Flood-hit Kerala weavers pin hope on dolls from soiled saris

Thiruvananthapuram, Sept 23

A tiny handmade doll made out of soiled and damaged fabric has become a symbol of survival and hope for a group of weavers, whose dreams and livelihood were washed away by the floods in Kerala.

A month after the deluge had ravaged Chendamangalam, a traditional handloom village in Ernakulam district, the weavers are pinning hope on ‘Chekutty’, dolls fashioned with handloom material spoiled in the floods, to rebuild their life.

Demands are pouring in from across the globe for these dolls, conceputalised and designed by two social entrepreneurs to help the weavers raise funds out of the damaged fabric stock through crowd-sourcing.

With the support of hundreds of volunteers, they are now collecting saris left soiled and beyond re-use in the looms of Chendamangalam. They chlorinate the textile, boil it and convert it to ‘Chekutty’.

Lakshmi Menon, a co-founder of the initiative, explained: “The weavers had no option but to burn the severely damaged textile. But the same soiled stock is now expected to fetch them much more through the cloth doll.” Cutting across geographical barriers, people are placing bulk orders on the website, Facebook and WhatsApp for the dolls. A mobile app launched in the Silicon Valley on September 21 to take the desi dolls to a larger global audience would become functional soon. One of the seven Chendamangalam weavers co-operative societies, with which the doll-makers are associated, has already received Rs 5 lakh through online booking. 

The entire amount raised through the sale of  ‘Chekutty’ would go to livelihood programmes envisaged by the handloom weavers cooperative society of Chendamangalam. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan recently came forward to support the unique initiative. Also, the Kochi-based IT hub Infopark has adopted the ‘Chekutty’ dolls movement to support its sales. 

The founders  are now getting ready to trademark their unique doll before launching the product officially in the market in Kochi on October 2. Menon said: “The soft handmade dolls can be used as a keychain, wall decor or tied to a handbag and would always serve as a reminder of the sacrifices and resurrection of a state ravaged by a murderous flood.” — PTI