Save Charaka, help weavers

Buy handloom from India’s only women weavers’ handloom cooperative society – Charaka. And let’s bring back the romance of handloom.

This season, you could help revive one of India’s oldest and largest naturally-dyed handloom manufacturing women’s cooperative. Charaka is located in Karnataka’s Heggodu region. The self-sustaining rural handloom cooperative produces beautiful natural-dyed handloom fabric and stitched  products.

Over 800 people and their families in the region are involved in weaving, dyeing, and tailoring.

While Charaka, a 25-year-old society, has been a hugely successful cooperative, Covid-19 has hit them hard. The Society continued production even during the Covid crisis so that the weaver families would continue to earn a livelihood. But buyers and sales dwindled. So much so, that with the extreme cash crunch, they had to declare insolvency and shut down their production. They are now left with a huge stock pile up that they are looking to sell.

They have over 87,000 metres of fabric on sale along with Rs. one crore worth of readymade garments for men and women, as well as accessories, and home linen. Choose from a wide variety of kurtas, sarees, western wear, pants, skirts, stoles, dupattas, quilts, curtains and more. All through the month of September they are putting up a clearance sale.

Charaka also has a distribution network called the Desi Trust, which has shops in various parts of Karnataka, including Bengaluru.

Those in Bangalore can buy from any of their three physical stores. Gift vouchers can also be bought online (valid for a year). All online sales are through orders placed on WhatsApp. For readymade garments call or Whatsapp Pooja: 88846-24448. For fabric and yardage call or Whatsapp Padmashree:  78994-59535

For more details please check www.charaka.in

Picture courtesy: Desi Trust

By Bhumika K

Bhumika K is an independent writer based in Bangalore. She is passionate about handlooms and is a member of the WICCI Karnataka Handloom Council. Interested in filmwallahs/foodwallahs/people and all things Bangalore. Has worked for The Hindu, the Times of India and The New Indian Express. She combines warmth, a million-dollar smile, good style and excellence in journalism, with ease.