Tamil Nadu state government has taken up with a new initiative to safe guard livelihood of their traditional handloom weavers by reviving the traditional methods of weaving, producing quality goods. Tamil Nadu has 2.56 lakh weavers and 1156 cooperative societies. A number of these weavers have visited the seven-day national handloom expo that began in the city on Tuesday.

The National handloom expo was inaugurated by Handloom and Textiles Minister O.S. Manian at Kalaivanar Arangam in the presence of Textiles Secretary K.Phanindra Reddy and Co-optex Managing Director T.N.Venkatesh on Tuesday.

Mr. Manian at the inaugural speech said that the government has come up with a new initiatives to safeguard traditional weavers and its method which has give a new lease of life to these handloom weavers.

Co-optex Managing Director T.N.Venkatesh said that about 15 weavers’ families in Sungudi, 40 in Thiruvannamalai, 50 in Karaikudi, 25 in Mayiladuthurai and 15 in Tirunelveli have revived the ancient handloom methods, producing good quality sarees. The products have been branded as ‘revival sarees.’

K.R. Ramkumar, one of the managers of a cooperative society said that Sungudi cotton sarees are hand crafted to perfection by skilled artisans of Madurai with ringed dots spread throughout the saree which forms a distinct feature.

The craft has a tradition of 500 years. The government has supported such artisans, equipping them to produce the sarees with modern contemporary designs by wax printing method using wooden blocks.

While, Koorainadu sarees are produced in Koorainadu, a traditional handloom weaving centre near Mayiladudhurai. The sarees have the quality of pure silk. The uniqueness of the saree is its light weight and pin checked patterns.

Apart from all the traditional silk and cotton sarees, Chettinadu cotton sarees produced by weavers of Karaikudi in Sivagangai District and puthinam cotton sarees produced by the skilled weavers in Paramakudi are also exhibited at the expo.

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