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| Tuesday, 2 December 2003 |
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Handloom Weavers' Collective exhibition "Blended Weaves", an exhibition and sale of high quality handloom products by the Handloom Weavers' Collective, will be held on December 5 and 6 at the Women's International Club, Colombo 7.
According to the organizers, the collection on display combines tradition and modernism that is in vogue in the west. Above all one will find that unique Sri Lankan flavour and character in all items, (each piece lovingly hand-woven, each with its own strength of design and composition). This is the sixth consecutive annual exhibition and sale conducted by the Collective. Established in 1997, the Handloom Weavers' Collective comprises handloom producers from the government, private and co-operative sectors who have integrated to meet common challenges faced by the handloom industry. The Collective is a self-governing body that is open to handloom producers of the Central and North Western Provinces. It functions as an autonomous body and is registered as a limited liability company. "Members of the Collective include large scale handloom exporters as well as micro level producers who work with one or two looms in the privacy of their homes," said Kumudhini Rosa, Senior Advisor for the German Technical Cooperation (GTZ) supported Vocational Training for Rural Women and Youth (VTW) Project which brought a cross section of local handloom producers together to form the Collective. "These producers believed that by collectively building their own identity they could become change agents within the industry and also be better equipped to face challenges in the market," Rosa said. Funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, the VTW project identified the handloom industry as one that offered significant employment opportunities to rural women and youth in the North Western and Central Provinces. Based on an initial market survey, the project recognised that the handloom industry did not possess the same potential as that of power looms which catered to mass markets. It identified a niche market based on consumer demand which targeted a smaller, yet exclusive, clientele that values handmade products rather than mass-scale products. During the past seven years the VTW Project has been assisting the Collective by assessing constraints and identifying ways to overcome them through participatory strategies by conducting intensive training in techniques of weaving, dyeing and styling; by providing technical and managerial training for small and medium scale entrepreneurs by assisting in market promotion, such as holding national exhibitions and encouraging entrepreneurs to participate in foreign trade fairs by promoting business development strategies and organising study tours for gaining exposure to foreign markets. "Contrary to the earlier belief that the handloom industry was stagnant and was a poor investment choice, the Collective is now fostering a new way of thinking that will encourage transformation of individual production units into economically viable enterprises in the new millennium," said Rosa. |
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