Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Sept 1: To promote and revive Kashmir’s hand weaving culture, a Craft Centre for excellence in Pashmina weaving has come up in downtown Srinagar with an aim to boost traditional hand techniques.
As per the owner Mujtaba Qadri, this inspiring initiative will bring much needed sustainable employment opportunities for spinners and weavers including women while also ensuring them decent working conditions and fair wages.
“The Centre for Excellence in weaving prides itself on using only traditional hand techniques to produce the finest pashmina in the world – which Kashmir is famous for. The yarn is spun by hand, using a charkha (spinning wheel) rather than a machine spun yarn. This makes the threads much finer, resulting in a softer and smoother pashmina,” he said, adding that the exclusive focus on hand techniques means that wages offered to the crafts people are almost double the market rate.
Ladakh Pashmina has also been introduced at this Centre. “This initiative to improve the quality of raw pashm coming into Kashmir by certifying at Craft Development Institute Srinagar. The raw Pashm is packed in 1 kg bags, making it authentic & affordable for small-scale weavers,” he said.
The weavers from the Centre will initially be creating unique pieces for Aadhyam, a label owned by the Aditya Birla Group.
Director Handicrafts, Mehmood Ahmed Shah and Maxmillano Modesti, a well- known craft preservationist were present during the inauguration today.
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