Kacchi Weaving

Kacchi weaving:

From morning to dusk, meditatively the music plays on. The spin wheel, the beats of loom and the birds chirping on vocals. Kachchhi weavers traditionally come from the Marwada and Maheswari communities. The Maheshwari community got involved in the art of mashru, while Marwada community’s style is well known as Kacchi weaving. There are communities of people only for weaving carpets which later on transferred to shawls in India, they are called as Meghwal Wankars now they are called as Vankars. Earlier the weavers would weave for their local and specific clients. But In the 1960’s, cheaper mill made cloth flooded the market and the local market declined. The weavers were forced to look for external clients and shift their practices to fit the demand of larger markets.

As support poured in – in the form of funds and NGO intervention – revival projects were founded on local textile and handicraft traditions of the regions. A group of four enterprising weavers created a Bhujodi Weavers Cooperative which brought together all of the weavers in Bhujodi. Now Bhujodi is a popular tourist destination for weaving, though weavers are spread all over Kachchh. Shamji is arguably its most famous resident, overseeing Vankar Vishram Valji Weaving, a multigenerational weaving and dyeing business.

Buy kacchi weaving products directly from the artisans. With every purchase of kacchi product of yours, you empower an artisan.