Rupjyoti Saikia Gogoi's Village Weaves Uses Handloom as Tool for Empowerment

The products of Village Weaves are sold through an outlet called Kaziranga Haat. The season of sale here starts in the month of October and lasts till May. Apart from the boutique, there are some agents who take their products and at times, Gogoi parcels the products herself. Village Weaves is present on the various social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook and also receives order through them.

Rupjyoti Saikia Gogoi is not only a weaver but also an environmentalist; she recycles plastic waste to make unique products.

Apart from turning out beautiful handloom products and employing the village women in her ventures, Gogoi wants to protect Mother Earth from the damages done by plastic. As such, through her project Village Weaves, she also recycles plastic and makes innovative products out of it. The process involves gathering waste plastic, washing and drying it, cutting it into small pieces and them manually turning them into long threads. Then she weaves the recycled plastic threads on her loom to turn out products like mats, runners, doormats, handbags and others.

Weaving has been a part and parcel of the lives of most women in Assam. Fabrics of the state have upheld its aura all across the globe. The handlooms in the villages of Assam have forever been a friend to the women of the state. In the present times, the handlooms are also a medium of self-employment to the woman of the state.

Residing near the national heritage site, Kaziranga National Park, Rupjyoti Saikia Gogoi has been empowering women of her area and many villages through her various ventures of self-employment. She is the founder of Village Weaves, a handloom startup and self- help group which also trains women. This is one of her many projects through which she provides training and ways of employment, along with representing the culture and identity of the state.

Village Weaves started in the year 2004. Gogoi says, "There were a lot of women in our villages who were not employed and did not have any educational background but they had excellent weaving skills. So we thought of gathering these women and help them enhance their skills and put it to proper use. This is how we started Village Weaves. I went from door to door, met the women and shared my ideas. I went to their houses and trained them about the kind of products that we can make in the handlooms. I also tried to explain to them how the handloom can be used as a tool to earn income and be independent."

"It was difficult at first to make them join this journey. Women in the villages face a lot of restriction. The society and the family members limit them under the unconventional rules within the family circle. They used to have this idea that it's not good for a woman to go out and be independent. Because of this at the initial stage I had to try to convince them and show them the brighter side," she explained.

She further added, "Initially I started with 10 ladies and formed a SHG. Presently I have around 30 ladies who work together and there are various SHG units in different villages in and around Kaziranga."

Gogoi has also visited some remote villages and provided them training to develop their lifestyle through weaving. According to Gogoi, when a woman is educated she can somehow arrange a job for herself. But on lacking the same, they face a lot of difficulties in finding a job for themselves. Moreover, Kaziranga is a rural area. One cannot start a big factory or industry in this place which can provide mass employment, due to restrictions by the forest department.

Prior to starting her entrepreneurial journey, Gogoi worked as a school teacher in many private sector schools of her region. She has worked in the MDG School and Kaziranga Modern School. Along with it, she has also worked as a teacher for a year in the Bejgaon Primary School, which is a Government school. She joined the latter school after successfully completing a teacher's training programme.

Gogoi completed her primary education in Bokakhat Namdoyang Primary School. She went on to complete her secondary education in Bokakhat Girls High School Nahorjan and did her HSLC from Rajabari English High School. She undertook her degree as a student of English language and literature from Jogananda Deva Satradhikar Goswami College, Bokakhat. Apart from this she also possesses a Diploma in singing from Sankari Sangeet Vidyalaya.

On being asked about the motivation behind starting Village Weaves, Gogoi said, "My mom was a handloom teacher. I used to see her working ever since I was a child. However I never thought this could be an actual profession. Moreover I noticed that tourists from across the nation and world are always attracted to the art and culture of our state. This inspired me to put efforts in my ideas towards traditional commodities and representation of our culture. One of my projects called the 'Rup Kitchen' is aligned with the same concept. This is not a regular restaurant which is open on everyday of the week. Guests, who are mostly tourists, pre-book our place for a dine-in. Apart from our cuisines; we also offer them special treatment by presenting certain cultural programs. We present our traditional and folk music, dance and other forms of art, the likes of which includes the creations of Srimanta Sankardeva and Madhavdev, to these special guests. We show them our Bihu and other traditional dance forms by the existing communities in and around our region, like the Mishings and Bodos. We try to represent the Northeast as a whole. It is not a big project yet, but we are taking slow and steady steps to the best of our capabilities."

Village Weaves has tied up with some travel agencies. These agencies bring visitors and have included in their itinerary.

Gogoi is also concerned for the environmental hazards that exist on our planet. She wants to protect our planet Earth from the damages done by plastic. As such, through her project Village Weaves, she also recycles plastic and makes innovative products out of it.

Gogoi says, "We collect plastics from all the families weekly or twice in a week. All women have a great number of plastics in their kitchen. We clean the plastic, cut in and weave it as threads. Everything is done manually and we don't use any machines. We make doormats, handbags and other products of the kind with the use of this recycled plastic."

Gogoi also started a music and dance school called Dekagiri Art and Music Academy. There the songs and dances created by Srimanta Sankardeva and Sri Madhavdeva, other traditional and cultural art forms are taught in the academy.

Under the banner of Village Weaves, apart from traditional Assamese clothing, Gogoi and her team also produce handbags, curtains, tablemats, cushion covers, wall hangings and other such products. Gogoi states that tourists who visit are also attracted a lot to these modern commodities and has shown great interest for them over the years. Thus Village Weaves dedicates a large amount of their time for the production of these commodities. They also have some professional designers who provide excellent ideas, which the workers at Village Weaves try to incorporate.

Rupjyoti also gained training while completing a course in handloom under North Eastern Development Finance Corporation Ltd. She uses her knowledge which she grained during her training in NEDFI, in the work process of Village Weaves.

She has also used her knowledge for the betterment of people of the region. She provides training in various institutions. She provided Handloom and handicraft creation training at Mabusa Basti of Arunachal Pradesh in collaboration with The Corbett Foundation, Arunachal Forest Department, and others. She also provided training for international e-commerce students related to Assam's handloom art, reuse of garbage and Assamese dishes in The Executive Enclave of Pali Hills road at Bandra, Mumbai. She participated as a guest lecturer in Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA), Mussoorie Range, Uttarakhand. She also conducted training programs in the native villages of Jakhalabandha, Numaligarh, and Bokakhat. Last but not the least she provided training in the Sibsagar Girls College, Jogananda Deva Satradhikar Goswami College, and students from the Geography Department of Furkating College. Till date she has trained about 2300 trainees.

The products of Village Weaves are sold through an outlet called Kaziranga Haat. The season of sale here starts in the month of October and lasts till May. Apart from the boutique, there are some agents who take their products and at times, Gogoi parcels the products herself. Village Weaves is present on the various social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook and also receives order through them.

On being asked about the kind of challenges that Rupjyoti faces in her daily work life, she says, "The Government support is a little vague in this sector. The courier charge is quite high and at times even higher than the actual product. We received a huge amount of orders from Oxford University in one instance but could not send them due to the courier charge. And even if such support options exists, they are not available in our region. We would most likely have to go to Guwahati to avail such help. Secondly, the work power of the traditional handlooms is not enough to meet the bulk demand of production in this field of work. These machineries are not available in Kaziranga and the authority hasn't take up any measures to make them available in this region. When one thinks of Kaziranga, they mostly give importance to the wildlife presence and not other sectors."

Along with her attachment with the handloom and the craft of weaving, she is also a poet. Gogoi has published two poetry books whose name is 'Laghunar Gaan' and 'Shabdar Aamoilota". She has participated in trade fairs like National level Exhibition and Commercial Trade Fair held at Mumbai, Delhi, Gujarat, Kolkata, Dehradun and in other state level trade fair and exhibitions. She is also the owner of Kaziranga Haat, Trade centre of handloom products and M/S Artistic Traditional Textile, Handloom Industry.

Some of Rupjyoti's achievement through the course of her journey includes: The Balipara Foundation Naturenomics Award, 2015, in association with Call of the wild Sanctuary ASIA; Winner of Phukonram Gogoi Tourism Award for Emerging Entrepreneur, 2015; Industrial Lady Award by Bokakhat Sub divisional Administration, 2018; Grass Woman Award, 2020 by Green Revolutionary Admirable Serene Society (GRASS); Entrepreneurs' Conclave, October 2020 by ND24; Official appreciation by Event partner DY365, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) Indian Women Network Assam Chapter (women matter), and Young Indians.

Rupjyoti would like to continue empowering women and work for the betterment of the environment. Her journey has inspired many and provided ways of employment and would continue to do so.

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