By Our Staff
Obeetee, luxury carpet maker, has launched The Didi campaign to honour women weavers’ leadership and camaraderie as expansion of women-weavers initiative. The company has continually takes leads for the upliftment and betterment of weaverfolk and their families. The Didi (Elder weaver women) Campaign is an initiative to tell the world the story of weaver women and their heart-warming bond, while simultaneously giving them a voice.
The Fourth All India Handloom Census, 2019–20, indicates that women comprise of about 72% of the nation’s handloom weavers. Today, over 38 million women weave in India. Since they were little girls, women weavers have handled the majority of pre-weaving tasks like setting up the yarn and looms, dyeing and/or tying and dying yarn and fabric, and hand-embroidering clothing since they are from traditional families of handloom weavers in India.
Women in handloom communities end up contributing to the allied labour even if they are not weavers because it involves the entire family. The primary weaver on a handloom needs three auxiliary workers, all of whom generally come from the same family and are women. Thus, each knot tied, and each thread woven is much more than just a craftwork, but also a depiction of solidarity between the women weavers as a collective union. Additionally, each carpet woven by a woman weaver goes to every home as a symbol of affection, respect, and care with likes of Obeetee.