National Level Study –Gadwal Sarees

Tostudy the handloom scenario in locations across India, we conducted an interview with Mr.
Vinod Tirumala, who is a weaver of Gadwal sarees from Telangana.About Gadwal SareeThe
Gadwal saree originates from the Jogulamba Gadwal district in the state of Telangana. The
saree is characterized by its bright, contrasting colours, zariborder and motifs inspired
by nature and architecture. The saree is a popular choice of festive apparel for
women in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. Jogulamba Gadwal is home to several weaver
families. The weavers are employed by master weavers. The master weavers are
responsible for taking orders from retailers, procuring raw materials,accordingly,
supervising the weaving process and distributing the finished product to handloom
societies in the townRaw materialThe saree is made in either pure cotton, pure silk or a sico
blend. The raw materials are obtained from Bengaluru and cost approximately Rs. 1800-Rs.
2000 per saree. Although the supply of raw materials is constant throughout the year, their
price fluctuates often depending on market conditions. The rate fluctuations pose a problem
to weavers.The Weaving ProcessThe process starts with dyeing the yarns and converting
them into threads. The threads are loaded ontothe warp and are woven according to the
traditional interlocked-weft technique.Sales and distributionThe master weavers sell the
finished sarees to handloom societies in the district from where the sarees are purchased by
customers and retailers. They also run groups on WhatsApp where they post images of their
products and take orders. The sarees range from Rs.3000 to Rs. 25000. Some weavers
tried exploring selling on e-commerce websites but were largely unsuccessful in these
efforts. This was because ofresistance from customers to purchase high priced products
from third party e-commerce sites. Government policiesSeveral recent proactive measures
from the state government have encouraged weavers to take their traditional craft forward
andhelped them earn a respectable position in society. The Telangana government has
introduced measures such as loan waivers, subsidy on yarn, and marketing and sales
assistance. The government has also roped in popular actors to support the initiative of
reintroducing handlooms in daily wear. The Telangana handloom weavers’ cooperative
society conducts several training programs to attract youth who have left their traditional
occupation of weaving. Problems faced by the Gadwal weavers•The Gadwal sarees face
stiff competition from power loom sarees. Although handloom sarees are superior in terms of
quality and craftsmanship, some consumers tend to go for the lower priced option of power
loom sarees.•One handloom saree can take anywhere between 6-12 days to produce. On
the contrary, 10-12 power loom sarees can be produced in a day. Also, power loom
sarees can be easily
customized based on customer requirement, contrary to handlooms which require high setup
costs (around Rs. 40,000) when a design has to be altered.•Rate fluctuations on the supply
side.Key takeaways from the study•Weavers choose to continue in the profession as it is
profitable and demand for Gadwal sarees is good.•Boost given by the government to
weaver communities and branding efforts by weaver societies plays a key role in
boosting sales as well as in making the profession attractive to younger generations of
weavers.•Collaboration with fashion designers provides a platform to showcase the
craftsmanship of weavers to a wider audience and also providesan opportunity to style the
sarees in different ways.