FROM A COCOON, WITH HOPE

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http://www.teri.res.in/teriin/terragreen/issue12/feature.htm

 

 

* From a Cocoon, with Hope

By Suvira Srivastav

Beak for a beak

By Suvira Srivastav

 

 

 

 

From a Cocoon, with Hope

By Suvira Srivastav

 

" Non-violence is not a cloistered virtue, confined only to the rishi

and the cave dweller. "

Mahatma Gandhi

 

Silk comes from silkworms, which are not true worms but the

caterpillars of the silk moth, Bombyx mori. The baby silk moth eats

only mulberry leaves and protects itself by spinning a silken material

around itself, to form a cocoon. Typically, each worm produces 2.4 km

of continuous thread.

When metamorphosis is complete and the moth is ready to leave its

cocoon, it secretes an alkali that eats its way through the thread.

For the silk industry, the alkali secretion stage must never be

reached since it spoils the thread for spinning, as it is no longer

continuous.To get good quality silk, the moth must be killed before it

leaves the cocoon. This is achieved through heat treatment—either by

suffocation with steam or by heating the cocoons in an oven. Only a

small number necessary for breeding the next generation is allowed to

complete the lifecycle. That is why, for the devout vegetarian, or for

staunch followers of non-violence, the wearing of silk is a violation

of their basic principles.

 

The frail man who won India her freedom preached non-violence. Freedom

was won for the country also by walking his talk. To Gandhi ji though,

non-violence, or ahimsa, was a way of life. He wore 'ahimsa' leather

sandals and promoted 'ahimsa' silk; the former made from the hide of

cows that had died a natural death. He also hoped that the Indian silk

industry would use only those cocoons whose worms had already matured

into moths and flown out into the world, not boiled to death for the

sake of the rich yarn known all over the world as a symbol of India.

 

Twelve years ago, the APCO (Andhra Pradesh Handloom Weavers'

Cooperative Society) in Hyderabad first realized the value of ahimsa

silk when its best silk had to be rushed to a high-profile visitor.

Mrs Janaki Venkataraman, wife of the then President of India, Mr R

Venkataraman, wanted to buy the beautiful silk but would do so only on

one condition—the silk should have been woven without killing the

silkworm before it turned into a moth.

 

Stumped by the request, the APCO manager, a non-technical person,

rushed to his technical assistant, Mr Kusuma Rajaiah, who confirmed

that the process of procuring silk is a violent one. In fact, one silk

saree can mean up to 50 000 dead silkworms. The irony is that the very

cocoon, created by nature to safeguard the growing insect, is made up

of the fine silk thread that can be spun into lustrous silk yarn. Just

seven days before maturity, the cocoons are collected, put into heat

chambers, and treated at 70 °C–90 °C for three to four hours, thus

killing the insect and making the cocoon pliable for spinning.

 

It is unfortunate that an institution such as APCO was unaware of

ahimsa silk. Over the decades, since Gandhi ji first promulgated the

idea, there have been movements within the Khadi cottage industry and

institutions such as Kalakshetra in Tamil Nadu to actually popularize

this form of silk, where only those cocoons are used that have been

discarded by the resident silkworm. At Kalakshetra, the traditional

art and craft institution begun by the famous danseuse and activist

Mrs Rukmini Devi Arundale, there is a half-a-century old weaving

centre, which produces traditional Kalakshetra sarees in cotton and

ahimsa silk.

 

 

Mr Rajaiah with his collection of Ahimsa sarees

The visits from of Mrs Venkataraman and animal activist and actress,

Ms Amala Akkineni, became catalysts for change at APCO. Mr Rajaiah was

inspired to try to make such sarees available for people to buy from

the regular marketplace. It was a long decade for Mr Rajaiah, with a

transfer to a district office thrown in when the work got relegated to

the back burner. However, about a year ago, Mr Rajaiah got down to the

serious business of working on an innovation that could ensure

commercial production through a non-violent but expensive process.

 

As often seen with alternative methods that are eco-friendly, upfront

costs and a lack of adaptability into the main infrastructure make

such products fall heavy on budgets. Mr Rajaiah explains how it is

easy to produce a single saree but mass production requires bulk

procurement of the special cocoons. " The process was exhausting and it

was only in January 2001 that I managed to purchase 105 kg of cocoons

from the Sericulture Federation in Hyderabad. " Funds were also a

problem. Mr Rajaiah – by then fully devoted to the idea – withdrew Rs

85 000 from his Provident Fund and pumped in another Rs 40 000 from

his savings. After much persuasion, the Indorama mills at Raipur,

Chattisgarh agreed to spin this silk. At the end of all this labour,

Mr Rajaiah was left holding just 16 kg of yarn, which was finally

taken to Confident Weavers in Nalgonda district, Andhra Pradesh, where

30 samples of ahimsa silk sarees were ready for market trial.

 

Many experts from the textile industry supported the concept. Mr N V R

Nathan, Director, NIFT (National Institute of Fashion Technology),

Hyderabad, is one amongst them. He feels that " forbearance,

compassion, a vegetarian diet, avoiding injury, and avoiding killing

are the five concepts of ahimsa, or non-violence, and Rajaiah sarees

fall under these principles " . Even Mr Jayaramaiah, Deputy Director,

Weavers Service Centre, Hyderabad, reiterates this, emphasizing,

" Ahimsa silk is as good as any other silk, in quality " .

 

 

Cocoons used by Rajaiah, after allowing the silkworm to escape

Rajaiah is now obsessed with making ahimsa silk a commercially viable

commodity. The well-known animal rights activist and India's Minister

of State for Statistics and Programme Implementation, Ms Maneka Gandhi

says, " Rajaiah has given a wonderful option to those who understand

the value of life, and are always looking for non-violent products and

options, untainted by suffering and death " . Mr Rajaiah is now in the

process of procuring 200 kg of silk cocoons to help him launch

large-scale production .

 

He has challenges to face. Ahimsa silk is costlier than ordinary silk,

simply because when the moth leaves home, it punctures the cocoon and

this breaks the silk thread. During the spinning process, cocoons

without the moth lead to a lot of thread wastage. From an ordinary

cocoon, 80% of the thread can be procured as yarn, but from an empty

one, this goes down to an abysmal 16%. The finished saree reflects

this cost and is one-and-a-half times costlier than a regular silk

saree. " Too little a price to pay, as compared to what it saves, " says

Ms Gandhi. However, to make it accessible to the ordinary customer on

the street, there is a need to work on not just bringing the cost

down, but also on spreading awareness about the good deed s/he does by

buying such a saree.*