ERI SILK

The charming white ERI SILK production is unique to the North Eastern States of India. It has a lovely, coarse texture and a matte sheen that absorbs colour beautifully. Unlike other silks that have a continuous thread and are reeled, eri is a short stapled fibre, like a boll of cotton and is hand spun, using the traditional takti, (spindle). The name eri derives from the Assamese word era, which means castor, as the silkworm feeds on the leaves of the castor plant, also known to as Endi or Errandi (castor) silk.

Today, the eri silkworm is completely domesticated. The cocoons are cultivated indoors, in many parts of Assam and Meghalaya. Rearing of eri silk is a household activity conducted mostly by women. The eri silkworms eat enormous amounts of fresh castor leaves, for almost forty days in winter, and lesser time in summer, before they are ready to spin the cocoon, which goes on for about four days. Approximately 350 kilos of leaves would feed 3000 worms to produce cocoons enough to give one kilo of yarn.

Normohan Das from Haropara village in Assam has been offering regular work to more than 1200 women in his area for the last 20 years. He uses only pure eri, muga, or pat silk yarns to weave plain shawls, stoles, mufflers and running yardage for which he has a regular market in Germany and Japan. He provides the women with the raw materials and weaving specifications, and the women spin or weave in the comforts of their own homes. They are paid a pre-decided, fair wage for their efforts. He believes, “anyone can create patterns and today jacquard can replicate any design, but to weave on a delicate handspun warp requires great skill”. He does not want to enlarge his own unit. He believes that a modest scale is crucial for a healthy, personal rapport with his team. He has more orders than he can handle and has been encouraging enterprising youngers to use his setup as a model to develop their own production units. He has become a source of inspiration for many in the region.