Tamil Nadu - Tirunelveli   

Pattamadai mat weaving industry changes its colour

Staff Reporter

It is all set to use an eco-friendly colourant, extracted from a plant Since the world prefers natural products to artificial goods after realising 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

NEW PATTERNS: The Vice-Chancellor of Manonmaniam Sundaranar University, Cynthia Pandian (second from right), distributing Sappan sapling to a mat weaver at a function held at Pattamadai on Sunday. — Photo: A. Shaikmohideen

TIRUNELVELI: The mat weaving industry of Pattamadai, 20 km from here, which hitherto 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.

Though the mat weavers of Pattamadai used the natural dye extracted from this plant, Sappan (Caesalpinia sappan), till some decades ago, it vanished due to excessive exploitation, forcing them to switch over to cheap and bright synthetic dyes. Yet, P. Ravichandran of Sri Paramakalyani Centre for Environmental Sciences (SPKCES), a satellite centre of MSU at Alwarkurichi, undertook the mission of reviving the culture of using natural dyes in the mat weaving industry.

As he searched for a sappan plant across Tamil Nadu to propagate it by tissue culture technique, he could not find even a single sapling for his experiment.

After intensive hunt for over four years, his student, Vinodhini Jeyakar, found a sappan tree at Pitchandikulam in Pondicherry, but it was the couple of plants she could get from Kottayam in Kerala provided the much needed base for their mission.

Meanwhile, the Department of Science and Technology came forward to release Rs. 8.20 lakh for this project through the Department of Botany of Sri Parasakthi College for Women, Courtallam and Manimekalai Ravichandran of this department joined hands with her husband in the research. Now, Mr. Ravichandran has grown over 5,000 saplings at SPKCES premises.

"Since we intend to transfer our achievement from the lab to land, we have decided to distribute these saplings free to mat weavers of Pattamadai. They can grow these less-water intensive plants in their houses and no special care is needed. We'll teach the weavers trouble-free techniques of extracting dye from the chips of sappan's matured branches so that the plant will not be completely destroyed," Mr. Ravichandran told The Hindu.

The Vice-Chancellor of MSU, Cynthia Pandian, distributed Sappan saplings to the mat weavers at a function held at Pattamadai on Sunday.

Dr. Cynthia said the Computer Science and Engineering and the Centre for Information Technology of the university would jointly work on creating new patterns for the mats so that it would save a lot of time for the weavers while giving the products an edge over their competitors in the national and global market.

Since the world prefers natural products to artificial goods after realising the harmful effects of the latter, the prospects exporting Pattamadai mats to more foreign countries would be brighter when they use only natural dyes, she said adding that the university would even contemplate the possibilities of offering a certificate or diploma course in mat weaving through the Mano College at Cheranmahadevi.

The mat weavers of Pattamadai are the happiest lot as they have got back a plant, which vanished from their houses several years ago.

"We won't be unnecessarily exposed to the harmful chemicals in the synthetic dyes hereafter," they say.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Pattamadai mat weaving industry changes its colour
Rain god answers children's prayers

Copyright © 2005, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu