"Silk Weavers of South India. A Poor Life Story. . " (by peevee) http://www.lightstalkers.org/galleries/contact_sheet/34032 Silk Weavers of South India - A Portrait Series Silk is one of the oldest fibres known to man. Silk is a way of life in India. Over thousands of years, it has become an inseparable part of Indian culture and tradition. No ritual is complete without silk being used as a wear in some form or the other. Despite the fact that the Indian weaving industry employs a large section of the Indian population, it is considered as a failing industry. India’s silk weavers are struggling to survive. Majority of the village population which involved in weaving, even today lives below poverty line. Weaving towns in South India like Kanchipuram and Thirubhuvanam (both in TamilNadu), Dharmavaram in Andhra Pradesh, Kasarakod in Kerala, Anekal in Karnataka, home to 1.5 million weavers, tradesmen and women are forced to find additional employment to make ends meet. Even in this era of Globalisation, these poor skilled weavers end up making hardly 4USD a day for the whole family, when they work for 10+ hours on their looms. This portrait series is an attempt to document the lives of people involved in the practice which is dying day in and out. I have travelled to 3 important weaving centres in South India which contributes a majority of silk weaving population. All I saw in these towns is poverty and the weavers' struggle to survive. The weavers from traditional weaving communities like Devangas, Tagotas, Saurashtras and Mudaliars are still passing the trade to their children. Many other communities which learnt this trade in the last century lost interest and left weaving to Ad-hoc jobs. Over the centuries, many weaving traditions were lost. Weavers with no other income often can't afford to send their children to school. Without an education, these children have limited options and often end up learning the family trade — which will continue the cycle of poverty. Generally it takes 7-10 working days, depending on the design, to weave a single silk sari, which will fetch a weaver 30-40USD. These meagre earnings used to be sufficient decades back for them. But, the inflation of all prices, including food, leaves weavers in poverty. The current generation is not interested in this art, as they get paid jobs outside handlooms, neither their parents willing to put them into the weaving industry. The children of handloom weavers’ started working with power looms and tailoring related businesses to earn a little more for their family. Weaving silk needs a high level of precision and men and women when they grow old, can't weave thanks to their poor eye sight and other health problems. They help their children in the process of warping and twisting. It is far too common for weavers to suffer from a variety of occupational health hazards including respiratory ailments from breathing in particulate dust in poorly ventilated workspaces and repetitive motion injuries that leave many weavers disabled. These weavers who are also into colour dying the silk suffer from skin related issues, as they work with the artificial dye material in a hot boiling environment. Over the years, with changing consumer tastes and preferences, the handloom silk sari has undergone some changes. Consumers are now concerned about the price and the weight and prefer pastel shades and simple designs. The future of the silk industry and its weavers is dooming. It is certain that it cannot continue the same way. The industry has to diversify and move to value-added products, particularly as the use of silk sari is falling. Until now the silk sari has not been duplicated by the power looms due to its uniqueness, but soon that may also happen and the industry should be geared to take on the power looms as well. The governments should bring in welfare measures to improve the living condition of the struggling weavers and save the dying industry. If the right steps are not taken at the right time, our indigenous handloom silk saris can be found only in the Museums. http://www.lightstalkers.org en-us http://images.lightstalkers.org/avatars/30792/peevee_mug_small.jpg Silk Weavers of South India. A Poor Life Story. . | peevee http://www.lightstalkers.org/peevee [untitled] <img src='http://images.lightstalkers.org/images/1352476/3_DSC_9824_small.JPG' /><br /><br /><a href='http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1352476'>view full-size image</a> http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1352476 Mon, 17 Dec 2012 10:19:12 +0000 http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1352476 <img src='http://images.lightstalkers.org/images/1352476/3_DSC_9824_small.JPG' /><br /><br /><a href='http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1352476'>view full-size image</a> peevee [untitled] <img src='http://images.lightstalkers.org/images/1352467/1_DSC_9690_small.JPG' /><br /><br /><a href='http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1352467'>view full-size image</a> http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1352467 Mon, 17 Dec 2012 10:19:12 +0000 http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1352467 <img src='http://images.lightstalkers.org/images/1352467/1_DSC_9690_small.JPG' /><br /><br /><a href='http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1352467'>view full-size image</a> peevee [untitled] <img src='http://images.lightstalkers.org/images/1352473/2_DSC_9806_small.JPG' /><br /><br /><a href='http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1352473'>view full-size image</a> http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1352473 Mon, 17 Dec 2012 09:33:49 +0000 http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1352473 <img src='http://images.lightstalkers.org/images/1352473/2_DSC_9806_small.JPG' /><br /><br /><a href='http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1352473'>view full-size image</a> peevee [untitled] <img src='http://images.lightstalkers.org/images/1352479/4_DSC_9841_small.JPG' /><br /><br /><a href='http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1352479'>view full-size image</a> http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1352479 Mon, 17 Dec 2012 10:19:10 +0000 http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1352479 <img src='http://images.lightstalkers.org/images/1352479/4_DSC_9841_small.JPG' /><br /><br /><a href='http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1352479'>view full-size image</a> peevee [untitled] <img src='http://images.lightstalkers.org/images/1352482/5_DSC_9412_small.JPG' /><br /><br /><a href='http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1352482'>view full-size image</a> http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1352482 Mon, 17 Dec 2012 10:19:10 +0000 http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1352482 <img src='http://images.lightstalkers.org/images/1352482/5_DSC_9412_small.JPG' /><br /><br /><a href='http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1352482'>view full-size image</a> peevee [untitled] <img src='http://images.lightstalkers.org/images/1352485/6_DSC_3259_small.JPG' /><br /><br /><a href='http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1352485'>view full-size image</a> http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1352485 Mon, 17 Dec 2012 10:19:10 +0000 http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1352485 <img src='http://images.lightstalkers.org/images/1352485/6_DSC_3259_small.JPG' /><br /><br /><a href='http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1352485'>view full-size image</a> peevee [untitled] <img src='http://images.lightstalkers.org/images/1352488/7_DSC_3271_small.JPG' /><br /><br /><a href='http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1352488'>view full-size image</a> http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1352488 Mon, 17 Dec 2012 10:19:10 +0000 http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1352488 <img src='http://images.lightstalkers.org/images/1352488/7_DSC_3271_small.JPG' /><br /><br /><a href='http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1352488'>view full-size image</a> peevee [untitled] <img src='http://images.lightstalkers.org/images/1352491/8_DSC_9492_small.JPG' /><br /><br /><a href='http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1352491'>view full-size image</a> http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1352491 Mon, 17 Dec 2012 10:19:10 +0000 http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1352491 <img src='http://images.lightstalkers.org/images/1352491/8_DSC_9492_small.JPG' /><br /><br /><a href='http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1352491'>view full-size image</a> peevee [untitled] <img src='http://images.lightstalkers.org/images/1352494/9_DSC_9592_small.JPG' /><br /><br /><a href='http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1352494'>view full-size image</a> http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1352494 Mon, 17 Dec 2012 10:19:10 +0000 http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1352494 <img src='http://images.lightstalkers.org/images/1352494/9_DSC_9592_small.JPG' /><br /><br /><a href='http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1352494'>view full-size image</a> peevee [untitled] <img src='http://images.lightstalkers.org/images/1352497/10_DSC_0797_small.JPG' /><br /><br /><a href='http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1352497'>view full-size image</a> http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1352497 Mon, 17 Dec 2012 10:19:10 +0000 http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1352497 <img src='http://images.lightstalkers.org/images/1352497/10_DSC_0797_small.JPG' /><br /><br /><a href='http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1352497'>view full-size image</a> peevee [untitled] <img src='http://images.lightstalkers.org/images/1352500/11_DSC_0829_small.JPG' /><br /><br /><a href='http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1352500'>view full-size image</a> http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1352500 Mon, 17 Dec 2012 10:19:10 +0000 http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1352500 <img src='http://images.lightstalkers.org/images/1352500/11_DSC_0829_small.JPG' /><br /><br /><a href='http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1352500'>view full-size image</a> peevee [untitled] <img src='http://images.lightstalkers.org/images/1352503/12_DSC_0855_small.JPG' /><br /><br /><a href='http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1352503'>view full-size image</a> http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1352503 Mon, 17 Dec 2012 10:19:10 +0000 http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1352503 <img src='http://images.lightstalkers.org/images/1352503/12_DSC_0855_small.JPG' /><br /><br /><a href='http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1352503'>view full-size image</a> peevee [untitled] <img src='http://images.lightstalkers.org/images/1352506/13_DSC_0903_small.JPG' /><br /><br /><a href='http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1352506'>view full-size image</a> http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1352506 Mon, 17 Dec 2012 10:19:10 +0000 http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1352506 <img src='http://images.lightstalkers.org/images/1352506/13_DSC_0903_small.JPG' /><br /><br /><a href='http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1352506'>view full-size image</a> peevee [untitled] <img src='http://images.lightstalkers.org/images/1352509/14_DSC_0923_small.JPG' /><br /><br /><a href='http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1352509'>view full-size image</a> http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1352509 Mon, 17 Dec 2012 10:19:10 +0000 http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1352509 <img src='http://images.lightstalkers.org/images/1352509/14_DSC_0923_small.JPG' /><br /><br /><a href='http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1352509'>view full-size image</a> peevee [untitled] <img src='http://images.lightstalkers.org/images/1352512/15_DSC_0962_small.JPG' /><br /><br /><a href='http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1352512'>view full-size image</a> http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1352512 Mon, 17 Dec 2012 10:19:10 +0000 http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1352512 <img src='http://images.lightstalkers.org/images/1352512/15_DSC_0962_small.JPG' /><br /><br /><a href='http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1352512'>view full-size image</a> peevee [untitled] <img src='http://images.lightstalkers.org/images/1352515/16_DSC_0970_small.JPG' /><br /><br /><a href='http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1352515'>view full-size image</a> http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1352515 Mon, 17 Dec 2012 10:19:10 +0000 http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1352515 <img src='http://images.lightstalkers.org/images/1352515/16_DSC_0970_small.JPG' /><br /><br /><a href='http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1352515'>view full-size image</a> peevee