Art to aid Chendamangalam weavers

As the grandmother put the thread into the weave, her married daughter worked on the loom while the granddaughter played hopscotch in the backyard, showing little interest in what was going on inside the house. This was the scene that entrepreneur Minnie Menon witnessed in the tiny flood-ravaged hamlet of Chendamangalam in Kerala’s Ernakulam district, during a visit in October. Though rehabilitation processes were underway, the weaving community of the hamlet, which consists of 42 women, has a bleak future ahead.

The visit was by a motley group — comprising Preetha Reddy, vice chairman, Apollo Hospitals; Minnie Menon; Thejomaye Menon, head of the Deparment of Arts at SIET College; Meera Mammen, vice president of welfare, MRF; and Shekar Sitaraman, businessman and hotelier. It was their first step towards reviving the livelihood of women weavers in Chendamangalam. The visit gave their project, later titled Care 4 Chendamangalam, a focal point: to uplift existing skills and ensure a better future in the weaving industry by fostering partnerships between designers and weavers, thereby encouraging the younger generation to stick to the loom.

To mobilise funds towards the same, an invite-only art exhibition and auction will be organised at Taj Connemara by the steering community. Works of leading artists like Achuthan Kudallur, AV Ilango, Lakshmi Srinath, Akkitham Narayanan, Jacob Jebaraj, among many others, will be on display and also available for sale.

“Owing to its universality, art as a subject has always done well as a fundraiser. Everyone connects well with art and we have a wide range of works, in different styles and genres,” adds Minnie. While 12 pieces of art will be put up for auction, the rest will be sold at a fixed price. They will also be exhibitions over the weekend for the public who wish to contribute to the cause.

“When we were growing up, Chendamangalam handloom was an oft-used term. They are known for their fine weave. But the rains in August wreaked havoc in that area and they lost a large number of looms,” says artist Achuthan, whose figurative abstract work will also be on display.

“According to ground reports by a team that handled rehabilitation in Chendamangalam, about 273 looms were damaged causing losses worth ₹2.48 crores. They were citing Government of Kerala figures,” continues Minnie.

She adds that increasingly, the younger members of this weaving community are opting for other, more financially rewarding career options. “The steering committee is committed to preserving the heritage. If we make the craft appear more interesting to the younger generation, by uplifting their current situation, they would stay on. The idea is to induct them into training programmes initially to enhance their existing skills,” she says, “The other long term plan is to get designers who would come and give them assignments.”