ZENITH International Journal of Business Economics & Management Research______ISSN 2249- 8826 ZIJBEMR, Vol.11 (03), March (2021), Impact Factor: 7.07 Online available at www.zenithresearch.org.in Email: [email protected]

A STUDY ON EMPOWERMENT OF MAT WEAVERS OF PATHAMADAI – DISTRICT

1J.Arockia Subitha,

Research Scholar,

Vivekananda College,

Affiliated to Manonmaniam Sundaranar University,

Abhisekapatti. Tirunelveli,

Tamil Nadu-.

2Dr.G.Hari Govinda Raj,

Associate Professor of Economics and Head,

TDMNS College,

T.Kallikulam.

Tamil Nadu-India.

ABSTRACT

The major focus of the present paper is to analyze the living conditions of the mat weavers of Pathamadai. Despite the technological developments and arrival of new technologies and industries, the mat weavers of Pathamadai cling on to their traditional method of mat making. The present research will try to analyze if this industry is providing enough economic, social, cultural and political empowerment to the mat weavers of Pathamadai. For this purpose a total of 235 respondents were selected using snowball sampling techniques and their responses were analyzed using percentage and correlation analysis. The present research highlighted that the mat weavers are empowered through the work they do, but if they are further supported by the government, they can gain true empowerment and can compete with others in the current scenario.

Key words: Empowerment, Mat weaving, Online sales,Traditional.

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INTRODUCTION

The mat industry has gone through a period of transformation from being most coveted to being most neglected, and then back in demand. Efforts by a few organizations to promote this craft resulted in an influx of trade interests. No craft / art form profits from this process, and the same applies to the mats industry too. Commercial weaving over the years has resulted in increased use of pure cotton and nylon threads rather than silk threads. Increased domestic and international demand and supply imbalance eventually resulted in increased use of synthetic dyes, shorter product life cycles, and less focus on long- term benefits for the weaver and the entire industry. Off late, eco-conservationist organizations have taken an interest in this matter and some of these manufacturing houses are reverting back to traditional methods of Korai grass dyeing and processing. Organizations are making efforts to promote the use of natural colours, and to motivate weavers.

REVIEW OF LITERATURE

Conventional mat making approach requires extended cycles of drying, boiling, separating, and dyeing the grass. Between September / October and February / March, the harvest season begins. The grass is cut while still being lush. Grass strips are sun-dried and should not be exposed to moisture, as they tend to turn black with exposure. As the strips of dried grass turn a yellowish green, they are boiled in a pot of water and dried again. Bundles of dried grass are then immersed in running water and held for three to seven days under the water surface. This cycle causes the grass to swell 3 times its original height. Then it is dried again, and then taken to a loom on the field. A woven mat is gradually dried in the sun for a brief period before being polished. There are three different types of silk mat available on the market, and weave depends on the classification: coarse weave, medium and fine weave. To weave the finer variety the outer skins of the grass are stripped to carry out the fine strand from inside.

The loom which consists of a mukali-backed warp (means a bamboo tripod-in tamil). The weft of korai strands is threaded into the needle and made according to design, very similar to the weaving fabric process, to move over and under the warp of starched cotton threads. Throughout the cycle water is used to smooth the grass.

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Roselin Basumatary (2013)1 in her study titled, “Socio Economic Status of Women Weavers in Informal Sector in Kokrajhar Town-A Study”, aims at highlighting the socio economic status of women weavers in the informal sector in Kokrajhar town. Field survey revealed that women weavers of the informal sector are one of the most disadvantaged categories of informal sector workers. Their jobs rely heavily on manual labor. Being faced with economic problem and having weaving skill they are bound to migrate to the town and engage themselves as weavers. Filed survey also revealed that their working and living condition is not so good with total lack of job security. Family members and other people have the same attitude towards most of them before their working and even after their work.

Rahamathulla (2011)2 “Shilpa Guru & SantKabir awards” received that from President of India in 2014. Mat weaving is an important and traditional handicraft of Tamilnadu. The material used in the industry is wild korai grass found in abundance in the banks of rivers and marshy area in Tamilnadu. Mat weaving is one of the oldest creations done by joining the grass and interlacing leaves, with minimum of tools. The nice pattu pais of Pattamadai are the traditional gifts for important functions; they are produced in different shapes, sizes and colours as regular floor mats, small floor mats, designer mats and wall hangings. Pattamadai is famous for its fine quality mats commonly known as “Pattamadai pais”. The local reeds are split into nearly hundred pieces and are woven on a loom with cotton warp. The mats are so fine that they can be rolled and placed in small box. The lebbai Muslim community weaves the famous mats in this area. The weavers with their hereditary experience and skill create intricate pattern and designs, mats are multicolored and often represent the ornate pallav of traditional Kanchipuram silk sarees.

Soumhya Venkatesan (2010)3 Learning to weave; weaving to learn ... what? The paper‟s ethnographic focus is the Labbai mat-weavers of Pattamadai town in South India, who are ambivalent about being weavers. It contrasts this ambivalence with the excitement that weaving generated in a development practitioner who sought to promote the weaving industry and who also learned how to weave. The same skill is approached differently by different kinds of persons: they understand and learn different things. Learning and knowing

1 Roselin Basumatary, “Socio Economic Status of Women Weavers in Informal Sector in Kokrajhar Town-A Study”, Global Research Methodology Journal, Vol-II, 8th issue, Feb-Mar-Apr, 2013, pp.1-5. 2 Rahamathulla. K “Shilpa guru &SantKabir awards” Ministry of Textiles, Government of India. 2011. 3 Soumhya Venkatesan Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute (N.S.), S158-S175 Royal Anthropological Institute 2010. http://www.jrai.net/article/learning-to-weave-weaving-to-learn-what/.

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cannot be easily separated. By focusing on the various purposes and modes of learning, on the social production of knowledge, and on instances of communication and miscommunication, the paper explores the embodied and historicized production of knowledge by different kinds of person: the mat-weavers and the development professional.

Shaikmohideen (2005)4 Pattamadai mat weaving industry changes its colour. It is all set to use an eco-friendly colourant, extracted from a plant since the world prefers natural products to artificial goods after realizing the harmful effects of the latter, the prospects of exporting Pattamadai mats to more foreign countries will be brighter when they use only natural dyes. It is used synthetic dyes for colouring its internationally acclaimed rugs, is all set to use an eco-friendly colorant, extracted from a plant and `resurrected' by a scientist of Manonmaniam Sundaranar University in Tirunelveli. Though the mat weavers of Pattamadai used the natural dye extracted from this plant, Sappan (Caesalpiniasappan), till some decades ago, it vanished due to excessive exploitation, forcing them to switch over to cheap and bright synthetic dyes.

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

The mat workers from Pathamadai are working on a traditional product that once was very much coveted by the people around the world. But such a product has been neglected in the recent past and though it has gained, albeit a shadow of what it once had, the limelight in the present context. Due to the influence of technology, many industries with more efficient production technology have emerged and they give a heavy competition to the mat weaving industry at Pathamadai. Despite such competitions, the mat worker at Pathamadai still cling on to their traditional mat weaving techniques and trying to eke out a living. This shows that they are not running behind the extravagant lifestyle that everyone around the world is running behind. But what is the real reason behind their clinging on to the traditional industry of mat weaving? Do they get economic, social, cultural, psychological and political empowerment through this industry? These are some of the questions that the researcher has taken up here and tried to explore the answers.

4 Shaikmohideen “A pattamadai mat weaving industry changes its colour”. The Hindu Nov 22, 2005.

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OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

1. To find out the reasons for joining mat weaving works by the respondents 2. To analyse the relationship among empowerments of psychological, Cultural, Social and Economical factors of mat weavers.

METHODOLOGY

The methodology adopted for the present study includes the study area, period of study, sampling design, collection of data and the tools used for analysis.

Area of study

Pathamadai, Tirunelveli District was selected for the intensive study of the empowerment of mat weavers.

Period of study

The period taken for the study is November, 2020.

Sources of data

The study employed the primary and secondary data. The primary data were collected through questionnaire method. The secondary data were collected from various journals, books, periodicals and other related sources.

Sampling design

Pathamadai, Tirunelveli District has been selected for the study for the reason that it has the highest percentage of mat weavers in Tamilnadu.

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Sampling Techniques

Descriptive research design is used to conduct the research. The study is conducted with 235 respondents of Pathamadai area. Questionnaire has been collected randomly from the total population.

Tools and Techniques

The manipulation of the data was done using SPSS 21.0. Percentage analysis and Karl Pearson’s Correlation Analysis was used to analyze the data.

DATA ANALYSIS AND RESULT DISCUSSION

Table 1 GENDER OF RESPONDENTS

SI.No Particulars No. of Respondents Percent

1 Male 59 25.11

2 Female 176 74.89

3 Total 235 100.00

Source: Primary data

Table 1 depicts the gender classification of the respondents. 25.11 percent of the respondents are male and 74.89 of them are female mat weavers.

Table 2 AGES OF THE RESPONDENTS

SI.No Particulars No. of Respondents Percent

1 Below 25 45 18.94

2 25-40 123 52.55

3 40 above 67 28.51

4 Total 235 100.00

Source: Primary Data

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Among the 235 respondents more than half of them (52.55 percent) are between 25 to 40 years. 28.51 percent are above 40 years. Only 18.94 percent respondents are young below 25 years. Half of the respondents (52.55 percent) belong to middle age group.

Table 3 MEMBERSHIP DURATION

SI.No Membership period of respondents No. of Respondents Percent

1 Up to 5 years 192 40.85

2 5 – 10 years 159 33.83

3 More than 10 years 119 25.32

4 Total 235 100.00

Source: Primary Data

Membership duration of the respondents falls under three categories such as Membership for 5 years, 5-10 years and more than 10 years. 40.85 percent (192) of Mat weavers acts for the period of 5 years. 33.83 percent (159) of members enjoyed their membership in Mat weavers have membership upto 5-10 years. 25.32 percent (119) of members involved in Mat weavers for the duration of more than 10 years.

Table 4 REASONS FOR JOINING MAT WEAVING WORK

Sl.No Particulars No. of Respondents Percent

1 Supplement family income 102 21.70

2 Source of income for own necessities 88 18.72

3 More suitable for women 143 30.43

4 To cause women empowerment 79 16.81

5 Community development 34 7.23

6 Any other reason 24 5.11

7 Total 235 100.00

Source: Primary Data

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High percentage of 30.43 respondents gave the reason that mat weaving work is more suitable for women and it s women-friendly. 102 respondents, by 21.70 percent answered that they involved in Mat weaving work in order to supplement family income. 18.72 percent of total respondents considered Mat weaving work as a source of income. 16.81 percent of respondents have participated in Mat weaving work in order for cause women empowerment. Minimum (7.23 percent) respondents joined mat weaving work in order to community development. Hence it can be concluded that major percentage of respondents joined mat weaving work as it is suitable for women. Most of the respondents have joined mat weaving work since they consider it as a source of increasing individual or family income.

Table 5 Correlation between Empowerment of Psychological, Cultural, Social and

Economical Factors

Factors Psychological Cultural Social Economical

Psychological 1 0.945** 0.922** 0.952**

Cultural - 1 0.910** 0.961**

Social - - 1 0.929**

Economical - - - 1

Source: Statistically analyzed data

Note: **. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed)

The correlation coefficient (R) for psychological and cultural empowerment is 0.945, psychological and social is 0.922, psychological and economical is 0.952, cultural and social is 0.910, cultural and economical is 0.961 and social and economical is 0.929. For survey scale type data this is pretty large. The number of respondents in the sample answering all items is 235. All the variables are having highly positive relationship with each other. If any one of the variables value will be increased, it leads to increase the value of other variables value too. So, mat weavers are psychologically empowered through the trainings given by Mat weavers then their empowerment on others such as cultural, social and economical also will be increased automatically.

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FINDINGS AND SUGGESTIONS

Though accepting and moving on to new technology and industries is mandatory for any government around the world, it is equally important for them to safeguard any traditional industries that are still surviving and that has formed a part of the cultural heritage of our country. Thus the government can think of providing subsidies to the workers and weavers who are involved in the mat weaving industry.

Providing subsidy alone will not be sufficient to sustain the mat weaving industry. The next step that the government needs to think is to provide loans at nominal interest so that they can upgrade their technology and at the same time retaining their traditional fervor that has won the hearts of many people.

Value adding and modernization are the two mantras that are crucial in the present context. Therefore, the government can provide training to the mat weavers to improve the quality, design, and durability and cost effectiveness of the mats that are being produced by them. This might give them an edge over other modern day products that compete with their traditional mats.

Online presence is essential for any industry to survive and sustain in the present context. Therefore, the mat weaver can think of going online either on their own or by making use of popular online sales platforms such as Amazon, Flipkart, etc. in order to increase their customer base.

CONCLUSION

The world is changing fast and it is imperative for the people to adapt to the fast changing world, otherwise they will be left far behind without any hope of surviving in the world. The mat weaver of Pathamadai and the silk mats woven by them are a part of our cultural heritage and it is the duty of the weaver as well as the governments to make sure that such an industry is taken care of and passed on to the future generation. All the people involved in the mat weaving industry need to understand the modern trends the run through the business world and they need to adapt to the changing world. This is the only way they can sustain and at the same time gain enough empowerment such as social, economic, cultural and political, so that they can lead a meaningful life in the world. The present research highlighted that the mat weavers are empowered through the work they do, but if

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they are further supported by the government, they can gain true empowerment and can compete with others in the current scenario.

REFERENCES

1. Kuldeep Singh and Monica Bansal, (2012), ‘An Analytical Study of Handloom Industry in India’, Journal of Radix International Educational and Research Consortium, Vol.1(12). 2. Muhammad Amjad Bashir, Muhammad Irfan and Muhammad Farhat Hayyat, (2014), ‘Role of Handlooms in the Socio-Economic Conditions of Handlooms Workers in Cholistan’, Applied Sciences and Business Economics, Vol.1(4). 3. Roselin Basumatary, (2013), ‘Socio Economic Status of Women Weavers in Informal Sector in Kokrajhar Town-A Study’, Global Research Methodology Journal,Vol-II(8). 4. Rahamathulla. K, (2011), ‘Shilpa Guru and Sant Kabir awards’, Ministry of Textiles, Government of India. 5. Soumhya Venkatesan, (2010), Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute (N.S.), S158-S175 Royal Anthropological Institute http://www.jrai.net/article/learning-to- weave-weaving-to-learn-what/. 6. Shaikmohideen, (2005), ‘A pattamadai mat weaving industry changes its colour’. The Hindu.

Webpage References 7. http://adesignenthusiast.blogspot.in/2009/10/silk-floor-mats-from- thirunalveli_30.html 8. http://www.flickr.com/photos/10792142@N05/page6/ 9. http://sudhasrinath.blogspot.in/2009/11/river-grass-mats-for-your-yoga-sessions.html 10. http://www.cheranmahadevi.com/2010/03/pattamadai.html 11. http://members.tripod.com/sadashivan_nair/handmaderugscarpetsprocess/id19.html

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