SASHA
SASHA
SASHA is a leading non-profit marketing outlet for more than a hundred groups of craftspeople and producers from all over India. Sasha exports their crafts to many Fair Trade Organisations worldwide, and also runs a domestic retail outlet in Kolkata.
Madur Weaving
Madur is a Bengal term for floor mats. Before concrete and brick became common, most village houses had walls made of clay, and earth floors polished with a mixture of clay, cow dung and finely cut hay. The floors were cool in summer but too cold in winter, and grass floor mats were ideal for keeping out the cold. Large madur mats are still used in most households in Bengal, woven from coarse grass, and lasting about a year.
Very fine and high quality madurs are also made, using the natural colour variations in the dried grass to create subtle patterns in the mats. These madurs are made from fine and soft grass from which the inner pith is removed to give more flexibility and longevity. They are very pliable, so are used on beds during the very hot summer months. They are also quite expensive, but will last a lifetime. The best traditional mats are large, and are woven out of long grass on a simple floor loom. Shorter grass has traditionally been a loss for the farmers, who have simply had to discard it.
Child & Social Welfare Society, a rural based development organisation in West Bengal, tried weaving this wasted short grass on mechanical Jacquard looms, with technical help from The Indian Institute of Technology. The C&SWS runs social service programs for women, children and the elderly, as well as income generation programs like weaving for underprivileged women. About 80 to 90 women work in the society's workshop or their homes.
The C&SWS provided looms and training for a number of women to weave these small grass mats, and using coloured thread in the warp, they have developed a range of unique and beautiful madur mats which not only provide income for the women, but also for the farmers who can now sell the shorter grass.
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