The project is being undertaken with the support and funding of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (DSIR), Government of India. The total fund allocated for this project is Rs. 600,000.

Issue related to Traditional Handloom

Using traditional handloom is a cumbersome task. Handloom is operated using both hands and both legs. The weavers have to take awkward postures. The tasks are highly repetitive and continuous in nature. There are specific issues related to

• Seating -The worker sits on a thin wooden plank without back support. In the traditional handloom, getting in and getting out is difficult.
• Treadling - Legs have to be moved vertically up and down repeatedly. Pressing down requires a significant force.
• Shuttling - The hand is lifted and pulled sideways with a jerk to move the shuttle.
• Pulling the reed is also a very repetitive task
• Cloth beam and warp beam handling is also cumbersome
• The objectives and scope of the project

The proposed innovation in the traditional handloom aims at addressing the work-related issues faced by the weavers. The objective of the project was to make new modifications that would make

• Seating
• Treadling
• Shuttling
• Pulling read and
• Beam-handling tasks are easy and fast without changing the overall look and feel of the traditional handloom and without compromising the hand-made identity and ethnic and traditional touch of the fabric. The conventional handloom equipment could be easily upgraded with the new modifications. So, the weavers don’t need to buy a completely new setup and discard the old one. So the new solution can be implemented at a very low price. The dual-operation mode ensures that the traditional loom can be used in the manual mode in case of any breakdown of the new system.

Faculty: Dr Prakash Kumar 

Funding Agency: Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (DSIR), Government of India