Media Release
Udupi, Mar 26: Sri Kumar, member of Kadike Trust speaking at Udupi press club here on Monday, March 25 said, 'Kadike trust is planning to launch 'Save the Udupi Saree' campaign in campaign in association with Charaka, the well known rural cooperative society making handloom products near Sagara and Desi Trust of Bengaluru.
Kadike Trust was established recently in Karkala with the aim of saving environment-friendly rural production techniques, indigenous knowledge and handicrafts.
A unique product of the region, the Udupi Saree was accorded the Geographical Indication (GI) tag in the year 2016. Handloom cloth is eco-friendly and provides employment to many times more people than mill-made fabrics do.
It has undertaken, as part of this campaign, the following programmes:
• Spreading awareness about the Udupi Saree among the public
• Trying to give encouragement, recognition and due remuneration to the weavers
• Getting Udupi Sarees made using natural-dyed yarn
• Training young men and women in handloom weaving
• Providing a nation-wide market to Udupi Sarees
The following activities have already been started at Talipady Weavers Cooperative Society, Kinnigoli in pursuit of these goals:
• Weaving of Udupi Sarees using natural-dyed yarn provided by Charaka
• Some interested young women and men have been given preliminary training in weaving. Some who had left the vocation of weaving have been persuaded to return
• Attempts are being made to connect the weavers’ societies with markets and give them fair remuneration
• The process of obtaining approval from the concerned authority, so as to enable the weavers to benefit from the GI tag accorded to the Udupi Saree, has been initiated
• Natural-dyed Udupi Sarees produced by the joint effort of Talipady Weavers Cooperativee Society and Charaka are being released to the market today.
Prasanna Kumar of Kadike trust said, “Saving Handloom manufacturing is important today. We are strengthening weavers’ societies and handloom weavers. We are trying to provide alternative platform to market handloom products. There is demand across the country, but the number of weavers is decreasing. Producing handloom sarees using power loom is causing environment pollution. We are planning host a mega event to promote handloom products.”
Mamatha Rai, president of Kadike Trust, Chikkappa Shetty, secretary of trust, Purushottam Shetty, and Madhav Sherigar were present.