The village of Handloom Heritage in the village of Azhikode, once alive with the rhythmic roar of the Maggham (frame weaving loom), stood on Thursday a terrifying silence. Although the nation meant a national day of hand, most weavers in the village sat idle.
Azhikode’s weaving of heritage dates back to the 16th century, when Kolathiri Raja invited the families of Saliya Weaver to settle here. Their arrival was created by weaving the street through Kannur. The industry reached its peak in the 60s and 80s when Kannur Crape Fabric became popular in the western markets.
Azhikode and many other such villages in Kannura, however, are now a pale shadow of their past.
“Today most of the houses left weaving and only a handful kept keeping the weaving conditions, often lied unused. If it was not for the advice for the inheritance that was included in the district tourism, the identity of the place would disappear,” says Sasidharan Thekkan, weaving.
The Board of Directors was created after the Handloom Village project launched on January 5, 2015 under the United Democratic Front government.
Prabhan Badi, 65, remembers the time when several companies and companies employed weavers. He lost his work ten years ago after weaving the mill Rajarajeswari, where he worked for more than two decades, shot down the closures.
“I still spin the yarn, but mostly it lies.
Pavathran, who has worked in this sector for 50 years, now runs one frame at home for export orders.
“Youth prefers jobs that earns them 1,000 ₹ a day after 10 hours of weaving,” says his son C. Arun, an engineer working in a mangalur, says there is no respect in this work. “The wrong wage is just pushing us into debt.”
“The Heritage Village brand did not bring any development or advantage for the weavers,” he adds.
AV GOPALAN, 74, who started weaving at the age of 14 years and is still working at Karivellur Weavers Society, says there has been no change and the traditional handloom sector faces problems due to lack of employment, wages and benefits.
KV Santhosh Kumar, Secretary of Kannur District Handloom Societies Association, says Kannur had 65 companies, but now survives only 35 years. “Of the more than 10,000 weavers and workers, only 2,800 work before.
He says that government school uniform now accounts for half of the production of most companies.
“Wages for four months coming to CRORE 4.5 GBP are waiting for Kannura workers,” he says his Kallilayse Weaver Industrial Cooperative Society has suffered a loss of £ 70,000 producing £ 70,000.
He says GST has further tense finances of companies. “There was no GST. Now, 5% of GST for uniform fabric production in uncovered, burdening society,” he says. He claimed that Hantex, the cooperative cooperative Apex, owed 10 Crore in the company’s fees.
The sector is worried about other failures where the United States deposits 25% of the tariff on Indian exports
Published – August 7 2025 9:13
