Inspired by the Peoli: Textiles that Emerge between the River and the Forest
By
Vasanthi Veluri
Migration has outpaced population growth in many of the districts of Uttarkhand. In the last ten years, in the district of Almora alone, over 53,000 people have migrated on a semi-permanent basis citing lack of agricultural land as one of the major reasons. The absence of alternative means of livelihood has forced people to relocate to urban cities or remain unemployed. This is causing a rapid depletion of skills in the region, which was traditionally known to rank high on social indices. In the local markets, inexpensive machine-made goods, popular due to their cost and aspirational value have replaced the indigenously produced items, which would otherwise have sustained the local economy. Aiming to revisit indigenous craft traditions and propose an alternative way of producing garments with a lighter carbon footprint through our standardized hand processes and address a growing need in the market for eco-safe garments as well as to support the local community, we launched our initiative - Peoli.
Most of the women working with Peoil have come to Almora either after marriage or when their families have left their villages in search of better education and other opportunities. This however does not stop at Almora; there is subsequent migration towards the plains with increasing difficulties in access to basic necessities like healthcare and education in the hills.
Asha Bisht, 47, is one of our artisans who has been working with us since 2014. She is the sole breadwinner of her family since her husband left her a few years ago, leaving behind the responsibility of bringing up her children on her shoulders. Not only this but she single-handedly also brought up one of her relatives’ child who later moved to Delhi when he got a good job. He even requested Asha to come live with them there, but now she was no more dependent on anyone for money and was very happy staying on, doing what she loves – knit!
Asha Bisht, 47, is one of our artisans who has been working with us since 2014. She is the sole breadwinner of her family since her husband left her a few years ago, leaving behind the responsibility of bringing up her children on her shoulders. Not only this but she single-handedly also brought up one of her relatives’ child who later moved to Delhi when he got a good job. He even requested Asha to come live with them there, but now she was no more dependent on anyone for money and was very happy staying on, doing what she loves – knit!
Peoli – Spring Bloom and the Birth of Our Design Studio
Peoli (Reinwardtia indica) is a wild shrub with yellow flowers, which bloom during the spring all along the hills of Uttarakhand. The bright yellow is symbolic of hope and warmth when it appears after the long harsh winter; hence the Peoli flower holds a valuable place in local folklore. Uttarakhand – a mountain state is blessed with a bounty of natural resources – fresh air, dense oak forests, and crystal clear water streams. Unfortunately, this natural abundance is being affected by extreme weather conditions caused by climate change, depletion of the water table,unplanned development activities, and poor access to necessities of life like healthcare and education.
Borrowing our name and philosophy from nature and the local wildflower Peoli, my fellow-batchmate and design graduate from the National Institute of Design, Abhinav Dhoundiyal, and I, Vasanthi Veluri set up our brand in 2015. Our design studio is based in Almora located at the southern edge of the Kumaon Hills of the Himalayan range where we work with the women artisans to develop a range of handmade woollen and cotton products. Almora is a relatively large settlement in Kumaon – more urbanized in comparison to its counterparts in the surrounding regions. The local population mainly comprises of people who have migrated over time from the surrounding towns in search of better work and living opportunities. The popular occupations in Almora are working in the shops at the local bazaars, or jobs at the government offices, banks, or those based on more seasonal demand such as in restaurants and guesthouses. There are relatively fewer avenues for women, who are found to be less “formally” qualified and socially challenged to be employed in comparison to men. Most of the women-folk tend to therefore stay at home and run their households while some are also part of smaller self-help groups knitting sweaters for the local populace.
Empowering the Local Artisans
Primarily working on a decentralised model, we engage about sixty women artisans who are looking for opportunities to support their families economically by a means that lets them work from their homes. This framework guides our entire design process at the studio, where it is our constant effort to develop products that are easy to interpret and the process by the makers, and in return let them earn a sustainable livelihood, infusing a sense of pride and confidence in the humble craft they produce. The alternative livelihood opportunities that we can provide using the local skill vocabulary also respond to the macro issue of population migration due to which the hill villages in many areas of Uttarakhand are deserted. The women artisans who form the backbone of our organization – experts at spinning, dyeing, knitting, embroidery. As an atelier, we attempt to propagate aesthetics in the local craft vocabulary by allowing the craftsmen to experiment and explore their skills with pure and natural materials, bringing them a dimension closer to the actual craft tradition of the area that has probably gone extinct due to the invasive synthetic material culture.
Sustenance with Sustainability
A strong belief in celebrating indigenous textile traditions forms the basis of our work approach. Simple, functional, and aesthetic products have been derived from the local craft vocabulary using natural materials and dyes, for consumers who are sensitive about the resources used in the making of the item they purchase. Handcrafted from their origin, these products are a celebration of the essence of ‘the Handmade’, of the agile fingertips measuring each length of yarn, of the lyrical narratives of the counted woven picks and knitted stitches, and the sensory experience of the granular earthy materials. Carded wool, cotton, silk, nettle, and hemp are spun into soft supple yarn using a hand-held spindle or a Bageshwari Charkha, a foot-operated spinning wheel of indigenous make, and further hand-woven, knitted, and stitched into contemporary garments. Each of these products is dyed using natural colors, dyes, or colorants derived from natural sources. While helping keep our carbon footprint low, natural substances are soothing materials for the makers as well as the users in their respective contexts. Natural dyes produce living color – a unique hue each time, color as it matures and ages, pays a tribute to the Sun, Water, Soil, and Wind, and celebrates the story of the source from which it has been cultivated.
Through our work, we propose a locally fuelled model of sustainable development. Indigenous raw materials like Harsil wool, Tibetan wool, nettle, hemp, and dyestuffs sourced from local farming communities are used to craft winter and summer apparel. Ahimsa or Eri silk which is a variety of silk obtained without harming the silkworms, indigenous old world cotton—more resilient and less water consuming a variety of cotton grown without any synthetic fertilizers in arid climatic conditions and Merino wool imported from New Zealand are combined with the indigenous fibers to enhance their comfort and aesthetic appeal. A similar synthesis is applied in crafting the products where local craft skills like handloom weaving and knitting are ingeniously merged with hand embroidery, beadwork, shibori, etc.
The synergy of various activities at our organization is a conscious effort towards the conservation of natural resources and leaving a light carbon footprint in the process. Harvested rainwater heated with solar energy is used for natural dyeing. Hand-done processes like hand stitching, hand spinning, etc. are used wherever possible to utilize unlimited human energy and reduce our dependence upon machines and non-renewable sources of energy. Earth-friendly chemicals and materials are used for the processing of textile materials.
Using locally available raw materials like the seed coverings of a local plant called Mallotus Philippensis, also known as Kamala (left) dried petals of Rhododendron flowers (right) for extracting colour, Image Credit: Vasanthi Veluri
As a resource centre, we have been able to maintain a wide vocabulary of natural materials such as locally sourced dyestuffs – walnut hulls, rhododendron flowers, the seed covering of Mallotus philippensis, indigenous fibres such as Himalayan nettle and hemp and Harsil wool, colours and natural dyeing recipes, various woven and knitted patterns, which are rich references for designing products and help us in creating an aesthetic fusion of craft traditions and contemporary fashion.
The Journey Ahead
In the six years of our operation, we have been successful at providing an international platform to this humble but meticulous craft from Uttarakhand; our journey has only begun and we wish to keep expanding our horizons. At the core of our work, we seek a balance guided by design thinking, aesthetics, and practicality, of craft and contemporary fashion, of commerce and a light carbon footprint, of consuming and giving back to the earth in the process. We stand for the life-giving River and the knowledge that is the Forest.
03/04/2021
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Vasanthi Veluri | Abhinav Dhoundiyal | Co-founders of PEOLI |
Textile Design Graduates and classmates from the National Institute of Design, Abhinav Dhoundiyal, and Vasanthi Veluri have each explored their ideas about textiles. They worked on the North East Textile Documentation Project in Nagaland for almost a year carefully documenting the weaving, natural dyes, jewelry, and language of many distinct Naga tribes. This intensive study helped encourage them to understand the potential of the artisans and natural resources of Abhinav's home state of Uttarakhand. PEOLI is the flower that has sprouted from this interest. They bring not only an extensive knowledge of textiles but also timely experience of Visual Ethnography to their work. (Bio note by Skye Morrison). More about PEOLI at their Instagram Page and Website
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