Mudireddipalli is one of the many small weaving villages in Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh, where hundreds of families weave Dharmavaram sarees for a living. The looms in the village have stopped operations for several weeks now, owing to the lockdown. Thousands of weavers across south India have fallen out of work, and are staring at an uncertain future.
Surendra, from Gadwal, a Telangana town known for sarees by the same name, says that most weavers in his town are not only unable to weave new sarees due to of lack of raw material, but are also stuck with existing stock worth several thousands of rupees and no buyers.
“Most weavers in the town usually depend on master-weavers for raw material. The master-weavers invest in the raw materials, tell us the specifications like colour and design, and buy the end products from us. Since the lockdown, these master-weavers have stopped buying from weavers saying there’s no way to sell them right away. Many of us are stuck with sarees we could sell for around Rs 60,000 or more, but no way to trade them for daily needs,” Surendra says.
With raw material becoming scarce, Surendra says that some weavers, like himself, have been looking to their peers to trade left-over materials based on the colour they need, to make do and sustain some work during the lockdown. Each saree takes about 7 to 15 days to make, depending on how elaborate the design is.
In Muddireddipalli, which has been declared a red zone, all work has stopped, along with neighbouring villages like Somandepalli and Madanapalle. Powerloom workers are left with no work while stock worth lakhs has piled up with their managers. Chenna Reddy, a powerloom supervisor, says that the workers are being provided with financial aid for the time being.
But in Gadwal, there has been no respite from the master-weavers or traders, says Surendra.
Weavers have no option but to take informal loans at high interest rates, sometimes offering the stock of sarees lying with them as collateral.
In Kodiyala village in Karnataka’s Mandya district, where there are at least 400 powerlooms and as many families dependent on them, the situation is the same, says Sridhar, who works for an NGO supporting local weavers.
“For now, local political leaders have provided kits with essential groceries. People have also borrowed from wherever they could. But once lockdown is lifted, at once, people are going to have to pay their rents, bills and everything else that has been put on hold. And these sarees are not necessarily products that can be sold immediately,” he points out.
While Bengaluru has been the primary market for the polycotton sarees made in Kodiyala, the weavers here are afraid that even when business is resumed, finding buyers is going to be a big challenge.
“Traders and shopkeepers will probably be overwhelmed with all the piled up stock. People are afraid that they will not be able to sell whatever they have, which means not only will they be unable to repay loans and other expenses, but also not be able to invest in raw material for any future orders,” says Sridhar.
While each saree can sell at anywhere between Rs 2,000 and Rs 10,000, weavers are worried that the rates may also fall steeply post-lockdown, forcing them to sell their products for a loss.
In Telangana, Surendra says that most weavers are banking on the state government’s Thrift Fund Saving and Security Scheme (TFSSS), a savings scheme which he says is set to mature in three months. “Those who have invested in it are hopeful, but they also still have three more months to get by. If only that is released sooner, we will be able to breathe for some time. But there are also people who did not invest in it and are faced with much more uncertainty in the long run,” he says.
You can donate to a relief fund to support these weavers and artisans by connecting them to potential buyers here.