This is the official page of Kutch Weaver's Association (KWA), a community based organisation of weavers of Kutch, aimed at promoting the rich weaving traditions of Kutch Like the night sky, mirrors glitter on midnight blue, yellow and red bandhini tease the sobriety of bottle green wool, pure white woven lines creep up a rust red terrain as mirrors sparkle and woven drums sound. In Bhujodi, one a
mong the 200 weaving villages in Kutch, the life of a whole village revolves around creating these beautiful masterpieces as different communities work together in different stages of its production. To see the artisans at work is to understand that for them this isn’t simply a livelihood, but life itself. Located in the westernmost part of India, Kutch conjures up images of dry arid landscape, thorny shrub vegetation and a relentless sun over an endless salt desert. It, however, is also home a rich tradition of crafts. Bandhini dyeing, block printing and mirror work embroidery are some of the most popular crafts of the area. A visit to Kutch during winter would reveal to you one of the area’s most beautiful treasures, the Kutchi Shawl. Characterized by its bright colors, intricate weaving patterns and beautiful embroidery, the Kuchi shawl has a history that goes back 500 years. Weaving in Kutch is performed by the Meghwal community, who migrated from Rajasthan. From the coarse woolen shawls or dabda and short width cloth that were traditionally woven, the Kutchi shawl has gone through a remarkable journey of evolution to arrive at its present avatar. Today these shawls are made from a variety of fine fabrics including merino wool, cotton and silk. Kutchi shawls are hand woven in an elaborate, labour intensive process. The woven motifs which characterize these shawls are created by a unique technique of hand lifting the warp threads during the weaving process. Today the competition from cheaper mill made cloth have caused the weavers to lose their local market and forced them to look for external clients and shift their practices to fit the demand of larger markets. Fake replicas of the Kutchi shawl made in factories in other parts of the country pose further threat to the livelihood of the weavers. The Kutch Weavers Association was formed in Bhujodi to address these growing concerns and protect the interest of the weavers. In 2012 the Kutchi shawl was granted a geographical identification (GI) tag by the government of India. GI is a community patent recognized by the WTO that assures artisans, weavers and craftsmen intellectual property rights over their products. The GI now provides the weavers a path towards the preservation of their traditional knowledge and protection from unauthentic production.
