And Swaminathan, the founder of Kaskom, couldn’t be more excited. “Kaskom is a body that promotes indigenous cotton across India.
There has been quite some momentum in the area of locally sourced products and produce, with sustainability in mind, but there is little being done to ensure that even khadi uses indigenous cotton in its processes.
While Kaskom — the indigenous cotton project from Tamil Nadu — has been doing its part in contributing to this lacune, it’s tied up with Japan- based Calico to bring to Chennai the first of its kind farm-to-fabric expo. An effort to bridge the divide between local producers and would-be consumers, the fair organised at Mylapore’s Sarangi is set to host a whole range of fabrics and food from different parts of the state.
And Swaminathan, the founder of Kaskom, couldn’t be more excited. “Kaskom is a body that promotes indigenous cotton across India. We’re trying to revive the breeds. In Tamil Nadu, the work has been standardised. Now, we’re trying to work with farmers in Karnataka. Calico, run by Fumie Kobayashi, has a base in New Delhi too. She has been working with weavers in Bengal and Kutch where textile-related craft forms are still alive.
She is trying to revive it and project it in a way that’s marketable too. We have been sitting together for two years now. In Chennai, we wanted to begin with a pop-up exhibition and gauge the response the city has for handloom products and desi cottonmade fabrics and crafts,” he says. While Kaskom will bring in the work of farmers from Dindigul, Fumie’s Calico products will be sourced from the states she works in. With this expo, they plan to introduce yet another world of local crafts to the Chennai audience.
The fair would not only offer products for sale, but it is also set to provide an overview of the many processes of the textile value chain.
Source: www.newindianexpress.com