Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) has taken yet another historic step to revive the Silk Industry in Arunachal Pradesh and create sustainable local employment. KVIC has set up another “Khadi Eri Silk Training cum Production Centre” at Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh bordering China and Bhutan. Nestled in the snow-clad Himalayan peaks at an altitude of nearly 14,000 feet, the Silk training cum production centre was inaugurated by KVIC Chairman Shri Vinai Kumar Saxena. The centre has been set up with assistance of Buddhist Culture Preservation Society, Bomdila, which has provided the building for the Silk Centre. KVIC, on the other hand, has provided the required infrastructure like handlooms, Charkha, Silk reeling machines and warping drums, etc. The centre is providing direct employment to 20 women artisans of Tawang and West Kameng districts.
Setting up of the Khadi Silk Centre in Arunachal Pradesh is inspired by the Prime Minister’s vision of creating sustainable development in the remotest of Indian places and creating livelihood for the locals under “Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan”. This is the second Silk Training cum Production Centre set up by KVIC in Arunachal Pradesh in less than 2 years’ time. Earlier, KVIC had inaugurated Eri Silk Training cum Production Centre in Village Chullyu of Arunachal Pradesh on 17th September 2020. In December 2020, KVIC had also revived the1000-years old heritage Monpa Handmade Paper Industry in Tawang, a step that was also appreciated by the Prime Minister in his radio program “Mann ki Baat”.
Chairman KVIC said the “Khadi Eri Silk Training cum Production Centre” aims at reviving the Silk Industry in the entire North East which was almost destroyed in the last few decades. “This facility in Tawang will be a big boost to spinning and weaving activities in the entire region. Training of artisans and supporting the production of Eri Silk, which is indigenous to the North Eastern states, will create local employment and sustainable development in the region. Young designers and professionals of NIFT will also provide training to Khadi artisans at this centre to introduce new designs and develop trendier clothing to suit the modern taste of tribal youths,” he said.
For centuries, Silk has been intrinsic to the life of people in the North East but the flooding of low-quality silk in these markets also destroyed the Silk industry from North East. The development assumes significance as the tribal population in Arunachal Pradesh, men and women alike, traditionally wear Eri Silk and Khadi Cotton clothes which carries a deep significance to their egalitarian tribal society.
KVIC also aims to connect the centre with the tourists visiting Tawang and thus providing an assured market to the local artisans for their products. The production centre will be equipped to cater to the market demand.