Karbi women supporting livelihoods through weaving

Our Correspondent

Diphu, Dec. 12 (EMN): The women of Lumhampur Rongphar village, under Chinthong constituency, West Karbi Anglong district, are going against the grain by weaving and selling bamboo mats to support their families.

Speaking to Eastern Mirror, one woman, who did not wish to be named, said, ‘we live our lives and support our families by weaving bamboo mats and selling them in the market. We usually take three days for making bamboo strips and making them dry; and another three for weaving the mats, thus we work collectively.  We sell our products at a very low cost of INR 75 per mat which is a wholesale rate; the businessman will come to our doorsteps and collect our finished products once every week, which is the routine’.

The women support their families, and pay for their children’s education fees by selling the woven bamboo mats.

Lumhampur Rongphar village is located near Karbi Langpi Hydroelectric Project Dam Amtereng, 138 km from Diphu. 

The finished products are generally exported outside the district of Karbi Anglong. Besides, they also cultivate pumpkins, brooms, black sesame, and broom plantation.

At the same time, Avijit Kro, Member of Autonomous Council (MAC), Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council (KAAC) and local MAC of Chinthong constituency said, ‘I have made a proposal to the government to set up one art and crafts centre at Amser village where a villager can sell their products and even they can work in the centre. This is a really big project; once the project is completed the skilled persons, as well as the local people, will benefit from it’.