ITANAGAR, 26 Apr: The group of local weavers and sericulture farmers from Arunachal Pradesh, led by Governor BD Mishra’s wife Neelam Misra, visited the silk weaving centre of the Indian Weavers Alliance Inc in Batiyapara village in Assam on Tuesday.
They are on a two-day exposure tour, organised by the textile & handicrafts department. The officials’ team was led by Sericulture Director Barnali Sur and OSD Kari Lombi.
During the visit, the experts at the silk weaving centre apprised the team of their organisational setup and the indigenous methods of spinning Eri silk. They also demonstrated the processing of Eri and Muga silk, yarn processing from cocoons to fabric, and natural dyeing methods.
Misra urged the local weavers of Arunachal to “get together as self-help groups, the way Batiyapara weavers did for their financial empowerment.”
She said that “local women must join hands, form societies, produce local handloom products and do their viable marketing.
“Such concerted effort will hone their specialisation, provide assured self-employment for the individual weavers in the groups, and ensure better earning,” Misra said, and advised the weavers to adopt the latest technologies for making their products commercially more attractive and affordable.
She also stressed on quality control and maximum use of natural fibres and natural colours, besides incorporating new concepts to attract the global market.
Misra requested the Indian Weavers Alliance Inc to provide assistance to the Arunachali weavers, to which the officials readily agreed. (Raj Bhavan)
