Dimasa men and women thread a brighter future in Dhansiripar

DIMAPUR — The Dimaju Weaving Cooperative Society in Dhansiripar village is working to revitalise the tradition of weaving within the Dimasa community and provide economic opportunities for its members.

Established in 1994, the cooperative, initially comprised of Dimasa women, now has 300 members, including six men.

Chairperson and founding member Reena Rajiyung told Eastern Mirror that the cooperative’s primary focus is producing traditional Dimasa attire using cotton, eri silk, and acrylic yarns. They also fulfill orders for traditional garments from other tribes.

She said the cooperative once cultivated and hand spun its own cotton, but now, the decline of local cotton cultivation has necessitated purchasing from external suppliers. They also get yarn from the Weavers Service Centre (WSC), Dimapur sometimes. Eri silk is primarily obtained from the sericulture department, but as the quantity is low, purchases are made from neighbouring states.

The cooperative’s market reach extends beyond Nagaland as they also receive orders from other major cities in the country, she said.

Govt. assistance after 25 years

After approaching the Ministry of Textiles in 2017-18, a significant boost came in 2019, about 25 years after its establishment, with the implementation of the Samarth scheme for capacity building in textile sector under the ministry. Through this initiative, 120 cooperative members received training in advanced fly shuttle frame loom techniques under the WSC, Dimapur, and the state department of Industries and Commerce.

Rajiyung shared that this training helped modernise their weaving practices with Jacquard techniques on 100% cotton and pure Eri silk yarn procured through National Handloom Development Corporation Ltd. (NHDCL) and also introduced them to product diversification for the first time.

Subsequently, 117 weavers received new looms, and 13 worksheds were constructed with support from the national handloom development programme and the WSC. Currently, over 150 active handlooms operate in the village and market their products through the cooperative society.

Unable to meet the demands

Recalling the early days of the cooperative, she said that weavers would gather their finished products and travel to exhibitions once or twice a year to sell them and buy yarn with the earnings.

She went on to say that weaving is a deeply ingrained tradition in the Dimasa community, with women learning the craft from a young age. Prior to the Samarth scheme, the weavers primarily used loinlooms, which is a significantly slower weaving method.

After the scheme was implemented, they were provided not only with the fly shuttle frame looms but also other facilities such as solar lights and worksheds, which has enabled an increase in home-based weavers. Revenue generation has also improved because the new machines enable larger production volumes and higher-quality designs, allowing weavers to produce two to three gamchas (traditional scarves) per day, compared to one every three or four days with loinlooms, she said.

Currently, 80% of the cooperative’s weavers use fly shuttle frame looms, while 20% continue to practice loinloom weaving. The quality and market price of the products remain the same, regardless of the weaving method used, she said.

Despite this progress, the cooperative faces challenges meeting the growing demand for its products, as the high cost of yarn in the market is a major constraint. Rajiyung explained that the weavers receive excessive demands from both within and outside the state, and fulfilling them all is difficult.

Including men weavers

In a break from tradition, the chairperson informed that the cooperative has welcomed men as weavers. Many women have limited time for weaving as they also have household responsibilities, so from last year, we began giving yarn to men, and they are actively contributing to the weaving society and earning good money, she said.

There are currently six men—a mix of youths and married men—registered under the cooperative society, most of whom are home-based weavers for now.

Rajiyung explained that in the past, superstitions discouraged men from weaving, though some practiced the craft secretly at home. After discussions with the women weavers, she said that the cooperative decided to formally include men, aiming to establish weaving as the main occupation within the community. She asserted that the cooperative has an open-door policy, welcoming any man or woman interested in earning a livelihood through weaving.

She asserted that the weaving society does not have any criteria, and so any men or women who want to earn a livelihood through weaving are welcome to register with their society.

Targets to achieve

Rajiyung noted the slow growth of the weaving sector over the years and said she hopes to collaborate with neighbouring villages to promote its development. Her vision includes establishing a local production centre equipped with modern machinery, potentially funded through government schemes. She also aims to create a combined training and production centre to address current limitations in training capacity.

The chairperson said that she has apprised the state government of these aspirations and how to upgrade the handloom sector in the state.

Highlighting a challenge that the cooperative is facing, she said that underscored the need for a yarn depot in the area as market-sourced yarns are too expensive. She said that sourcing directly from manufacturers would help the weavers as the rates would be lower.

Rajiyung confirmed that the cooperative has approached the government regarding this issue, and central government officials are scheduled to visit the society in December for further discussions.

It may be mentioned that Rajiyung received an award for outstanding contribution at the National Handloom Award 2024, presented by the Ministry of Textiles. Dhansiripar has also been shortlisted for a proposed 100% saturation cluster model in the state by the NHDCL.