the MAIWA JOURNAL

Wednesday, April 02, 2014 No comments

In our previous post we talked about our February visit to the weavers of the Artisan's Alliance of Jawaja (AAJ). Shortly after that we received a visit from the leatherworkers who got on a bus and came to visit us at our studio in India. The problem they outlined is this.

The Jawaja cooperative works in a village near Bearwar, Rajasthan. The preparation of hides and the tanning process is done inside the village.

Stitching the hides in preparation for the tanning process.

De-haired hides are tanned, Jawaja 2002.

This process can be a smelly one. As the surrounding settlements have moved closer to Jawaja's village, landowners who hope to develop and sell properties have complained about the smell. The government has responded by sending notice to the artisans telling them to either stop the process or to relocate it to industrial land.

Members of AAJ have pooled their resources and purchased five acres of land next to their "go-down" (warehouse). This is the warehouse that houses our visits each time we meet the artisans.

Artisans Alliance of Jawaja meeting Maiwa inside their "go down", 2011.

With the land purchased, the co-operative has no funds left to build the necessary facilities. The group visited Maiwa and made an appeal for help. They need to construct cement tanks and drill a bore-well. The group hopes that by completing the work quickly they will not need to stop production.

The Maiwa Foundation will be sending out a direct appeal for this project. If you would like to help, please visit our donation page here: http://www.maiwa.com/home/books/foundation/index.html

The construction of new tanks comes at a good time. Students in the Applied Science 263 course at the University of British Columbia, have looked at alternative de-hair processes for the artisans. We will provide more information about that collaboration and an update on some of the projects APSC 263 has been involved with in a future post.

More information about the Maiwa Foundation can be found on our site.

Saturday, March 29, 2014 No comments

In early February of 2014, Maiwa visited the Artisan's Alliance of Jawaja. There are both leatherworkers and weavers in AAJ and we spent time with both. The highlight of the trip was the arrival of Salt Spring Island weaver Jane Stafford who, at her own expense, shipped a table loom to India to donate to the weavers.

Unpacking the loom.

Jane sets up the loom and explains to Okar Lal Meghwal how it differs from his regular carpet loom.
Mahesh Dosaya (in the white sweater) acts as interpreter.

Working on the small table loom.

There were many aspects to Jane's donation. Okar Lal Meghwal usually works on a very large carpet loom that looks like this:

Okar Lal Meghwal working on his carpet loom in his house.

To prepare a warp for the carpet loom is a considerable investment in time, yarns, and effort. In contrast the table loom can be set up in a fraction of the time. The weavers can experiment with weave structures and pattern techniques on the small loom and then transfer their knowledge to their carpet looms.

The artisans of Jawaja are production weavers. It is very difficult for them to take an entire loom out of production to try a new technique. As with any artisan, the loss of a loom means the loss of a livelihood. With the small table loom they can keep their production going.

The table loom had another unexpected advantage. If they are showing their weavings at trade shows, the Jawaja weavers can now set up the small table loom and demonstrate how they work at the show. This has resulted in greater understanding of hand-weaving for the public and better sales for the weavers. Jane is very familiar with the public's reaction to learning how hand-weaving is done: "You show people what goes into making a piece of cloth and they are staggered. We are so disconnected - even in India - from the knowledge of how things are made."

What was it like bringing a loom all that way and unpacking it in the centre of the village? Jane relates: "It was like the birth of a child! The entire village showed up and were intensely curious. It was a huge event - I was not really prepared for the scale of it. They were very very grateful. I think it meant as much to me as it did to them."

Our visit made such a stir that the local paper sent a report and wrote a story about it. You can make out Jane Stafford and her loom in the photo below. The other picture shows Maiwa staff Sophena Kwon sharing a shawl with one of the women from the AAJ co-operative. A feature in the local paper does much to raise the status of the Artisan's Alliance of Jawaja within their own community.

click for enlargement

We carry the Jawaja carpets and a selection is available online here.

Jane Stafford's donation took place as Maiwa brought a group to meet the members of AAJ. The donation has inspired one of the people on that visit, Shanna Fromson, to make a similar donation.