Armed with looms, women are weaving a change in Nagaland

Traditional weaving lost out to power looms and was on its death bed, but a band of dedicated women in Nagaland has not only resurrected it, but taken it to the next level, spinning off an entirely new industry around it — loinloom-centered tourism.

Sonnie Kath is considered to be the pioneer who breathed new life into loin loom weaving in Nagaland. Back in 2003, Sonnie, along with her two sisters, founded ‘Echo Self Help Group’ and reintroduced traditional weaving in Diezephe village, 15km from Dimapur, the commercial capital of Nagaland.


“What started as an experiment involving 11 weavers has now turned into an industry of 200 women,” says Haiyale, one of the co-founders. “Depending upon the design and how much they weave, some women earn up to Rs 6,000 a month,” she says.

The NGO of the Kath sisters has now evolved into ‘Exotic Echo’ with Haiyale as president. Exotic Echo not only produces and markets its products, it grows cotton, spins it into yarn, and dyes it too! Exotic Echo has been hosting the annual ‘Loinloom Festival’ in the first week of December, for the last 5 years, and has brought in weaving-centred tourism to Nagaland.

Mekhala Mama

One woman has taken the campaign for traditional weaves online. Theyiesinuo Keditsu, aka Mekhala Mama, is an Insta celeb with close to 10,000 followers.

An assistant professor of literature at Kohima College, Keditsu posts photos on Instagram flaunting the traditional Naga sarong, which has inspired not just youths from Nagaland, but many more outside, to try the wraparound worn as a skirt in the northeast. But Keditsu’s Insta page isn’t about fulfilling a narcissistic desire. The mom from Nagaland is on a mission — to popularise Naga indigenous textiles and support women weavers and local businesses.

“My account has generated a lot of interest among young Naga women. Many of them regularly send me photos and have made commitments to incorporate mekhalas into their daily and occasion wear,” Keditsu says.

Warp and Weft

Akhwele, 48, and her friend Avole, 38, live in Chizami village which is 88km from state capital Kohima. and their lives are connected by the threads of the loom.

Traditional loin loom weaving, which was dying in the state, was revived in Chizami — a village of 600 households — by North East Network, an organisation that champions women’s rights and works to empower them through skill development and livelihood training.

Women of Chizami and the other villages in Phek district are now associated with NEN. The supplementary income from weaving and the boost to self-esteem through it has changed the position of the women within the family, even yielding them political space in village councils.

Thread Counts

In an agrarian society, weaving was mostly done between the primary field work and household chores, but now it is helping supplement income and giving women more say. “I am paying the fees of my third son in a Kohima college, from my earnings from the loom,” The fame of Chizami has spread far and wide.

Full report on www.toi.in


A STEP AHEAD: A group of women in the state has not only resurrected the once-dying art of traditional weaving, but has taken it to the next level, and promoted tourism centred on loin-loom