For Warangal weavers, the task of transporting handloom durries — traditional flat woven rugs — even before the lockdown had been a challenge. Markets for their work were primarily limited to the occasional handloom exhibition in Hyderabad and other parts of the country, as well as local wholesale outlets in Warangal. But the pandemic and subsequent lockdown furthered the woes of the already struggling weavers, as lakhs of durries piled up, unable to be sold.
Now, these weavers are finding new ways to get their products to the customer through their own online marketplace, not just in India but around the world. About 25,000 durries have been delivered within the country, as well as to the United States, Australia, Singapore and others, primarily through mobile phones.
It all started when Ch Venkateshwarlu, a Warangal weaver who is part of the Weavers Welfare Association, took to social media to advertise their handloom durries. Using Whatsapp and Facebook as marketing tools, Venkateshwarlu posted messages about their work and attached a link to a google drive, which showed the items available for sale. Soon, the messages were shared widely and they started receiving orders from several people.
Speaking to the News Minute, Ch Venkateshwarlu said that he took inspiration from another weaving community. “I had seen a similar post by Dubbaka weavers, who posted a video about their towels, which were unsold. They appealed to people to buy. Taking that as inspiration, we also tried reaching out to people to buy our material. And we have gotten amazing responses so far.”
Warangal durries received the GI (Geographical Indication) tag in 2018. There are about 5000 handloom machines in the town, and about 20,000 people are dependent on the handloom works associated with the production of durries.
In the initial days of lockdown, like many other professions, the weavers were also impacted. And it seemed as if the situation wasn’t going to improve anytime soon.
Meanwhile, several families appealed to the Weavers Welfare Association to help sell their wares, after which Venkateshwarlu assessed the stocks.
Subsequently, discussions were held among the weavers to sell their stocks through mobile phones. Gradually, weavers came forward to sell their stocks online. Many others joined in as their stocks slowly started to clear up in individual households.
Sarayya, a 70-year-old handloom weaver who has been working for the past 45 years, said, “We were afraid to weave new items because we were not sure whether they would be sold or not. And we put our investment only based on the orders we receive. With these online mobile sales, we are happy that our items are being sold.”
However, it is still a challenging situation for some. Lakhs of durries that the Telangana government is supposed to purchase from the weavers for students in hostels have not been taken this year, due to the coronavirus.
Sarayya lamented that the younger generation is not interested in this work because of the hardships involved in it. “But the art needs to be preserved. If there is a response from the public and the government, we can take this art to the next level,” he said.
This is not the first time these weavers have tried to sell their wares online. Two years ago, with the help of the Telangana government, Amazon approached the Warangal weavers to facilitate online sales. However, the collaboration did not work out and till date, none of the weavers are selling any of their products through e-commerce websites.
Venkateshwarlu explained. “Though there was an attempt, it failed. It was not suitable for us. We have numerous designs and a small number of pieces per each design. When it comes to online business, we need to have more numbers for each design.”
“If we upload a designer durrie, and by the time it gets sold, it may take months and more before the money goes into our accounts. Meanwhile, it's not possible to preserve that piece till then. So we have stopped association with them,” he continued.
However, the weavers say, what they are doing now is different from e-commerce. “Here we have the power to sell whatever we want, and people buy at their convenience. It’s very simple. We show people designs, and if they like it, they will send us the screenshot and we deliver it,” adds Venkateshwarlu.
Celebrity promotion has also helped the Warangal weavers widen their reach. After anchor Anasuya put up a post encouraging people to buy from the Warangal weavers, they started receiving orders from many people around the world.
Bigg Boss Telugu season 3 contestant Shiva Jyothi posted a video on her YouTube channel after visiting the weavers in Warangal. This also helped their sales significantly, the weavers said.
As people started placing individual orders, their stocks piled in their homes slowly started decreasing. “For some individual weavers, the pending stocks have already sold off and they have started making a second round of durries,” added Venkateshwarlu.
Those interested in purchasing durries and other products from the weavers can contact 99082 44777 through Whatsapp. Deliveries within the country are made through the Indian postal service and DCL courier service for outside the country. People can choose their designs from the Jakat, Interlocking and Kalamkari models.
Here are the available products: Google Drive