“I have been weaving from a very young age but it is only now that I am getting paid for my efforts,’’ says 25-year-old Rumi Payeng. She along with her friends cannot believe that 10 days of work would instantly get them Rs 3,000. Moreover, they tell me that they were able to complete all their house and farm work even while earning an income.
They are women of Mising community of Pathorichuk village in north Lakhimpur of Majuli district in Assam, who now have a health insurance policy, a yarn passbook and a bank account thanks to their craft.
For them, handloom weaving is something they learn while sitting on their mother’s lap while she weaves. While earlier they wove traditional dresses like Ugon, Dumer and Ege only for their families or for special occasions like weddings, birth of a child, among others, now they have taken a commercial approach.
‘A sustainable village’
“Now, if my son wants something, I can easily buy it with this money plus the added money helps…