Hubballi :

At Vishwanath Kenchi’s handloom unit at Gajendragad in Gadag district, the steady clacks of the looms belie all expectations. At a time when the handloom sector appears to be losing the fight to power looms, the 43-year-old has taken 75 weavers under his wing to ensure that their livelihood isn’t affected by the winds of change.
Kenchi’s organization – Adishakti Kaimagga Nekarara Sahakari Sangh Niyamita – which boasts of a flat structure, has been receiving a steady stream of orders since its inception as a self-help group in 2007. In the cooperative society’s success story lies a potential model for the handloom sector’s revival.

The climb to self-sustenance, though, wasn’t smooth. Kenchi found himself without work in 2007 when a cash-strapped Karnataka Handloom Development Corporation (KHDC) stopped giving him assignments. Hundreds of weavers were left in the lurch and were forced to migrate at the time.
But even in the face of such hardship, Kenchi decided to stick to his ‘family profession’. Work orders were few and far between, but he drew courage and solace from his handloom. Soon, a few others joined his self-help group.

During a visit to Heggodu in January 2008, Kenchi was inspired by theatre director and activist Prasanna, who has, time and again, taken up the cudgels for handloom weavers. Prasanna helped him and other weavers land more orders.

Things soon began to look up. “To meeting the growing demand, we had to buy another loom,” says Kenchi, who had to drop out of school after Class 3.

The Gajendragad resident was also egged on by the Deshpande Foundation in Hubballi. The NGO conferred on him the Navodyami Award in 2011. “Apart from the cash prize of Rs 1 lakh, it helped him get a bank loan of Rs 5 lakh.”

The loan was used to buy 3,634 sqft of land in Gajendragad to help the weavers expand their business.

Shrikant Chuncha, an employee of the sangh, credits the flat structure of the organization for the success of its business model. “As all employees are also members of the sangh, we get profit dividends, besides our wages, at the end of a year,” he explains.

Shadimbi Shantagiri, another employee, says members are paid Rs 17 per metre. “We weave about 10 m per day. Some of us manage to go up to 20 m.”
Another worker, Drakshayani Ashapur, 50, says flexible working hours between 6am and 6pm help a number of women find part-time JOBS.

Gururaj, Kenchi’s son, says the sangh has 251 members and 75 members-cum-employees. “We plan to create about 1,000 JOBS here by 2020. We produce saris, and clothes for shirts and coats.”

Orders come from Charaka, a women’s cooperative society specializing in natural dyes and handloom weaving founded by Prasanna, KHDC and other organizations from across the state, he says.

The sangh has prepared a proposal, seeking 6-7 acres of land from the department of handloom and textile. “We provide insurance cover to weavers and scholarships to their children with the help of government schemes,” says Gururaj.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Hubballi / by Sangamesh Mena Sinakai, TNN / April 10th, 2015