How Gopalpur’s GenNext tussar weavers are making handloom weaving profitable

Thirty-five artisans are at work in the bustling workshop of Ajay Kumar Guin in Gopalpur in Jajpur district, Odisha. Their deft hands guide tussar (also tassar) threads across wooden handlooms. Each rhythmic shuttle beat breathes life into the shimmering fabric.

But this was not the case when Ajay, now 30 years old, was a child. He saw his parents struggling to make a living working on their two looms. Inability to directly access the market, lack of funding, and absence of awareness about the latest market designs pushed weavers into poverty and oblivion.

Today, however, the younger generation uses the internet, especially social media, to learn the latest design trends and sell their products. This has led to the contemporisation of traditional weaving and made their enterprises profitable.

“When I was a child, my father wove cotton and muslin. For the past 26 years, we have been involved in tussar weaving. I learnt the craft from my father,” Ajay tells 30Stades.

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Many youngsters in the village quit their traditional occupation, discouraged by the limited income and hard work involved, and migrated to towns and cities, but not Ajay. After class 10, he began helping his father while pursuing his studies and is among the young artisans leading the revival of handloom weaving in Gopalpur.

“Our brand is called Gopalpur Handloom Sarees. I have applied for the Handloom Mark, and I am also trying for the Silk Mark,” says a determined Ajay.   

In the same village, 48-year-old Srikanta Das, a master weaver, has won the national merit award. His wife, Lakshmi Priya Das, has also won a national award. The couple was awarded for ‘jaala’ (a traditional method of weaving intricate patterns into the fabric using extra weft threads) and tapestry work.  Das stresses that his products are 100 percent handwoven. He picked up the craft from his father.

“Apart from me and my wife, six family members work in the workshop. My brand is called Sripriya Handlooms. I make only sarees. They are mostly of pure tussar. Some are a mix of tussar and mulberry silk,” says Srikanta.

The price of his sarees ranges from Rs 10,000 to Rs 55,000. “I send potential buyers photos, and they place their orders. I earn a 10 percent profit,” he adds.

“My family members help me send sarees by courier to buyers to the US, Singapore, and Australia. My award-winning saree is worth Rs 1 lakh, but I have not sold it,” says Srikanta with a smile.

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Siba Prasad Das, 26, is a young weaver from Gopalpur.  His brand is called SPD Handloom, and he has 12 people working with him. “We make dupattas, stoles, sarees, and ‘jodos’ (similar to gamchas). I don’t use the power loom. I am keen on experimentation,” he says.

“I have worked with mulberry silk and organza yarn too. I have created 26 designs myself. I earn Rs 10-12 lakh a year. I have 263 colour combinations in stock. I get ideas from social media and websites,” says Siba.

He is more focused on selling B2B than B2C. In India, his products are sold in Cuttack, Bhubaneswar, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Kolkata and Bengaluru. 

Abroad, Siba’s handcrafted sarees and other products reach the shores of California, Hong Kong and Australia. He has applied for a bank loan. With that money, he plans to equip his seven looms so that he can introduce new techniques and produce new designs. 

His father is a master weaver in jacquard and trains other weavers in the village.  

Time-consuming task

One of the special features of Gopalpur tussar fabric is the use of hand-spun and hand-reeled yarns. That’s why the weaving process is time-consuming.

Ajay says the artisans in his team earn Rs 10,000-12,000 per month, depending on the amount of work they do. 

“We work from 6 am to 9 pm. One tussar saree takes at least five days to finish, and ones with intricate designs can take up to 25 days. Some customers specify the designs they want,” Ajay says.

He sells sarees, dupattas, and material online, mainly in wholesale. While the maximum sales are in West Bengal, he also has clients in the US, UK, and Australia.  “My annual revenue is Rs 8 lakh. In one year, I make 300-500 sarees depending on orders. If there is a wedding, we get a big order,” says Ajay.

While saree prices range from Rs 4,500 to Rs 10,000, the material costs Rs 700 per metre. Ajay’s parents, uncle and two brothers are involved in tussar weaving.

Ajay and Siba Prasad Das benefited from ‘Antaran’ - Tata Trusts’ craft-based livelihood programme launched in 2018. The programme aimed to revive handloom clusters. Gopalpur was one of the two clusters selected in Odisha. The programme trained the artisans in design development, marketing, networking and business skills. “I got an understanding of branding from the programme. It helped a lot,” says Siba Prasad.

Future plans for Ajay involve increasing production and improving the marketing strategy for his handmade products. “I want to motivate youngsters who are quitting this trade not to do so by producing innovative designs that will interest them.”

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Special texture  

Tussar silk is a wild silk produced from the larvae of silkworm species belonging to the moth genus Antheraea. It is known for its rich, if somewhat coarse, texture. Its natural colour is gold. India is the second-largest producer of tussar silk globally. Tussar is also known by its Sanskrit name, ‘Kosa’ silk. Genuine tussar sarees have a soft golden sheen and drape well. 

In Odisha, tussar is sourced from silkworms that feed on Sal and Arjun trees in the forests of Mayurbhanj and Keonjhar, among other districts. In the state, tribal communities are involved in tussar production. 

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While the main tussar silk product is the saree, the material is also used to make dupattas, large shawls, and ‘uthariyas’ (similar to stoles that are given to felicitate guests). Tussar material is also used to make handicrafts, upholstery fabric, and stitched apparel. Interestingly, tussar silk is used for Odisha's ‘Pattachitra’ (a traditional, cloth-based scroll painting style).

How it all began

Gopalpur village has been involved in producing tussar sarees since the 16th century. Rosalin Dash is the co-founder of Sarna Educational and Cultural Services, based in Bhubaneswar. The organisation aims to provide a helping hand to the state’s craftspeople.

She narrates the history of tussar in Gopalpur. “It is believed that when the tussar is washed in the Brahmani River, which flows through the village, it gets its sheen and lustre,” Rosalin says.

When Chaitanya Mahaprabhu came from Bengal to Odisha in the 16th century, many weavers left Bengal and settled in Odisha. Gopalpur was scenic and the river water was good for making tussar silk. But cowherds and milkmen would trouble the weavers.

“The area was under the king of Madhupur. On the queen’s birthday, a few weavers gifted her two tussar sarees wrapped in banana leaves. The queen was pleased and the king granted the weavers rights to become residents of his kingdom,” says Rosalin.   

Coveted GI tag

Gopalpur tussar fabric was recognized with a Geographical Indication or GI tag in 2009. According to Rosalin, there are 2,000 families into weaving in Gopalpur, each home having multiple looms. “If the cost of producing a saree is Rs 10,000, the weavers sell at around Rs 14,000. At Crafts Council of India exhibitions in Delhi and Bengaluru, the product may fetch up to Rs 19,000. Weavers often collaborate. If one gets an order, he will outsource part of the work to another,” she explains.

The traditional design techniques are ‘jaala’ and ‘foda’ (a specific weaving technique used in Gopalpur tussar silk sarees, where shuttles interlock to create a specific pattern). Foda is similar to tapestry.  

Nature is often the inspiration for designers, with motifs of flowers, leaves, and birds commonly used in patterns.

The Gopalpur weavers are also skilled in the traditional technique of ‘ghicha’. It involves tying together leftover short yarns and dyeing them in a  pattern before they are woven to create the fabric. Ghicha silk is known for its matte finish and earthy appeal.

Tussar fabric weaving is an important source of livelihood for both men and women in Gopalpur. The popularity of tussar fabrics has also helped to promote ‘cultural tourism’ in the region. Tourists visit Gopalpur to see the traditional weaving techniques in action and purchase authentic tussar sarees.

(Aruna Raghuram is a freelance journalist based in Bengaluru. She writes about people, environmental matters, parenting, DEI issues, and social/development enterprises.)

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