The Hut with Four Looms contd...

This is a clearer picture of the hut with four looms. I've said it so many times, it sounds like the title of a story or something!!! But this is the structure of a number of huts in the village, and the looms are all pit looms, as seen in the video.

The Hut with Four Looms

This was taken more for the sounds than anything else. It was also shot in the evening when the light was very low, so I apologise for the lack of clarity.

These looms belong to Sapanda, the main weaver for Bailou. There are other groups like this too, where there is a master-weaver whom others work for. This hut has four looms in it, three of which were being worked upon at this time.

My trip was cut short by a day.... I fell ill. Its not how I planned it at all! But it's alright. I've uploaded some more pictures on my flickr account, of this trip. It was nice being there - takes a little while to get used to the silence!! But I was staying in the middle of all the weavers, which was nice. I visited my neighbours, to see the work that was going on. Some working for Bailou, some for other export houses. Lots of tangal saris. I could meet the weavers I'm working with only post seven in the evening, because that was the only time they had free. We spoke about my college, what I learn, what this project is about. We also spoke about the state of handloom, the demands, the loyalties of the weavers. It was an eye-opener, and it is a mindset. There are those few who have different ideas, and are struggling to strike a balance between what is, and what they want. For the rest, its a mindset.

The Plan...

Well...

This is a first, but I'm just going to stick to instincts!! I have decided to hold a few workshops with the weavers in Fulia. What I intend to achieve out of these workshops is a pocket of new ideas in terms of designs for the products the weavers make. But these products will be generated through a combined effort - "combined forces", so to speak. I have come across a number of different processes used for design over the past month. But my question is, which one suits the craftsman the most? Or, which one suits the craft the most? There are different paths, all leading to the same collective end - Options that are laid out in front of the designer and/or the craftsman like a red carpet. It comes down to the choice, then. Which one do YOU choose?

My Calender for the Month

-note-

Please note the link to my flickr site where I am updating the photographs of Phulia/Fulia. The current lot is from my first visit.

Minutes of my First Review

The review started with a presentation. I had summed up my month of research into eleven slides, and two charts, and I talked my panel through it. I had also determined an output for my project – a book that generates awareness about the craft sector. I stated that I wanted it to be for new practitioners of textile design, ones that are fresh out of college, or just starting out in the field. After listening to all I had to say, and asking questions related to the information I had gathered, the feedback I was given was that I should now to take a stand and include my opinion on all that I had found out. Also, on its own, to use just Bailou as a model might not create the impact I want it to, and to therefore look at other such organizations as well (e.g. Weavers Studio and SASHA), and then draw the various contrasts and/or comparisons. I will also be going down to the village to learn their side of the story, and to strengthen this I was asked to maybe hold a couple of workshops or discussions that helps me gain an insight on which form of intervention the weavers think is most apt. To help in this whole ‘ice-breaking’ situation, we also brainstormed on the kinds of workshops I should/could conduct - the outcome of which would be the main crux of my project. Ideas such as generating combined mood boards, or working with music, or with colours were some that were discussed. Also, to gain complete access to information, I would need to strike a level of comfort with the weaver and his family, and the workshops might help with speeding this process up a bit. Another thing would be to find out their interest points and talk about them, rather than go in there with a closed agenda. To do this, the IDEO cards were recommended. Another question that was put on the table was to perhaps look at other business models and see if they could be related and could in fact enhance the model that has been adopted by Bailou currently. Also, to look at models that has been used by other companies for other forms of craft. I was advised to read through Anita Roddick’s ‘Body and Soul”, and also “The Craftsman”. In terms of my proposed output, I was asked to write the preface for the book – to include what would engage the reader to go through the whole thing, “concisely packaging” my whole project into a couple of paragraphs (that would be helpful for me too). I was also advised to expand the mediums I was using to record my research, and to include film and photography as well, even if they weren’t going to be included in my final output.

My next review is scheduled for the 22^nd of September, and this month will have a lot more active hands-on work that will be included. The last month had been my groundwork, so the pace of things should pick up now.

18th August, 2008

Slides From My Presentation...

A Fresh Start

Alright...

I have just returned from my 1st review, after starting this project. Needless to say, I was looking forward to it. Going back to Bangalore was a little strange. The pressure there is completely different. The tension in the air is so tangible, you can taste it. But there's an underlining excitement. This is what we've been building up towards!! I'm not going to be left out! Trying to replicate the tension back in Kolkata is a completely different ball game! I feel like I'm being left out of something here. Like I'm not a part of it. And it's lonely here too... It feels like a neither here nor there sort of situation.
But on the positive, I'm going to Phulia on Sunday, for my first recce. from the following week onwards I will be shifting there for longer periods of time. so, fingers crossed!

Embroidery v/s Print

Bappa and Rumi design all the products that Bailou makes. And they have very different ideologies! They have different tastes, and mannerisms, and lean towards different aspects of textiles. Rumi says she is more inclined towards embroidery - that she always has been. Bappa, on the other hand, is more inclined towards print. But they both agreed on the fact that nothing was going to take the spotlight away from the weaves.
Solution? They set up a printing unit in Phulia, where they block-print on warps. And in terms of embroidery, they've introduced sequence, tassles, high twis-yarns etc to the weft.
The son of one of the weavers now runs the printing studio. He also has a unit of six looms under him. He learned the technique of block-printing from Bappa, and now manages it on his own. As for the embroidery, the women in the weavers' families make the fancy yarn. For a metre (depending on how many sequins or tassles are added) they are paid about Rs.1.50. As a result, the weaver is profiting more than he had before, and more than he had imagined.

Bailou calls it 'GLAMORIZING THE HANDLOOM'!

It's quite simple really. You just have to want it bad enough!

Detailed Structure

WHAT TYPE OF WEAVERS WORK WITH BAILOU?

• Jacquard: Complex weaves, double cloth

• Jaamdani: extra weft fabrics

• Chittranjan Loom: thick cotton fabric

• Dhoti weavers: fine cotton weaves of mul-mul

WHY NOT EXPORT?

• Started as export

• Problem lies in the fact that a wall is built up between the actual clients and the supplier: in this case, Bailou.

• Bailou doesn’t depend on trends or forecasts to keep up with the market’s growing demands and needs. Instead, it feeds off the feedback it gets from its clients. This constant loop is necessary for Bailou to keep itself up to date.

• The problem with export is the wall created between the supplier and the client through the distributors is that the loop is broken.

• Current foreign clients: Canada, Denmark, France, Australia, The United States, Japan, and Israel.

THE SYSTEM OF WORKING

Before Bailou,

• Weavers worked under the Mahajan system, or the Union system and were not paid per order, but instead, they were paid monthly.

• The Mahajan also kept lending the weaver money whenever he required which kept him in constant debt.

• There was no profit made by the weaver.

• But, there was a steady stream of income, however low it may have been.

After Bailou started out,

• The weavers were being empowered and made to stand on their own two feet.

• Since they had started small, there was only one family working with them, which meant two looms.

• So, initially, they worked with Direct Vendors as well.

• Direct Vendors are those who take care of all the pre-processes such as reeling, winding, dyeing, etc. They can also get the weaving done. But Bailou stopped using this assistance as their designs started being copied, produced, and sold without their permission.

• Bailou controlled the pre-processes, and the procuring of yarn, and the weavers wove the products.

Now,

• 250+ loom stage.

• It’s more of an independent process – where the weaver has a say in the work he is doing.

• The weavers do the yarn procurement, the winding, reeling, dyeing etc.

• The designs are given to them, and they weave the products.

• Bailou then buys these products off them.

• Bailou has set up a dyeing unit, which the weavers may use if they want: more often then not, they use it, to cut down on extra expenditure. This was set up for quality control.

• Bailou has extended the work to the women in the weaver’s family too. They do all the pre-processes. They also do the final twisting at the ends of a piece (stoles), and the make the fancy yarn. They get paid for this separately.

• There are another group of women who have been employed to do simple kantha work on some of the products.

• The amount spent on each piece is rounded off, and the weaver makes a profit on ever piece of work done.

I'm getting stuck. Things seem to be going so slowly. And I'm scared. Should I have done something else? No. This is what I want to do. This is what I'm interested in. Then why does it seem as though all my avenues are closing in on me? I will hopefully be going to the village at the end of this week, or the beginning of the next. Bappa's gone to Assam for a workshop, and he'll be back on the 7th, post which, we will make a field trip. I really want to go to Phulia, now... I feel there'll be more to learn and see there.


Wish me luck.

The breakup of the production side.