Craft Cluster Research Documentation

An Account of the Morazha Handloom Weavers

NATIONAL INSTITURE OF FASHION TECHNOLOGY, KANNUR (Ministery of textiles, Govt. of India) NIFT Campus, Dharmasala, Mangattuparamba Kannur, Kerala - 670 562

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© 2019 NIFT All rights reserved under international copyright 2019 convention.

No parts of this document covered by the copyright here on maybe reproduced or used in any form or by any means graphics electronics Or mechanical including photocopying,recording,taping and Scaning without the written permission of the copyright owner.

National Institute of Fashion Technology, Kannur.

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Declaration We hereby declare that the project entitled- “A Shuttle Story” which is being submitted as the craft cluster project of 5th semester of National institute of fashion technology, Kannur (Kerala),is an authentic record of our genuine work done under the guidance of Prof. Shangrella Rajesh, Department of Fashion Design.

Date : Place: Kannur, Kerala.

Arjun Suresh Lakshmi M Prasad Priya Appukuttan Navya Sreeranj Revathi Satheesan Fousiya Fathima

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Acknowledgement We would like to take this opportunity to show our gratitude to all the artisans from the Morazha Weavers’ Industrial Cooperative Society Limited who kind-heartedly cooperated with us and gave us all the necessary inputs about their lives, culture, craft and the society. We would also like to thank the secretary -Mr. Balakrishnan K M, Weaving Master- Mr. Unni Krishnan , Mr. Manoj and Dyeing master-Mr. Narayanan without whom our research would have been unachievable.

We would like to express our gratitude towards our Director Mr. Pawan Godiawala, National Institute Of Fashion Technology, Kannur. The entire project would not have been successful without the sincere guidance provided by our mentor, Prof. Shangrella Rajesh and our centre coordinator Prof. Om Soorya. We would also like to acknowledge Ms. Sarada Muraleedharan , General Director, National Institute Of Fashion Technology for this great opportunity.

Faithfully,

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01 Kannur

04 The Procedure

Geography & Climate Food Agriculture & Livestock Folkslores & Festivals People

Raw Materials Process Packaging

02 Handloom

05 Operation Brand name Sale Promotions Welfare plans Training Finance Department

Handloom Industry in India Handloom in Kerala Kannur Handloom and its Historical Evolution

03 Morazha

06 Conclusion

Introduction to Morazha Weavers About the cluster History Spatial Maps Organisational set up People Behind 10

SWOT Analysis PEST Analysis Findings Suggestions

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Preface In the land of looms and lores’, a land far away unforgotten, live people intertwining lives to make ends meet, With gleaming light in their eyes and happiness their hearts Swinging the shuttle with all their might, cherishing each pull of the twine Blended with a touch of authenticity, woven are a number of goods From mats to bed sheets and dhotis to sarees, handcrafted with pure love.

The proud Morazha Weavers Cooperative Society go by their law “ALL FOR EACH AND EACH FOR ALL”. the handloom sector holds a different and unique place in the Indian economy, also being the largest generator of non-farm rural employment. while obtainable information indicates an economic sector of considerable size, there must be vast scope for expansion. The handloom sector in in fact capable of exponential growth, with identification of its wants, a reasonable stage of resource input and structural attention.

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Research Methodology

“Life is a loom weaving illusion” - Vachel Lindsay

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Scope of the study: It may help in understanding the current situation of artisan’s working in Morazha weaver’s industrial cooperative society limited.

The study helps in understanding current trend and forecasting future trends in the handloom products.

Objectives of the study To analyze the current situation.

To understand the drawbacks of the society.

To understand the schemes implemented by the government for the betterment of the handloom weaver’s society.

Limitations of the study Time constraints hadn’t allowed for a more thorough interaction with the weavers and workers.

The study may not hold good at all times depending on the demographic changes and government policies.

This study is descriptive in nature with a quantitative approach.

The population is around 200 weavers and workers split in 5 units, 25 is the sample size of this study.

Questionnaire design is both structured and unstructured.

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01

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Cannanore Kannur, more popularly known as Cannanore, is a northern district in Kerala famed for its rich, vibrant culture. During ancient times, this district was a ethnic, religious as well as a commercial hub of the Malabar region. Kannur owes its rhythmic culture to several empires that scrambling to make this territory a dwelling of their power. The history of the place dates back to the biblical times as the ships of king Solomon are believed to have been attached on the shores of Kannur. the long trail of invasions by the utch, the Portuguese, the Mysore sultanate and the British molded the history of the region in exceptional degrees. Kannur known for its scenic beauty and various tourist attractions like Parassinikadavu, Snake park, St Angelo’s Fort, Payyambalam beach, Baby beach, Paithalmala hills, Kanjirakolly waterfalls etc.

Payyambalam beach is a famous Kannur beach with a wild sea coast of a few kilometres. From the beach the ships on transit can be seen, from beyond Kozhikode moving towards Mangalore, Goa and Mumbai.

It has a well laid out garden and massive sculpture of a mother and child.

St Angelo Fort was built in 1505 by the Portuguese viceroy of India. In 1663, the Dutch captured and in 1722 they sold the fort to the Arakkal king. In 1790, the British until 1947.

Paithalmala is a beautiful hill station in the Kannur district. It is located near Pottenplave village at a height of 1372m above sea level, this is the highest geographical peak in Kannur. It is 40 kms from Taliparamba and has become a favourite spot for nature enthusiasts, photographers, trekkers and leisurely visitors.

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Geography & Climate The Kannur district lies between latitudes 11040¹ to 12048¹ North and longitudes 74052¹ to 76007¹ East.

The district is bound by the Western Ghats in the East (Coorg district of Karnataka state), Kozhikode and Wayanad districts, in the south, Arabian Sea in the west and Kasargode, and is the northern most district of Kerala.

The total area of the district is 2966 km2; Accounting for 7.6 percent of the state’s geographical area The district has a humid climate with an oppressive hot season from March to the end of May. This is followed by the south-west monsoon and this continues till the end of September. October and November form the post monsoon or retreating monsoon season.

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Food While exploring Kannur district the travellers visiting this picturesque district will discover that Bengalis and Malayali’s share many similarities in their eating habits. While rice being the staple food for both the community’s seafood and fish are among the favourite food which are traditionally served on the banana leaves. The Kannur cuisine makes sublet use of spices. The Malabar cuisine stands out among the varied regional cuisines of Kannur as this region has been invaded by many traders in ancient times. The Malabar food is always served with a number of tasty chutneys. The raw mango –prawn chutney and the raw mango-lemon chutney are the most voted by the tourists for their excellent taste.

The cuisine of Kannur has been greatly influenced by the history, culture and the geographic location of the land. Kannur cuisines feature a great variety of traditional Kerala-Malabar food like Dosa, Puttu, Appam, Seafoods and Idly etc.

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Agriculture and livestock The backbone of Kannur is its agriculture, fisheries and other related industries. a majority of its population depend on it for their livelihood. Paddy, Coconut, Pepper, Cashew, Tapioca and Areca Nut grow abundantly in this area, along with plantation crops like rubber. The Pepper Research Centre at Panniyur, the Central State Farm at Aralam and the Sugarcane Research Institute at Kannur contribute to the research and development of various crops in the agriculture sector.

With a vast coastline spread over an area of 82 km, the district also has a prominent place in the fisheries map of Kerala. Textiles, beedi and coir constitute the traditional industries in Kannur. The beedi (a native version of the cigar) industry employs over 25,000 people. Famous beedi societies like Dinesh Beedi have their headquarters at Kannur.

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Folklores and festivals Kannur is a land with a resonant past. Myths and legends abound. The ships of Solomon, they say: anchored along the coasts to collect timber for building the Temple of the Lord.

Kannur finds mention as “Naura” in the Periplus of the Erit– rean Sea a Greek work of great antiquity.

Folk dances of great originality and colour have evolved among the large population of the oppressed classes and the tribal colonies of this district. These were possibly manifestations of their need to communicate against the ruling classes portraying their frustrations and social anger.

Some folk dances evolved as a result of their ceremonies to propitiate their gods, singing and dancing in the process.

Each tribe had its own collection of folk plays and dances which are performed during festivals. Among the Adiyans there is a folk play in which an old man plays on a thundi (drum) and the men sing and dance to the rhythm of the beating drum.

Though the women do not participate in the dance, they join in the community singing. The Malayans have the Thiyyattom ceremony which consists of dancing with huge and colourful masks and the Ucchavali ceremony which is symbolic of human sacrifice.

Thalassery is the seat of the martial art Kalari Payattu, the forerunner of Karate & Kung-Fu. Around 40 Kalary arenas of the martial art are spread around the district. Kalari Chikitsa, a special type of physiotherapy treatment for diseases as well as toning up the body is also a specialty here.

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27 Picture credits: Nakul K I, NIFT Kannur

“Every Weaver has her own dreams to weave” -Bhaskar Jyothi Das

People

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The residents of Kannur are polite people and very welcoming as tourism is one of its bigger industries, apart from the textile industry. The Muslim communities form the majority of the population in Kannur followed by Hindus and Christians. Kannur is known for its performance of Theyyam Most people from Kannur seek agriculture as an occupation, rubber, pepper, kappa. coconut etc.

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Handloom

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India’s Handloom One of the most important part of the Indian culture and tradition includes the remarkable handloom industry. The handloom industry has a vast existence in the personal life of the people and as well as the economic development of the country.

The handloom industry plays a very important role and has a unique place in the Indian economy. It has been sustained by transferring the skill from generations together.

The strength of the handloom industry lies in its uniqueness, flexibility of production, openness to innovations, adaptability to the supplier’s requirement and the wealth of its tradition.

The government of India since independence has been following a set of schemes for the upliftment and the promotion of the sector. Due to various policy initiatives and scheme interventions like cluster approach, marketing initiatives and social welfare measures. Indian handlooms are characterized by an infinite variety of weavers, textures and designs spun on the handloom, The handloom (reservation and articles for production) act, 1985 defines Handloom as “any other loom other than power loom”. The handloom is a simple machine used for weaving, which has a manual operating system. The shedding is done by pressing the treadles pedal, picking and beating is done manually.

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Handloom Industry in Kannur Kannur situated in the northern part of Kerala is home to a number of handloom clusters of India. Due to its unending relation with handloom industry, the city is called the land of looms and lores.

The industry is spread across over 37 Panchayats and 5 Municipalities. The Kannur handloom industry comprises of co-operative societies, both industrial and primary; Khadi units and also the unorganized individual units Cloth is produced by both handlooms and power looms, power looms are more common in the private sector, while the handlooms are dominant in the co-operative societies.

All cooperative societies comprise of an elected committee with a president and members varying from 7 to 11, Each and every activity of the society demands the committee’s authorization.

The administrative activities are carried out by secretary of the society and the staff under him. The board of directors appoints the secretary with the agreement of the government. Cooperative societies were established as a result of feudalism.

The first weavers’ co-operative society established in Kannur was at Chirakkal, in 1936.

The main handloom centres in Kannur are Azhikode, Chirakkal, Kanhirode, Panoor, Kuthuparamba and Kalliasseri. When compared to the other districts in Kerala, Kannur has the largest concentration of weavers. The primary weavers cooperative society, the private handloom exporters and un organised individual weavers together constitute the handloom sector in Kannur. Government missionaries like national handloom development corporation provides raw materials, weavers service centre (WSC) extend their services to improve skills of dyeing, weaving etc.

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35 “The Weaver” Picture credits: Morazha Weavers, Kannur

Historical Evolution of Kannur Handloom There are three streams of historical incidences pointing towards the tradition, origin and the development of Kannur handlooms. First historical story says that the weaving tradition started in between 16th and 17th century when the Kolathiri Raja, the ruler of Chirakkal, brought some weaver families from Cheranadu, Tamil Nadu. These people settled at Kadalayi theru, and this resulted in the establishment of first saliya theru in Kannur. The weavers mainly produced woven fabrics for temples and royal people. Families developed social life in the district and cloth production became a major work force, the main products were thorthu (towel), panimundu (lower cloth), and mundu (dhoti).

The second story dates back to 1844, when frame looms were introduced by the Basel mission which were brought from Germany. In 1852, advancement of this loom kick started with the use of fly shuttles. The product produced by them was mission mundu, and later a ‘mastry’ (the dyeing or weaving master) of morazha society, started to produce ‘cali cloth or calico’ and shirting.etc

36 “Winding” Picture credits: Morazha Weavers, Kannur

The third stream of the incidence originated from the social reform movements. The activities of Vagbhatananda guru and Sree Narayana guru, movement led to the reformation of the ‘thiyya’ community with evidences in their social life and as well as in involvement in the industrial activities. Among these the handloom weaving was prominent one with hundreds of people engaged in it. The social reform movements at the time of independence gave an organized structure to handloom weavers by bringing them in the fold of co-operative societies.

During those days the rulers brought weavers for satisfying their clothing needs. Trained weavers took up the work due to social compulsion of employment. They integrated into and got organized as an industrial segment through the cooperative movement for satisfying their needs. Years later the weavers from Kannur had developed ‘Kannur crape’ which blew their fame into the skyscrapers in the country as well as in the overseas. It 1960s, 70s and 80s Kannur crape was one of the best-selling fabric in UK and USA. A Shuttle Story

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Cooperative Societies Cooperative societies work fundamentally different from other business. Such societies have unique features of joint ownership and democratic leadership.

The cooperative society is active in all countries worldwide and is represented in all the sectors including agriculture, food, finance, healthcare, etc.

To protect the interest of weaker sections, the co-operative society is formed.

It is a voluntary association of persons, whose motive is to protect the welfare of the members. As it is a voluntary association, the membership is also voluntary. A person is free to join a cooperative society, and can also leave anytime as per his desire. Irrespective of their religion, gender & caste, membership is open to all. It is compulsory for the co-operative society to get registration. The co-operative society is a separate legal identity to the society. It does not get affected by the entry or exit of its members.

The cooperative society works on the principle of mutual help & welfare.

Hence, the principal of service dominates it’s working. If any surplus is generated, it is distributed amongst the members as a dividend in conformity with the bye-laws of the society.

There are two types of industrial cooperative services, in the first type the society supplies the raw materials, tools and implements to the members. The members produce the goods individually in the own houses and sell them to the society. The goods sold by the members are resold by the society at favourable prices. The next surplus of the society after meeting all the expenses is divided among the members in proportion to their sales to their society.

In the second type, the production of goods is carried on by the members in the premises for wages. The goods produced by the members are either distributed among the members themselves or sold. The net surplus is then divided among the members in proportion to the wages earned by them. In this case, the members act as the employees of the society. The industrial cooperative societies play a crucial role in local economic development through gainful employment.

“The Morazha Motto”

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Morazha

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“Morazha Weavers Cooperative Society”

The Morazha Weavers Industrial Co-op Society limited is situated in the Morazha Village, Taliparamba taluk, Kannur district. It is in the northern Malabar region known for its rich cultural heritage. This growth has been largely facilitated by the socio-political background of the region. Furthermore, it has been in the export market for more than 30

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years supplying all over the world. The motto of the society is “EACH FOR ALL AND ALL FOR EACH”. They were honoured with a SILVER MEDAL in for 1994-95 from the Ministry of Textiles Indian. They received a Kerala State award for exquisite handloom for Furnishing as 3rd position in 2004 and for handloom saree as 2nd position in 2010.

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History Chief promoter Sri P.I.V Chathukutty unofficially drafted the following members (Karikkan Kunhiraman, Karoth Kunhiraman, Kapadan Kunhikannan, Kuttiprath Kunhikannan, C Bala, M Padmanaban Nambiar) into a committe.

To carry out the first functioning of the committee. 34.5 cents of land was undertaken from Krishnan Nambiar for the construction of the factory and 8074.86 rupees was paid. Which was a grant from the government. The government also helped in the purchase of necessary dyes and equipments for the factory which cost around 4600.

The first official committee meeting as drafted by Sri P.I.V Chathukutty comprised of the following membersKarikkan kunhiraman, Karoth Kunhiraman, Kapadan Kunhikannan, Meehtale Veetill Ragavannayar, Chalil Balan, M Padmanaban Nambiar this was the first ruling committee. On 30th march 1968 a capital of 10,000 as deposition and on 3rd august 1972 an additional building loan of rupees 22,000 was given. This loan was used in the maintenance of the old office and the corresponding factory building, So looms required to employ 65 weavers were bought but all the 65 looms were not functioning properly.

The formation of the farmers’ association, revolt against the zamindars ,workers union protest , political party meetings , farmers rally which was headed by Krishnan Pilla and Keraliyan from Bakkalam to Ellari.

In morazha, employment was mainly through farming, toddy tapping, jagerry making, stone engraving, handloom weaving etc.

These professions provided employment opportunities for the minorities. Later the private sectors started to get engaged in the handloom industry and orders was executed based on demand which unfortunately resulted in uncertainty in employment opportunities as there wasn’t a lot of orders coming up. Due to the uncertainty in employment opportunities, there was a need to create permanent jobs for the employees in the region. At this time in Ozhachrome, Krishna handlooms which was owned by Sri M Krishnan Nambiar was also shut down due to lack of work.

Therefore a union was made. To arrange for share capital, one share equivalent to Rs 100 was deemed to be collected from each of the members, however this was way too much for the people so this was then reduced to Rs 75 by the government and the remaining 25 was arranged from the employees.

The need to form a union was articulated amongst the employees for the functioning of the union so “Board of directors, Morazha” Picture Credits: Morazha Weavers Kannur

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“Member, Morazha” Picture Credits: Morazha Weavers Kannur

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In 1968 Sri. Karikkan Gopalan, Sri. M Kunhiraman Nambiar and the former owner Sri. Krishnan nambiar were appointed as the weaving master, clerk, and watchman respectively. Later in 1970, Sri. Chalil Balan was appointed as the dyeing master. In 1973 January 15th, Sri. Karikkan kunjappa was nominated as the community president. In the first election held on 25th june 1973, Sri. Narichal Govindhan, Kapadan Kunhikannan and M V Raghavan were elected and Sri. Karikkan Kunjippa (president), Karikkan Gopalan, C. Balan, P V Narayanan were nominated by the government. On 3rd august 1974, Sri. M Sudhakaran Nambiar was chosen as the secretary and in the same year, 53.3 cent land was bought by giving 4012 rupees. Later in the election held on 1975 june 25th, Nambon Cheriya Kunjambunayar, Thundayil Kappadan Kunjikannan, Thekke Veetil Cheriya Kunjambunambiar were elected and the remaining Sri. Karikkan Kunjappa, Sri. K P Balan, Sri. Kunool Kumaran, Sri. Cheriyal Kunjappa were nominated. But during the emergency period the presiding committee at the time was dismissed on October 15th 1975 by the government. Workers union revolted against it with strong police protection to get the committee back. In order to show their anger, the workers stayed at the company for several months. Later some people were elected without public opinion which was against the democratic ideals so the workers revolted against the committee. Toddy tappers, stone engravers played a pivotal role in the protest as well and due to this agitation, the ruling committee resigned and on 1st February 1978, a government appointed administrative took charge instead.

With the help of the handloom development cooperation, a company to accommodate 20 looms were formed. This was inaugurated by then HANVEEV chairman P P Mugunthan, along with this Rs. 56,000 was sanctioned by the government to form a company to accommodate

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25 looms and with government support to build a new building. In 1980, there was a progress in the handloom industry and its stability led to the employees sticking to weaving. In 1980 a new secretary was reinstated and in 1981 December a 110 looms were functional. At the time in Ozhachrome, the Delux factory which was under the ownership of Sri. K V Nalini was shut down. This led to severe unemployment and the committee was unable to provide job opportunities because of which the above factory comprising of 57 cent land buildings etc. was purchased using a government loan. On 24th march 1984 the new factory was inaugurated and the number of looms went up to 161. During the period 1985-86 public sector organization of Sri Handcrafts and handloom Export Corporation of India ltd. failed to provide enough no. of orders due to which the looms were rendered non-operational.

To overcome this the dependency of private sector was initiated, however this was met with lukewarm response, and however a few were still cooperative. Difficulties were faced such as water scarcity due to this yarn was unable to be dyed in the dye room this led to a lot of difficulties to the employees.

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About the cluster The Morazha handloom society owns 5 branches which includes the office building with weaving and winding (main unit), a dye house with weaving and winding in Vellikkeel 33 members are working there right now. In Ozhacrome, there are two units, one has 57 workers and the other accommodates 79 members. The Kadamberi unit has 14 members and the Kungarayal has 29 members. The Morazha Showroom in main office building its itself and there are two stores one in Dharmasala and Taliparamba.

It is located 15 KM towards North from District headquarters Kannur. 13km from Taliparamba.

499km from State capital Thiruvananthapuram.

Morazha is a village of Anthoor Municipality in Kannur district in the Indian state of Kerala. They produce fine quality sarees with special Kerala design techniques and Striped Bed Sheets, Towels, Uniforms, Furnishing, Dhotis, Floor Mats, Rugs, Napkin, bath mats etc.

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The Morazha handloom society is well developed with the 5 additional factories. There are 225 looms active at present, there are 183 workers and 8 staffs working. The Annual turnover is above 3 crores and their present capital is above 30 lakhs. They have a good collection of experienced weavers and has an experience with the export market for more than 30 years. They conduct exhibitions in the celebration season and thus advertise with notices, pamphlets etc., It has sales depot. The society develops samples as per the swatch description within 10 to 15 days.

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50 “Retirement, Morazha” Picture Credits: Morazha Weavers Kannur

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The Morazha weavers society has its own factory, dye house, office building and showrooms. Values of total buildings including bore wells overhead, water tank, is nearly 2 crore rupees. The society have a HP power connection. Electricity is required for the pumping out water and lighting in the dye house, and also for weaving shed lighting. They own a generator of 25KW. In addition to all this they have well water facilities for yarn boiling, dyeing, drinking and sanitation purpose of the employees.

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53 “Switch board, Morazha”

They have a water treatment plant to filter water which comes from the dye house, using ETP system (efficient treatment plant) for reuse waste water. The treatment plant costs Rs 10.06 lakhs.

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“Dyeing Unit, Vellikeel”

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Spatial Map

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58 “Looms, Morazha Weavers Kannur”

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“Looms, Morazha Weavers Kannur”

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By laws

The by-laws of the society identifies the aims and targets of the society. It prescribes powers and responsibilities. By-laws of a co-operative society are binding upon all its members. The model by-laws submitted are registered with the register of the society, are called “the first by-law of the society”. Various matters relating to the society and its management are provided. It can be amended by passing a resolution at a general meeting of the society, if two-third of the members present vote for a particular cause the resolution is passed. The register has the powers to direct modification of by laws.

The Objectives • To improve the handloom industry and to promote the economic conditions to the members of the society and to provide employment to them • To purchase and own buildings, looms and other accessories required for running the society and for the use of the society.

• To raise funds required for the society from members and others including the government by the issue of shares, by borrowings, by the way of deposits or otherwise.

• To purchase such raw materials as may be required for the industry and convert them into finished goods in the society for which wages shall be paid to the members • To arrange marketing of the finished goods to the best advantage of the society • To act as an agent for the joint purchase of the domestic and other requirements of its members.

• To do such other acts as may be conducive to the attainment of the general effects of the society.

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61 “The By law book, 1965 Morazha”

Organizational Structure The Morazha weavers follow the line organization structure, which is also known as vertical organization. It one of the oldest forms of organization structure and will be directed by a single person. It is also explained as a dynamic process and managerial activity which is necessary for bringing people together in pursuit of common objectives.

An organization is a group of individuals who co-ordinate on different level of activities and segment of specialization for the purpose of achieving the goals and objectives of the particular organization. The organization structure provides a frame work for managers and other employees for performing the various function and helps in work flow of the organization.

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Weaving co-operative societies function under the protection of the co-operative rules and by-laws for internal management of the society. Besides being the guide for the representatives of the society, the executive body controls the set of organisations in matters of production and sale of the Morazha industry. One such organisation is the council of primary weavers’ cooperative societies, registered independently prior to the consequence of the handloom sector from the department of cooperation. The area of operation, objects and internal management of each individual society is their own.

Balakrishnan K M Male / 53

Marital status: married Place: Morazha Family: Wife and 2 kids Education: BSc Service years: 24 years Department: Secretary Mode of transportation: Scooter Salary: Monthly Assets owned: House, Bike Other sources of income: Wife

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Mr. Balakrishnan is a very calm and a helpful man, he worked in the morazha office in the finance department and later got promoted to secretary. He is very particular about his work and exceptionally punctual.

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Nishad

Male / 40

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Manoj

Male / 39

Marital status: married Place: Bakkalam Family: Wife and 2 sons Education: M. Com Service years: 1 yr.

Department: Accounts department Mode of transportation: Bike Salary: Monthly Assets owned: House, Bike Other sources of income: Nil

Marital status: married Sex: Male Place: Mayyil Family: Wife, Mother, 2 kids Education: IIHT Service years: 5 yrs.

Department: Weaving Master Mode of transportation: Bike Salary: Monthly Assets owned: House, Bike Other sources of income: Nil

I am quite satisfied with the salary says Mr. Nishad, He also invests in chit funds and LIC.

I am quite satisfied with the salary says Mr.Manoj, He also invests in chit funds and LIC

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Unni Krishnan

Narayanan

Marital status: married Place: Morazha Family: Wife and child Education: SSLC Service years: 39 years Department: Weaving Master Mode of transportation: Bike Salary: Monthly Assets owned: House, Bike Other sources of income: Child

Marital status: married Place: Malappuram Family: Wife and 2 kids Education: BSc, Diploma in Handloom Service years: 23 years Department: Dyeing Master Mode of transportation: Bike Salary: Monthly Assets owned: House, Bike Other sources of income: Nil

Mr. Unni Krishnan says that he is satisfied with the salary. He is from a weaver family thus acquired the required skill set.

Mr. Narayanan was one of the most well informed people, he is very passionate about his work and is very enthusiastic.

Male / 55

Male / 45

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Raghavan Sumathi

Female/ 55 Marital status: married Place: Morazha Family: Husband, 2 kids Education: SSLC Service years: 24 years Department: Weaving Mode of transportation: Walking Salary: Weekly Assets owned: House, Bike Other sources of income: Husband, Son Mrs Sumathi is a self-taught weaver, her opinion about the decline in workforces in the handloom industry are because of the low wages and less opportunities.

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Male/68

Marital status: married Place: Morazha Family: Wife, Son Education: SSLC Service years: 40 years Department: Weaving Mode of transportation: Walking Salary: Weekly Assets owned: House Other sources of income: Son Mr. Raghavan is a self-taught weaver, he is happy with the services and wages provided by the society. He is a very cheerful and a joyous person.

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Sreeja T

Female/47 Marital status: married Place: Morazha Family: Husband, 2 kids Education: 8th Std Service years: 13 yrs Department: Winding Mode of transportation: Walking Salary: Weekly Assets owned: House Other sources of income: Husband, Brother in law Mrs. Sreeja is a warm and kindhearted person.

She lives with her family of 7 members and is satisfied with the income provided by the society.

Nandini

Female/51 Marital status: married Place: Morazha Family: Husband, 2 kids Education: 3th Std Service years: 22 years Department: Winding Mode of transportation: Walking Salary: Weekly Assets owned: House Other sources of income: Husband Mrs. Nandini lives with her husband who is a KSRTC bus driver. She thinks the wages she earns is low and is hard to make ends meet

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Purushothaman Male/60

Marital status: married Place: Morazha Family: Wife, 2 kids Education: 7th Std Service years: 40 yrs.

Department: Packaging and Quality Control Mode of transportation: Walking Salary: Weekly Assets owned: House, Bike Other sources of income: Wife and Children Mr Purushothaman is a very kindhearted soul, as part of our research we visited his home and interacted with his delightful family. They were extremely helpful and welcoming. He lives with his family and a dog in a nice cozy house, (recently built). He started off as a weaver and after succesive promotions is now working in the quality and packaging process.

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71 “Purushothaman chetan’s House”

04 72

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Raw Materials Raw materials are materials or substances used in the primary production or manufacturing of goods. The basic materials used in Morazha are yarns which are brought in the hanks. It is a semi processed state and is used as an input to a production process for more modification and to transform it into a finished product.

Linen is a durable natural fiber derived from flax plants. As linen fibers are thicker than cotton fibers, a lower thread count is necessary to guarantee high quality. Linen is well known for its absorbency it can absorb up to 20% of its weight in moisture. They are approximately 30% more stronger than cotton.

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75 “Linen yarns, Morazha”

Dyes used in Morazha are chemical VAT dyes. They don’t use natural dyes due to them being expensive and has less colour fastness when compared to chemical dyes.

They are also less versatile in terms of colour range. Using natural dyes requires extra care of the product and because of colour not being permanent in nature, the customer satisfaction might deteriorate. chemical dyes on the other hand are cheaper, having a wide range of colour and are more commonly used. The chemicals- caustic soda and sodium hypo sulphate which used by Morazha can be very dangerous when it comes in contract with the skin. The right usage of gloves can avoid problems.

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Boiling & Scouring The grey cotton yarn is not directly suitable for dyeing or bleaching as it contains natural impurities such as fats, waxed, coloured matter etc. The first process is boiling where the impurities are removed through scouring. In the 100kg capacity boiler the yarns are boiled for 8 -12 hours continuously, the boiled yarns are then taken out of boiler, washed properly and dyed using dye and chemicals. It is done to remove the waste and dust in the yarns. It helps in improving the quality of product.

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80 “Scoured Yarns”

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Bleaching : After boiling, bleaching is done. The purpose is to remove the existing colour The two ways of bleaching are carried out either by using bleaching powder and hydrogen peroxide. In order to obtain white material and facilitate the production of pale and production brighten shades.

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Dyeing Dyeing Dyeing is the process of adding colour to textile products like fibers ,yarns and fabric. It is the interaction between a dye and a fiber. It is normally done in a special solution containing dyes and particular chemical materials. VAT DYES are mainly used here in Morazha, they are costly but are good quality dyes which stays for a longer period of time . The dyes are purchased from NHDC regional office.

83 “Dye Vat, Vellikeel”

Raw materials and tools for dyeing 1.yarns. (yarn from yarn society NHDC) 2.dyes (chemical dyes) 3. dyeing vessels.

4. hot water .

5. bath tub (for dyeing yarns) 84 “Dyes, Vellikeel”

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85 “Yarns in hotwater, Vellikeel”

Process of Dyeing Yarn are dyed in hank form, It is done with the help of dyes and chemicals ,it depends on the individual process of a textile engineer or a dyeing master. The dye is made into a thick paste ,chemicals are added to it which are caustic soda and sodium hypo sulphate , then the dye is dissolved in hot water and the hanks are dipped into the water tub which contains 300 to 400 liters of water where the dye is dissolved. After the dyeing, process to remove the excess dye, washing is required and then the yarn are unfurled , let dry before being used for weaving .

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87 “Dyed yarns , Vellikeel”

Winding

88 “Winding”

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Winding is the process of transferring yarn or thread, from one type of package to another to facilitate subsequent processing. Winding is one of the most important processes, which mainly occurs in the spinning section.

The collected yarns after the dyeing process is then wound into a bobbin, The threads are placed into handles in a required pattern and this process is called bobbin winding.

Tools For Spinning Bobbins, preferably of wood ; yarn for warp and weft Charkha,Wooden frame to wing the hanks on Once the yarns are dyed and sent to their respective weaving units they are wound around bobbins. This is done using a charkha with a pedal.

Yarns are converted from hanks into bobbins by rotating the charkha wheel. These are to be used as weft or filling yarns. If the bobbins are not made skilfully, they would cause hurdles while warping and also later in the process of weaving thus should be carefully done.

89 “bobbins”

Warping Warping is the first step for the process of fabric production, which converts the hank yarn into a linear form to give the length on the loom. Warp are set if the yarns are placed length wise in the loom forming the length wise threads of a woven textile.

Calculation: Total no of bobbins - 6 in columns and 9 in rows - total 54 bobbins.

Yarns - three plied dyed yarns From 54 bobbins set of six yarns are passed through reed frame through reed hook.

Set of six yarns are wrapped around the warping wheel.

Beaming It’s the winding of full width of the warp yarns in a single operation on the weaving beam which is to be placed on the loom.

Pirn Winding A pirn or quill is a weft bobbin that is placed inside a shuttle in shuttle weaving, where the yarns are transferred from hanks to smaller quills. After twisting next step is pirn winding.

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Weaving The warp and weft yarns interlaced and turned to bring it out as a woven textile i.e., the warp and weft intervoked at right angles. The longitudinal warp yarns are held stationary in tension on a frame or loom while the transverse weft is drawn through and inserted over and under the weft, to set the warp on the loom, the subsequent new warps are knotted with the old warp and passed through the heald eyes and the reed. Motifs design and weave patterns are designed by the weaving masters, as according to their customers. The weavers weave around maximum 4 meters per day.

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93 “Weaver”

Packaging

Process

Packaging ensures the protection of the products that are meant to be distributed in the market for the purpose of sale, storage, use etc. In Morazha the packaging is done in wrapping form. Once the weaving is done it is cut into required length ,folded and packed.

94 “The Inventor”

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Yarn Count It is a numerical expression which defines the fineness or coarseness of the yarn. Yarn count is important to produce specific quality of yarn for different types of fabrics for different purposes.

Yarn count of each product: Mat - .85 Tex Dhoti – 100 x 80 Saree – 80 x 80 Bed sheets – 2/34 viscose x 2/17.

Cotton plain weave – 2/17 x 2/17.

Towels – 3/20 viscose .

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Operation

Management ‘Management’ has been defined variously by different authorities. Every organization should have efficient management for maintenances of account, marketing, making decisions, coordination of activities, handling of the people and evaluation of performance. The executive management of the affairs must vest in a board of directors. The board of directors must consist of not more than 7 members of whom 5 must be weavers and 2 other members. It is an art of getting things done by satisfying the entire set of people involved in the process i.e. the employer, employees and the consumer.

Co-operative society is a form of business organisation with universally accepted principles of management. It is necessary to combine the principle of co-operation with the principles of management. In a co-operative society, not only profit but the participation of members both in business and management are preferable.

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The Marketing department The Morazha weavers society has no specific marketing department. The main activities of the society include marketing their products locally and internationally. The items are produced mainly based on orders given by agency and customers. The MORWICS have a relatively small market share in the local market because the major portion of production is exported. The society is not very interested to get involved in direct export thus use an agency to help the process. The products are mainly supplied to merchant exporters and is exported UK, Germany etc. In the early stages they also gave to All India Handloom Fabrics Society in New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata. Local items are also sold to HANTEX and others.

Pricing The pricing for the items produced is fixed on the basis of cost of production, due to rising competition in the market they are forced to maintain low prices for the product range. The channel of distribution i.e., the network through which product are made available to consumer The length of the channel depends on the number of intermediary steps included in it. For the international market the channel of distribution includes company, agent, customers. The local market channel include the company and customers.

Quality Control The system of maintaining standards in manufactured products by testing a sample of the output against the specification is what is known as quality control. It is one of the important process after post production to check whether a finished good contains anything that degrades the value of the product. Due to the lack of people in Morazha, people check the quality of the raw material and products while they work and as they get their raw material from and trust them 100% because they don’t compromise in the quality of the raw materials that they produce things become easier to run. The dyeing and weaving masters take up serious steps while testing any techniques or chemicals new/old so that they don’t lose the authenticity of their products. The weavers also take up most caution when they work on a product so that noting goes wrong and a good quality product can be obtained. The last bit of quality check-up is done while the produce is set up for packaging. It is done so that the finished goods are met with the specifications put down by the buyers.

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101 “Morazha store,Dharmasala,Kannur”

Advertisement

Advertisement in the MORWICS is very meagre, notices, magazines, brochures are the major promotion tools they use. The advertisements are limited to Kerala as they give preferences to local ads thus Malayalam is the language used for communication. The brochures are published during festival and other seasons.

Sale Promotions Sale promotions include all the other promotional activities like gifts, bonuses, rebates etc. Bonus is given as a certain percentage of production is distributed. Rebates provide a price reduction offer for the purchase, but not at the retail shop. During the rebate period they Morazha has higher number of customers while they offer a rebate of 20% As part of sale promotions Morazha also offers 6% of the total sale as commission.

Transportation 102 “Morazha Official Transport”

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For the transportation of the goods, and raw materials the society has its own vehicle.

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Wage and salary structure

The Morazha weavers follow piece rate system which means that a worker is paid based of their input or the unit produced. Here the time taken by an employee is not taken into consideration, rather it is calculated according to the skill, effort and result given by the employee. So in short, the staff gets their fixed salary and DA and the workers are paid according to their piece rate and DA.

Training After the selection of new employees at Morazha, they are given training for a period of 3 months to increase their knowledge and skill. The training period may also vary according to the type of job they are assigned. During this period, the employees are provided with stipend with the help of cluster development approach and Deen Dayal Hathkargha Protsahan Yojaana (DDHPY) to provide skill upgrade training.

Selection process of morazha weavers Brand name or branding is a marketing technique and the Morazha weavers society’s brand name is MORWICS fab (Morazha Weavers’ Industrial Cooperative society). The produced items are sold using this brand name.

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Advertisements are given in newspapers in the process to search for potential employees from outside the organization so that interested and skilled candidates can take part in the organization.

The next stage contains an interview which helps understand the knowledge, skill and ability of the candidate so as to check if he/she has the right potential to take up the job. The last stage holds the interview. A bunch of professional questions regarding the job is asked out and the person with the most suitable answers gets the job.

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Source of external finances

Welfare plans in Morazha weavers The policy of provident funds started 1975 both for workers and employers. Both the employers and employees contribute monthly to the fund, the contribution is 12% of basis and equivalent amount is deducted from their respective salaries and this is claimed after retirement at the age of 58. The inheret carried by the PF is 8.33% Employee state insurance was started in the society during 1987. The ESI scheme is funded by the employer and employee, the employees’ rate of contribution is 1.75% while the employers contribute 4.75%.

There is a sickness benefit while in case of any sickness they can use this benefit to reimburse the expense.

The women employees are also given a maternity benefit and will be given Rs 1000 on presenting a certificate.

If there is a person suffering from any disablement as a result of an employment injury, they are given periodic payment from the society.

There is a dependence benefit for an insured person who in case died as a result of an employment injury. The family is given compensation. Furthermore labour welfare fund and Handloom Labour Welfare Fund are one of the many welfare fund features of MORWICS. Bonus is rewarded on a one-time basis for high performance.

The rate of the bonus given is not fixed, it varies depending on the performances of the employee. It is paid as a share of profit gained by the society and is given mostly during festival seasons like Onam, Vishu, Ramzan etc.

The dearness allowance is given to the employees as well as the societies’ registered weavers. The company’s DA is calculated as 8.33% of the basic pay and it varies depending on the items produced.

Scholarship is also provided by the society for the weaver children who pass out with excellent marks and grades. A sum of Rs 300/- for the 12th graders, 500/- for PG students, 1000/- for medical/engineering students.

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Several financial institutions have been set up by the state and central government to provide long and medium term finances to industries. The main banks of Morazha are the district cooperative bank, Kannur and also the bank of Travancore. The society is also facilitated with cash credits by the district cooperative bank. The government also provides various grants to the society. There are deposit facilities also given which will be at the discretion of the board of directors, there are 5 types i.e., thrift deposits, fixed deposits, recurring deposits, home safe deposits and Insurance.

Functions of the Finance Department Financial management is the application of planning and controlling of financial resources of the enterprise. The financial manager monitors various aspects Few of the functions of a finance manager includes preparation of wage sheet, finalization of accounts, supplying all kinds of financial and accounting information to the president through secretary.

Timings

Office time 9:30 am Opening 8:10 am Tea time 10:00 am to 10:15 am Lunch 12:00pm to 1:00pm Tea time 3:00pm to 3:15pm Closing 5:15pm

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“Hotel Shaima”

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“Auto Stand”

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Demographics

Socio-economic study

Malayalam is the Local Language spoken in Morazha, Kerala. CPM, CPI(M), KEC(M), INC are the major political parties in this area. Morazha Arts & Science College, Taliparmba Arts & Science College, A. W. H Al Badar Special College, Information Technology Education Centre Co-operative College are the colleges situated near Morazha weavers.

Morazha high school, Morazha south ALP, GHSS Kalliassery – schools in Morazha. CPM , CPI(M) , KEC(M) , INC are the major political parties in this area.

Socio economic factors are lifestyle components and measurements of both financial and social standing. They directly influence social privilege and levels of financial independence. Factors such as health status, income, environment, education is studied here. As lifestyle measurements they are believed to be directly correlated to patterns of drug used, food choices, migra-

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tion, diseases prevalence. Due to lack of education they rather choose small works to survive and to provide their children better education. Morazha is a backward and rural area of Kannur district. Most of the people here are socially and economically below average. Except Handloom, weaving industries there is no other industry to create more employment for the people of this area. Youngsters don’t prefer entering into the weaving industry.

Training and Skill development program.

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Questionnaire

Age

Name: Age: Sex: Address: Marital status (yes/no): Family members: Education: Service years: Department: Mode of transportation: Salary (day/ week/ month): What is the asset that you own?

What are the other sources of income?

How have you learned weaving?

Are you happy with your daily wages?

Is there any association for workers?

Do you invest your savings in “chit funds” or any other funds?

Are you happy with the facilities provided by the society?

Are you aware of new technology?

What do you think, why people are not interested in handloom industry?

What kind of house do you live in?

Do you have health insurance?

What are the major health issues which you face while working?

Who bears your health expenses?

Do you have ration card? (APL/BPL)?

Ever thought of changing your job?

What do you think if you were doing some other work, what would have been your lifestyle?

Do you participate in weaver’s election?

How your family members react towards your work?

How do you divide your wages for the monthly income?

Table no. 1 shows that 44% of respondents are between the age group of 50-59. 28% of respondents are above 60, and only 8% of respondents are below 40.

Sex

The majority of respondents are female i.e. 64%. Only 36% of respondents are male.

Education

An analysis of table shows the 44% of the respondents’ qualification is below SSLC and 44% of respondents are qualified SSLC. But only 12% of respondents are graduate.

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Service Years

Are you aware of new advancements in the industry

The table shows that 40% of respondent have 15-25 years of service. The lesser percentage of respondents is 8% who has 5-15 years of service. 12% of respondents have work experience less than 5 years.

The analysis show that 72% respondents don’t know about the new technology and advancements. Only 28% of respondents do.

What do you think, why people are not interested in handloom industry?

Knowledge of weaving

The table shows that 40% of respondents are trained from the Morazha Society. 24% of respondent are trained from their family. 28% are self-trained and 8% of respondents are trained from other society.

Are you happy with your wages/salary?

Do you have a ration card? APL/BPL?

The above table shows 48% of respondents are satisfied with wages they get. The majority respondents which is 52% have a neutral opinion.

And there are 0% dissatisfied respondent.

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The above table shows the 52% of respondents says that because of less wages people are not interested in handloom. 20% say work issue in industry that lead to disinterest of people. 20% on respondents had no opinion.

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The above table shows that 56% respondents have APL card, which is the majority. 44% of respondents have BPL card.

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Conclusion

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Swot Analysis STRENGTH

WEAKNESSES

Equity among members: Any order procured by the association is equally divided among all members. This is to ensure that they share the workload equally amongst themselves. The equal division of work also ensure equal earning for all members.

Lack of Education: The artisans under MORWICS lack education. On an average, they have studied p to secondary level.

Language Barrier: The artisans are fluent in Malayalam, however, this is not often enough. In today’s globalized world, it becomes difficult for them to interact with the English speaking market.

Committed workforce: The artisans make for a committed workforce which devotes up to 8-9 hours of hard work daily to ensure smooth functioning of the cluster.

Irregular Income: Orders flow in smoothly for about 6 months in a year. This accounts for irregular income for the artisans.

Skills: Most of the artisans working under the MORWICS are master craftsmen with an experience of 15-20 years on an average.

Lack of good working condition: Almost of the places occupied by the artisans are found in an unhygienic condition where cobwebs are seen hanging giving rise to health problems.

Quality of Products: The artisans maintain their standards in terms of yarns and dyes used. Quality control is a very important step in the process of production.

100% Handmade: The yarns are manually dyed, spun on charka by hand and woven on a handoperated loom. Hence there is no use of power-operated machinery.

Belonging to the organized sector: The MORWICS is registered with the government and hence comes under the Organized of Formal Sector. This enables them to get loans or other help provided by the government.

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THREATS Younger generation may not continue the craft: The younger generation is being educated well today and might want to look for better job opportunities in the city.

Craft is in the hands of ageing population: As the craft is in the hands of an ageing population, it is at risk. If only the younger generation takes responsibility and steps in, the crafts could survive in the future.

OPPORTUNITIES Better design opportunities: Collaborating with designers can give the artisans an opportunity to weave better designs. The clients today look for new designs. Hence newness in terms of design is the need of the hour. This can be achieved if artisans work closely with designers.

Diversifying products can yield more sales

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Power loom product: Power loom products are faster to produce and available more widely in the market. They can pose as a threat.

Recognition in the market: If the uniqueness of the craft is not maintained, and a rapport is not built with the designers, the craft will soon be replaced by better and faster supplies of the craft product.

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Pest Analysis Political factors The workers of the society are affiliated to trade unions have a voice in the internal and external matter of handloom industry. Sometimes workers are taken to other locations if required for events like to lead a procession of the corresponding political party, which results in work loss. This often results in delay in fulfillment of orders and the buyers especially international often cancel the orders.

Economic factors Before the introduction of the new economic policy both central and state government supplemented adequate measures for the upliftment of handloom industry. Help was provided for institutions, raw materials, sale of cloth and for encouraging export. Due to the discontinuation of all these policies and support factors, the industry was open to harsh competition, which adversely affected the very existence of the handloom industry.

Social factors Low wage and uncertainty do not attract youth towards weaving. This work requires skill. The working and living atmosphere of handloom workers are very poor. The majority of the people, who are actually the members of handloom welfare board, are not actually engaged in weaving but enjoy all the benefits allotted to the workers.

Inadequate availability of workers has resulted in the closure of over 13 establishments in the private sector and seven establishments in the co-operative sector. Some of the societies’ functioning only exist for name sake with no production activities carried out.

Technological factors Kannur handlooms are produced by using Malabar frame looms, which require more human efforts and skill. This raises the cost of production, quality of the product and its finishing. Considering the changing needs and design aesthetics of people, the demand can be raised by producing diversified products which also requires a change in technology.

“Weighing scale”

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Few of our conclusions after our visit are: Majority of the workers in the Morazha weavers society are females, from in and around morazha. The wages they recieve for such skilled labour is relatively very cheap, but the workers seem to have no choice. The number of workers in the organisation is slowly dipping because of the less wages. The welfare plans at the MORWICS is quite generous making it one of the above average handloom weavers societies in Kannur. Due to this there is a larger group of workers despite the other conditions. The working conditions of the workers are a bit poor with unkempt washrooms, also the lighting is extremely low making the working area very dingy and is indirectly affecting the productivity of the workers. There are a number of abandoned looms covered in dust and cobwebs, apart from this the inventory and the lunch area are also low lit and dusty. There are huge piles of different coloured piles of yarns, carton boxes and other materials lying in almost every corner of the society.

The society constantly attempts to produce high quality products. The price of the handloom products are way higher due to the skill set required to carry out the process. The quality of the products are extremely good but lack a degree of aesthetic value, The fall in the export orders is forcing them to concentrate on domestic products, the turnover is the highest during the festive season. The marketing and advertisement in the domestic market is also very meagre.

The rise in competition with the powerloom fabrics is making things more difficult for them.

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125 “The Window”

Suggestions and Recommendations The society should improve their working environment, and cleaning of the area should be done more frequently The toilets should be cleaned regularly to avoid health issues.

The materials can be segregated and stacked neatly rather than piling it up.

The lighting of the area can be improved by allowing more natural light into the spaces.

Measures should be taken for proper inventory management The marketing and advertisements should be improved A designer is required to design and analyse trends according to the changing market.

Diversified product range should be introduced in the market to increase the sale value.

The wage rate of the workers should increase in order to higher the number of workers One of the reasons of low profitability is high cost of production, measures can be taken to decrease the cost of production can be implemented A strong management team is essential for every organisation, the society lacks a management specialist to manage, organize and innovate.

The company should enhance teamwork and cooperation.

The government involvement in the handloom industry should improve in order to improve the current situation Measures should be taken to reduce absenteeism

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127 “Stored Yarns”

Journey The morazha weavers being a nearby cluster of NIFT Kannur took around 10 minutes by our red Nano. The journey to the Morazha cluster began on 19th July 2019 with a heavy rain and we drove to the main unit to meet the secretary and inform about the future inconveniences that will be caused by us during the next few days as we had to complete our CRD project. Fortunately, the secretary was a really calm and helpful man named Mr.Balakrishnan K M without whose support this wouldn’t have been possible. Everyone in the office and at every single cluster were very helpful and informative and they helped us in every possible way. We also got invited to homes of a few artisans!

We even got the chance to meet the retired workers at their homes as most of the people working there were either family members or of the same community. The people were so hospitable, we were also fed well.

Throughout the 8 day journey we witnessed all the processes from yarn to the finished produce including scouring, bleaching, dyeing etc. i.e. all the processes done from the dyeing unit which is in vellikeel to drying, winding, weaving in all the units. The people at the kadambery unit also showed us how the warp beam was made and also let us be a part in helping them on how it is done. From the snacks offered to us from their homes to the payasam given from the kadambery unit, each and every person in the morazha made us feel welcomed as ever and even let us help them with their work even though we were meddling. The 8 day visit to the cluster ended on 27th July 2019 but since we liked the people and place we kept going back for information that were missing and still we were welcomed like it was day 1.

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Morazha Weavers’ Industrial Cooperative Societies is one of the renowned weaver societies in Kannur. It is a major employment provider engaging over 200 odd workers. Our Visit to the cluster was a definite eye opener. We understood and looked into factors and ideas on a closer level, from appreciating the timeless handcrafted process to knowing them and their habits.

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“With The Hero’s of Morazha”

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Bibliography www.weavers.com www.morwics.com www.handloomindia.com https://www.keralatourism.org/districts/kannur/ http://nostalgicmans.blogspot.com/2009/01/about-kannur.html http://abcdefg-about-kammur.blogspot.com/2009/06/morazha-incident.html https://www.cpimkerala.org/eng/struggles-72.php?n=1 https://indiamapia.com/Kannur/Morazha.html http://ras.org.in/aspects_of_the_peasant_movement_in_malabar_an_interview_with_e_k_nayanar https://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/84548/11/11.chapter%204.pdf https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/kerala/handloom-sector-in-limbo/article7618069.ece

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The Team

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Fousiya Fathima

Content Writing Spatial Maps Editing

Lakshmi M Prasad

Layout Photography Content Writing & Editing

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Navya Sreeranj

Translation Content Writing Artisans Interview

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Arjun Suresh

Layout Illustrations Artisans Interviews

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Revathi Satheesan

Photography Content Writing Data Analysis

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Priya Appukuttan

Content Writing Brochure Data Analysis

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