Aug 10 2024 to Aug 10 2024 11 a.m.

EVENT HAS ENDED

Where

Bangalore International Centre

7 4th Main Rd, Stage 2, Domlur 560071

Event Description

Where does our fabric come from? What transforms a ball of cotton into the comfortable clothes we wear? In our fast-paced, consumerist society, many of us are unaware of the origins of our clothing. While we buy a lot of clothes, the weavers behind them often earn meager sums for their labor and effort. Consumers frequently spend large amounts on what they believe to be handloom and handspun fabrics, but they often lack the means to verify the authenticity of their purchases. Much of the handloom fabric available in the market is made from mill-spun yarn containing polyester and viscose. For urban spinners, spinning yarn is therapeutic. It disconnects us from our devices and connects us to something tangible.

Spinning is meditative and accessible to people of all ages (8 years and up). It promotes slow, sustainable living and supports an equitable ecosystem for handloom weavers, tailors, and fabric dyers.

This session aims to raise awareness about yarn spinning and demonstrate the transformation of cotton into yarn for fabric making.

The session will include a 12-minute video on the context of the craft, demonstrations of spinning using the Peti Charkha, demonstrations of spinning using the Gandhi Charkha and much more!

Artisans & Speakers

Let's Spin Spinners

They are a group of spinners based in Bangalore and Mysuru, passionate about spinning yarn for fabric making. By learning to spin yarn, they gain a tactile understanding of genuine handspun yarn and its texture. When they produce yarn suitable for weaving, they not only obtain their own genuine handspun, and handloom fabric but also support an entire ecosystem of weavers. This enables weavers to earn fair remuneration for their tireless work.

Ponduru Spinners

Spinners India has a rich heritage of hand spinning and handloom weaving, with pockets where the entire process from cotton to fabric is done using hand tools. Ponduru, in the Srikakulam District of Andhra Pradesh, is one such cluster. The native short-staple variety of cotton, Konda Patti, is rainfed and grown without pesticides. This cotton is converted into fine 100s count yarn (1000 meters of yarn weighs 10 grams) using indigenous spinning tools by local women. The yarn is then woven into fine-cotton handspun, handwoven fabric by nearby weavers. This process, confined to a few square kilometers, represents an indigenous knowledge repository of fine-count cotton hand-spinning and hand-weaving skills, offering a zero-carbon footprint and sustainable method of cloth production.

K J Satchidananda Spinning Practitioner & Art Facilitator

K J Satchidananda or Sacchu, a graduate of the Chamarajendra Academy of Visual Arts (CAVA) in Mysore, is a painter by profession with over a decade of experience running a successful advertising agency for print media. His core interest lies in sustainable life skill development for children, having worked as an art facilitator at TVS School in Mysore. Through his work with weavers, Sacchu became aware of their struggles and delved deeper into slow fashion. His goal is to make spinners self-reliant for clothing needs while providing livelihoods for handloom weavers. Sacchu regularly conducts weekend workshops in Mysore and at various schools and colleges, aiming to establish urban spinning clubs that sustain themselves and produce their own fabrics.

Samyukta Textile Designer

Samyuktha is an independent textile designer and development professional interested particularly in the handloom sector. She has worked as Head – Designer and Production in Chitrika (Brand ‘Creyo’) for over a decade apart from working with a variety of handloom weaver organizations. Chitrika is an organisation in Hyderabad working to build sustainable weaver business enterprises in AP and TS. She has authored a book titled ‘Learning the Heart Way’ on her personal experiences in pursuing alternative higher education. She is also a theater actor and has worked with theatre groups both as an actor and writer. She lives in Hyderabad.