Why indigenous wool?
Since the existence of mankind, humans and sheep have co-evolved to support each other in harsh climatic conditions. Eventually, pastoralism naturally fostered in India because one-third of the Indian terrain is semi-arid. These pastoralists nurtured special animal breeds that are resilient and have very light footprints on the earth. They are invaluable in arid regions as they conserve and sustain local ecosystems.
Importance of local wool economy
Native artisans and indigenous pastoral communities from Kutch, Gujarat became an integral part of this ecosystem. Artisans worked with hair and wool to create objects of great elegance. Till date, these generations-old craft practices are codependent and co-exist with the local ecology, environment and pastoral communities. These interlinked production systems have come under threat due to extensive industrialization.
The story of Desi Wool
Currently, It is a cycle of neglect by markets, herders, and policymakers alike that threatens the loss of a treasure trove of genetic resources. Such production systems, if revived, can employ millions in rural India. They can also be at the forefront of shifts towards green-production. Let’s delve into the story of Desi Wool.
Felt from wool is older than the art of spinng & weaving
Felting, also known as Namda, is the most versatile of all wool-crafts. Felting was majorly practised by nomadic tribes across Asia and Europe because they possessed a large herd of wool-bearing sheep and camels.
Why did Namda artisans create felted woollen saddles?
In India, according to a legend, the felting arrived in the 11th century. During the reign of the Mughal Emperor Akbar, a man named Nubi innovated a felted covering (wool saddle) for the king's ill horse. Ever since people have been making felted cloth from sheep wool.
The craft is primarily practised by the Pinjara and Mansuri communities, Sama Muslims native to Kutch. Namda is a craft made for all types of climates. There are Namda artisans throughout India, working in Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Rajasthan.
Communities in Kutch that practice Namda
In Kutch, the Pinjara and Mansuri communities create felted namda from indigenous sheep wool.
Continue reading to learn how a Namda textile is created.
Namda process for felted mat: Embellishing the flower with colourful wool by Ishaan RaghunandanKhamir
Gulmohammad Pinjara, Namda artisan from Kutch
Gulmohammad shared that the Namda craft has been practised in Kutch for centuries and the skills needed to produce Namda products were passed onto him from his father; to his father from his grandfather and great-grandfather.
Namda process to create felted mat: Assorted colours of hand-dyed raw indigenous wool by Aishwarya MaheshwariKhamir
Assorted colours of hand-dyed raw indigenous wool
Gulmohammad dyes the wool fibres at home and use them in his designs to make flamboyant felted pieces.
Namda process for felted mat: Namda artisan, Gulmohammadbhai cards wool in traditional style by Ishaan RaghunandanKhamir
Namda Process: Cleansing of wool
The Namda artisan, Gulmohammadbhai beats the raw indigenous wool with a stick multiple times to card it. He separates wool fibres by constantly hitting them for felting a beautiful mat.
Gulmohammad cards the wool again to make puni by Aishwarya MaheshwariKhamir
Gulmohammad cards the wool again to make puni
Namda requires a team effort. Gulmohammad cards the wool again to make puni during the process of creating a mat while his mother watches him, to see if he needs any more wool to embellish the textile.
Namda process for felted mat: Artisan creates threads for Namda designs by Ishaan RaghunandanKhamir
Namda craft requires varied shapes of raw wool
...such as wool threads and wool balls for creating intricate felted pieces.
Namda process for felted mat: Artisan creates threads for Namda designs by Aishwarya MaheshwariKhamir
Transforming wool into threads by rolling them on a pitcher
These threads give birth to stunning designs that Namda artisans adorn their craft products with. Felt-makers use unspun wool to create a cohesive fabric.
Namda process for felted mat: Use of a round plate to form circle by Ishaan RaghunandanKhamir
Use of a round plate to form circle
Artisans use random available objects at home for the shapes they want. Here, Gulmohammad uses a big round kitchen plate to form a circle with the threads.
Namda process for felted mat: Use of a round plate to form circle by Ishaan RaghunandanKhamir
Initiating the felted mat design process
After creating a perfect circle from woollen threads, he is going to start filling the design with wool to form a shape of his choice. This time, he chooses to create a flower.
Namda process for felted mat: Use of raw wool balls for designing the namda mat by Ishaan RaghunandanKhamir
Gulmohammad delicately places felted wool balls to design
He creates a beautiful inner circle for the flower with woollen threads and woollen balls that his mother just created.
Namda process for felted mat: Use of a raw wool thread for designing a felted mat by Ishaan RaghunandanKhamir
Gulmohammad uses the wool thread to create a floral design
He loves using a mix of bright and deep colours to accentuate his textiles. He has never formally studied the colour wheel, yet he has a great sense of colour combinations because this knowledge has been passed onto him from his ancestors.
Namda process for felted mat: Use of raw wool thread for designing a felted mat by Ishaan RaghunandanKhamir
Hand-dyed raw indigenous wool of Kutch
Namda process for felted mat: Embellishing the flower with colourful wool by Ishaan RaghunandanKhamir
Embellishing the floral design with colourful wool
Gulmohammad dyes the wool fibres at home and uses them in his designs to make flamboyant felted pieces. Here he fills the flower with blue wool fibres.
Namda process to create felted mat: Embellishing the flower with colourful wool by Ishaan RaghunandanKhamir
And the magic begins...
Only created out of raw indigenous dyed and undyed wool, Gulmohammad is going to use some water to shrink and interlock the wool and begin rolling and pressing the design
Namda process for felted mat: Cleansed wool fibre layered over the designed panel by Ishaan RaghunandanKhamir
Raw wool is placed on the final design in copious amounts
Once the design is complete, the felt-maker spreads heaps of cleansed wool on the design waiting to be packed and turned into solid piece of textile by the arduous process of hand-felting.
Namda process for felted mat: Cleansed wool fibre layered over the designed panel by Ishaan RaghunandanKhamir
Pressing the wool layered over the design to settle it down
Namda process to create felted mat: Spraying water evenly through mouth by Ishaan RaghunandanKhamir
An ancient technique to evenly spray water on the design
In olden times, when the spray bottles weren't invented, the felt-makers used their mouths as human sprays. Gulmohammad says, he has a spray, yet it still doesn't work as efficiently as the age-old mouth spraying technique.
Namda process for felted mat: Rolling the designed piece by Ishaan RaghunandanKhamir
Rolling the designed piece: Textile in making...
The wet shrunken wool, when packed between layers of wet cloth and agitated against each other, transforms into solid pieces of textile. Seemingly a conjurer's trick, this is a result of the ability of wool fibres to interlock when whirled against each other.
Namda process to create felted mat: Rolling the designed piece by Aishwarya MaheshwariKhamir
Feltmaker's body is the most important tool in felting Namda
Namda process for felted mat: Rolling the designed piece by Ishaan RaghunandanKhamir
He rolls the pack back and forth hundreds of times
till the wool fibres intermesh to create a beautiful textile
Namda process to create felted mat: Soaping the felted textile by Aishwarya MaheshwariKhamir
Soaping the felted textile
The combination of hot water, soap and gentle squeezing is further felting the fabric - binding the fibres even closer together and causing the felt to shrink.
Namda process to create felted mat: Rolling the designed piece by Aishwarya MaheshwariKhamir
Some more rolling after creating lather
The technique of Namda is versatile but requires laborious efforts. It creates products of different shapes and thickness.
Namda process for felted mat: The felted mat is ready! by Ishaan RaghunandanKhamir
A brilliantly felted woolly mat is ready
Today, only four Namda practitioners remain in Kutch. Namda craft serves as a sole source of income for artisans, who feel that the craft is sustainable.
Gulmohammadbhai showcases his handcrafted Namda saddle made out of raw indigenous wool of Kutch. The market for namda craft is located primarily in Saurashtra, Gujarat where Darbars, Patels, and Marvadis buy products regularly for their horses.
Gulmohammadbhai showcases his handcrafted, supremely comfortable woolly Namda mat made out of raw indigenous wool from Kutch, India. He has designed this piece only using undyed natural wool from the sheep. The dark brown wool is from the face pf the sheep while the light brown is from the body of the sheep.
These intricate and skilfully hand-felted Namda panels are also popularly used as art pieces for house decor
These traditional Namda textiles are saddles made out of indigenous wool of Kutch, India
Namda textiles, in the past, served as saddles and rainwear. Namda is still used to create saddle blankets for horses and camels in local nomadic communities. Artisans of present-day make a variety of patterned rugs, mats, and mattresses. Namda's ability to form 3D shapes combined with wool's properties of fire-resistance, insulation, etc. may soon open a galaxy of possibilities and markets for the craftspeople.
The Desi Wool Initiative
The Desi Oon (Indigenous Wool) Initiative has emerged out of the need to conserve and promote this sustainable wool textile value chain. This indigenous production system can help preserve the ancient heritage breeds and pastoral & artisan livelihoods in India.
About Khamir
KHAMIR is a non-profit organisation based in Kutch, Gujarat that works to preserve and promote crafts practices. Khamir's philosophy is on nurturing indigenous ecosystems, skills, raw materials and artisan capacities to promote resilient, self-sustaining economies in arid and semi-arid regions.
Indigenous wool of Kutch
Kutch with its large sheep and camel population had always had a ready supply of wool. Men and the women of herding families spun wool into yarn and handed it to artisans to make versatile wool-crafts.
Preservation of local ecosystems
Khamir hopes that the story of indigenous wool and well-designed hand-crafted woollen products will help sway consumer preferences and open them to accepting indigenous wool in their households and closets to promote ethical consumerism and preserve these local ecosystems.
Online curation mentor: Meera Goradia
Text: Khamir Team
Photography and video: Ishaan Raghunandan, Pratishtha Chhetri and Aishwarya Maheshwari
Artisans: Gulmohammad Pinjara,
Khamir Team: Sushma Iyengar, Durgalakshmi Venkataswamy, Meera Goradia, Ghatit Laheru, Paresh Mangaliya, Tanveen Ratti, Ranabhai Vankar, Pratap Chavda, Saumya Singh, Khyati Vinod, Shinjini Kotia, Shouryamoy Das, Shabri Wable, Aishwarya Maheshwari
Online exhibit curation: Aishwarya Maheshwari
