When the Killimangalam Pulpaya problem, geared toward discovering clients for historically woven grass mats, started trending on social media, it fuelled a motion to avoid wasting the heritage craft
When the Killimangalam Pulpaya problem, geared toward discovering clients for historically woven grass mats, started trending on social media, it fuelled a motion to avoid wasting the heritage craft
In the primary week of June, 2022, the Killimangalam Pulpaya, a standard straw mat indigenous to Killimangalam in Thrissur district in Kerala, started trending on social media. People from Kerala and past started inserting orders. A ‘pulpaya challenge’, which urged folks to purchase not less than one straw mat via numerous social media platforms, has sparked a brisk sale of mats that have been mendacity unsold on the Killimangalam Pulpaya Neythu Cooperative Society, one of many solely centres weaving grass mats in Kerala. Two weeks because the problem was introduced, the ladies making the mats have their fingers full. Mats price ₹4 lakh have already been offered.
Slightly away from the banks of the Bharathapuzha, the place the society has its workplace, the weavers (4 ladies) led by the secretary of the society Sudhakran N C, are joyful that their efforts are actually bearing fruit. The society had been promoting its mats primarily via exhibitions and some handicraft collectives, however because the 2018 Kerala flood, gross sales nosedived. The COVID-19 outbreak worsened the scenario, they usually had unsold mats price about ₹5 lakh.
A heritage craft
The straw mat weaving was historically practised by the Kurava group, who inhabited the banks of the Bharathapuzha. Over the years, because the youthful members of the group drifted in direction of extra profitable jobs, and plastic mats grew to become an accepted different, the weaving custom was pushed to the brink of extinction. However, the co-operative society, registered in 1953, has been striving to maintain the heritage craft alive.
In order to assist the weavers regain the market, Vayali, a folklore collective primarily based in Thrissur together with the Alternative Learning School of Moozhikulam Sala, an natural campus that follows a standard life-style primarily based in Chalakkudy, launched the Pulpaya problem, which is able to run via June.
“The banks of the Nila (Bharathapuzha) had two such societies engaged in kora grass mat weaving — Vaniyamkulam and Killimangalam. Today, the Killimangalam Society is the only unit that makes these mats, functioning with five active members,” says Vinod Nambiar, govt director of Vayali. The mats received a UNESCO recognition, the ‘Seal of Excellence’ in 2006. In 2016, Vayali produced a documentary movie on P Prabhavathi, a weaver, who labored with the society for 41 years, single-handedly main it when it virtually closed down. Prabhavati stopped weaving following a quick sickness in 2018.
“The idea is to preserve the essence of folk art and help the artisans get what is due to them. We are exploring the possibilities of applying for a Geographical Indications (GI) tag and are in talks with the Directorate of Handicrafts, Thrissur, to include this craft in the ‘Vanishing Traditions’ category,” says Vinod. “We are also considering inviting designers and other agencies who work in this space to document the unique designs of Killimangalam and the processing method they follow,” he provides.
Though the designs of the mats stay the identical, the processes have undergone sure adjustments, says Sudhakaran. While recent Kora grass (referred to as muthanga pullu in Malayalam) was collected from the banks of the Bharathapuzha within the earlier days, it’s now purchased in straw kind from Chittoor, Palakkad district, for ₹ 350 a kilo. “A relatively simple mat in standard size (34 inches x 72 inches) can take up to one week. If the design is complex, it could take a weaver up to 15 days,” says Sudhakaran. The weavers are paid ₹ 150 a day.
Done by hand
One of the weavers on the society
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
While the weaving is completed on conventional looms, the designs are achieved by hand. Though the present crop of weavers don’t belong to the Kurava group, they nonetheless comply with the unique design patterns set by the Kuravas. “Some designs are time consuming. Even a small flower design can take up to half an hour,” says Sindhu M S, one of many weavers. “Our work begins with processing — soaking the straw, drying it, dyeing it (dye is bought from Alappuzha). Weaving takes place after that. The work needs a lot of patience, but it is extremely satisfying,” she says.
Table mats
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Apart from common flooring mats, the group makes yoga mats, desk runners, prayer mats, desk mats, wall decor and kalyana paya (marriage ceremony mats). The kalyana paya is presented by some communities to the bride and groom on their marriage ceremony day, with their names and the date of the marriage woven into the mat. “We take orders for wedding mats ahead, because weaving names and dates is time consuming,” says Sindhu.” The value of the mats begin from Rs 1,800 and goes as much as 5,000 or extra relying on the dimensions and the design.
Killimangalam straw mats
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
“Our effort is to bring these artisans and their craft to the mainstream,” says T R Premkumar, director of Moozhikulam Sala. “The weavers are in the job not just for the money, but also because they take pride in carrying on a heritage craft. We need to make the general public and policy makers aware of their work,” he provides.
Orders for the mat could be positioned on 9961608084/ 9947847279
The weavers would deliver the mats to ‘Njattuvela Festival’ from June 30 to July 6 at Changampuzha Park, Edappally. A GI (Geographical Indications) tag workshop might be organised on the venue. It might be dealt with by C R Elsy, former head of the IPR Cell of the Kerala Agricultural University.
Source: www.thehindu.com
