The Hindu Business Line : Home spinning of cotton, an Andhra experiment

The Andhra Dastkar, a non-profit trust working with handloom weavers, is trying to decentralise the spinning system by helping rural folk source simple, indigenously created technology and get better remuneration for their products.

With the help of Mr L. Kannan, an alumnus of IIT Madras, Andhra Dastkar has created a technology that allows farmers to process cotton at home, contrary to the popular belief that cotton can only be spun in a factory.

This carding technology helps spin cotton on a scale small enough to be carried out at home, Ms Uzramma of Andhra Dastkar said. The technology, it is hoped, will foster linkages between cotton growers and weavers.

Currently, the handloom sector has been forced into niche segments because commonly used varieties of yarn are not reliably available.

If the experiment takes off successfully, it will provide cotton growers better alternatives for the sale of their cotton. Normally, cotton growers do not have much say over the price of their cotton that is sold to big ginning units. The new technology will help insulate small producers from fluctuations in cotton and yarn prices.

The current project has 22 women running eight 0.25-hp charkhas. While this is on a very small scale indeed, a woman can earn about Rs 150 a kg, as against the average daily wages between Rs 10 and Rs 30 that a woman at any job would fetch in Chirala. The proceeds are shared across the fabric processing value chain.

The organisation has also realised that marketing initiatives are a key to sustainable employment. The Dastkar Andhra Marketing Association is helping women, both rural and urban, to sell fabric and sarees from their homes.

After putting down a deposit, the prospective seller gets sufficient materials to solicit customers. However, if the seller is unable to sell the goods, she can return the fabric and retrieve her deposit. The `safety' factor of the scheme is attracting a number of women to the scheme.

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Home spinning of cotton, an Andhra experiment