heard was the rhythm of the loom is no exaggeration,” says Shivadasan CK, a 57-year-old weaver with over 38 years of experience who passionately continues to practice the craft.

Once only worn by the royalty and rich aristocrats, the kasavu’s subdued ivory palette and gold border have now been adopted across the Malayali community for special occasions like weddings and festivals. Considered heirloom investments owing to their painstaking weaving technique, an authentic kasavu sari is as intricate as it can be impactful.

The floods this year have precipitated large-scale devastation to the already-flatlining looms, yarns and finished textiles, with losses pegged at approximately Rs 15 crore. “Around 273 looms were destroyed across seven cooperative societies, leaving over 350 weavers and allied workers unemployed and disheartened. During this assessment, we realised that simply fixing the looms would not bring the weavers back to the craft. The solution needs to offer incessant benefits, fair trade practices and even a constant workflow,” avers Ramesh Menon, the founder of Save The Loom, a non-profit community to revive, restore and restructure the handloom industry in the country. “Weaving is not just a profession for me. I feel the richness of the legacy and the centuries-old tradition needs to be kept alive, for the future generations to experience the value of handmade, and the beauty of it,” adds Lenu KV, one of the youngest weavers in the cluster. At 41, she boasts 25 years of weaving experience.

Elaborating on the multifarious tribulations of the artisans, Menon goes on to reveal, “The weavers make just about Rs 150 per day, and the immediate concern is to provide a decent livelihood for them. The second factor is that women, mostly above the age of 45, make up 92 per cent of its workforce. So, it’s imperative to enhance their working conditions with basic amenities like washrooms, natural light and airflow.” 45-year-old home weaver Rema TV says, “I am married to the loom. This is what I know and the only skill I possess. Weaving gives me a great sense of fulfilment, of creating something that will have a life of its own when someone wears it with all the love.”

To ameliorate the current circumstances, Ramesh Menon came up with a plan of action that boasted a three-pronged approach: To resuscitate something that was dwindling or destroyed, “to narrate a new story and to upscale the aspirational value of kasavu weaves so that the next generation of artisans could take fancy to the craft.” The first level of intervention took place during the Kochi-Muziris Biennale in December 2018 that attracted over a million visitors from across the globe. With Chendamangalam being nestled just outside the city Kochi, the connection was obvious. 

“The exhibition gave us a large window to the world to talk about the story of revival. We got associated with the event as the official merchandise partner and put up a series of stalls that retailed kasavu textiles at One Zero Eight, a concept space of Save The Loom in Fort Kochi. Along with conventional weaves, there were contemporary pieces in different colours, such as double saris and also pocket squares. Prior to the event, we shipped khadi fabric to 20 designers including Aneeth Arora, Rajesh Pratap Singh and Ujjawal Dubey who often work with native textiles, as part of a special curation called ‘Colours of Resilience’. The designers then sent back garments made using this embellishment-free fabric, but with their signature aesthetic. We got an overwhelming response to these apparels at the Biennale. Next in line is developing a museum-cum-weaving-centre in the hamlet, where visitors can learn about handloom history and watch craftsmen in action.”

Save The Loom’s most recent effort is Olam, which translates to ‘a new wave’ in Malayalam. A community-impact programme, Olam is aimed at upholding heritage handloom traditions through an exclusive curation of saris with a delicate play of kasavu detailing. “The idea was to detach kasavu saris from its moniker of occasion wear to casual wear,” says Menon, describing the thought-process behind maximising the versatility of the staple. “The limited-edition range of saris, designed and handwoven in Chendamangalam, is ethically hand-crafted using finest cotton and invigorated with new-age design thinking. There are 11 designs in the collection. We have chosen varied colour combinations that could work universally. Every sari features stripes, but they are ingeniously developed in a way that when draped, these patterns showcase distinct iterations on the edge, body, pleats and pallu. With two of the saris we have introduced dual-sided pallu as a variation, making these saris reversible,” he discloses.

“Weaving saris and that too with colour pattern and interesting usage of kasavu has been a new experience for me and I really like the outcome” says Vineetha, a 52-year-old weaver who was quick to grasp new design sensibilities as part of this project. “My heart knew no bounds. It was sheer joy to learn and weave the new range of saris. I was skeptical initially, but the reaction to weaving the first ever sari in the collection gave me immense happiness,” concludes Bindhu, a 47-year-old weaver who got a chance to stretch her creative limits with Olam.