National Handloom Day: Kovalam Handloom village to feature in Ministry of Textiles' event

The Kovalam Handloom village of Kerala will be featured at the National Handloom Day function organised by the Ministry of Textiles on August 7, Saturday. The event, which will be held through video conferencing will also include handloom weavers from all over India. The Ministry of Textiles will observe the 7th Handloom Day to honour the contribution of the weaving community to the socio-economic development of the country.

According to the Ministry of Textiles' official statement, participants during the event will hail from Craft Village at Kanihama, Jammu and Kashmir, Kovalam, Kerala and Mohpara in Golaghat, Assam. It will be hosted from Design Resource Centre at Kancheepuram, Tamil Nadu. As per reports, the event will have the Minister of Textiles, Piyush Goyal as the Chief Guest. "The event will be presided over by Union Minister of Textiles, Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs& Food and Public Distribution Shri PiyushGoyal and Minister of State for Textiles and Railways Smt. DarshanaJ ardosh will be the Guest of Honour. Secretary Textiles, Shri U. P. Singh will also participate in the event," the press release added.

Functions celebrating NHD have earlier been held at Varanasi, Guwahati, Jaipur and Bhubaneshwar. However, this year the event has been limited to only a handful of participants "considering the pandemic," the press release stated. K.S Pradeep Kumar, Director of Handloom, Government of Kerala will also be present to grace the event.

National Handloom Day events 

The Ministry of Textile has organised a set of events after the inauguration ceremony. Take a look at the list:

1. Inauguration of Design Resource Centre (DRCs) at Kancheepuram

• Showcasing of Handloom Villages being developed by Development Commissioner (Handlooms) at:
• Kovalam (Dist. Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala)
• Mohpara (Dist. Golaghat, Assam)
• Kanihama (Dist. Budgam, J&K)

2. Virtual Buyer Seller Meet by National Handloom Development Corporation (NHDC)

Inauguration of the building of Weavers’ Service Centers (WSCs) at Raigarh Design Resource Centres (DRCs) are being established by NIFT in all WSCs in a phased manner, wherein vast inventory of designs and resources will be available for use by exporters, Manufacturers, Designers, Weavers and other stakeholders.

Handloom: a symbol of country's rich cultural heritage

Handloom is a significant sector that provides livelihood to the rural and semi-rural parts of the country. It is also a sector that directly addresses women empowerment, the Textile Ministry informed. In the 75th year of Independence, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has urged all the citizens to indulge in purchasing handloom products and aim towards more sustainable development of the country.

The first National Handloom Day was observed on August 7, 2015, by PM Modi in Chennai. Since then, the movement has encouraged numerous traditional handloom workers and artisans to showcase their talents in the yearly event. "The Government of India endeavours to ensure sustainable development of the handloom sector thereby empowering our handloom weavers and workers financially and instilling pride in their exquisite craftsmanship," an official statement mentioned.

The Kovalam Handloom Village

The Kovalam Handloom village is located in Vellore about 2km from Kolavam beach on the National Highway. The tech-advanced village, spread over 8.6 acres is a hub for prodigal villagers. The residents of Kolavam own handloom pavilion, looms, equipment, ancillary, establishments, winding, warping, scouring, sizing equipment, computer-aided design system,  packing and punching card machines and natural dyes laboratory, ANI reported. Visitors and buyers to the village are graced with a warm welcome including facilities like transportation and accommodation.

(With inputs from ANI) (Image: Unsplash/  representative)