Herbal couture

Herbal couture Chandan' saris, `Indigo' shirts, `Khus khus' purdahs — Thiruvalluvar Handlooms unfolds a vibrant herbal couture at its Thumpodu outlet in downtown Thiruvananthapuram. The seeds of this herbal couture — `ayur vastra' — revolution were sown more than a decade ago, when a few youngsters got together to root out the exploitation of weavers in the nearby handloom hub of Balaramapuram.

The Handloom Weavers Development Society was formed soon after and among its members were a few from the Kuzhivila family. One of their forefathers, C.R. Ayyappan Vaidyar, was the court physician to Sree Moolam Tirunal of the erstwhile princely State of Travancore. He was a weaver too and provided the royal family clothes dyed in herbs.

"The family tradition was dying and we wanted to revive it. Moreover, herbs seemed a bright alternative to synthetic dyes," says K. Rajan, chief technician at the society's dyeing unit. "With the little knowledge I had of this tradition, we experimented a lot. We initially displayed the clothes at exhibitions and it caught the fancy of quite a few." The clientele kept growing and about nine years ago, the Thumpodu shop was opened. The society got a boost three years ago, when a Rs 19-lakh Japanese grant came almost like a windfall. It set up its own dye house and bought a few machines.

Organic process

"The entire process is organic. The cloth is bleached with cow's urine, which has high medicinal value. The dyeing gum too is herbal. It does not pollute like synthetic dye. And the waste is used as bio manure and to generate bio gas."

Roots, flowers, leaves, seeds and bark of around 200 herbs go into the making of the dyes. The material worked on is mostly cotton and silk; there are a few sample pieces in wool and jute as well.

Health benefits

"The clothes sell not just because of the `green' label. Herbal clothes have proven good for the body. Indigo is good for the skin, khus khus helps fight asthma and so on," says Satheesh, a society member. The medicinal quality will last longer, if natural oil soaps are used for washing, he adds.

Last year, the State Coir Department conducted a six-month clinical trial at Ayurveda College, Thiruvananthapuram. Four rooms were set aside for treating rheumatism, allergy, hypertension, diabetes, psoriasis and other skin ailments. The clothes, bed linen and mattresses for patients were dyed in herbs and the walls, ceiling and floor lined with medicated coir.

"We treated around 40 people. And the response was remarkably good, especially in cases of arthritis and skin ailments," says Dr Vishwanathan, former head of the Drug Research Department of the college.

"It was all herbs in the air — clothes, linen and wall lining. It effected a rejuvenation of sorts. In the last 7-8 years, my sugar levels had never fallen so low. And now, it does not shoot to dangerous levels as before. Of course, I am on ayurveda medicines as follow-up," says G.V. Das, who was part of the clinical trial.

Growing demand

Herbal mattresses, especially those filled with khus khus, are priced Rs 2,000 each and have become popular."Khus Khus keeps the body really cool. There is a lot of demand from Ayurveda hospitals and heritage resorts," says Satheesh.

`Chandan' and `khus khus' saris with thin `zari' border are moving really well. "It feels great to wear the essence of herbs. It breathes in positive vibes," says Jayashree, a bank employee.

Herbal reams from Thumpodu are reaching foreign shores as well, although the society is not into direct exports. "There is a lot of demand from Italy, Germany, France, the US and Gulf. They mainly buy dress material, bed linen and furnishing," says Rajan. The society members feel that the khus khus purdahs will be a big hit in Saudi Arabia. Decking up houseboat interiors with medicated coir is next on their agenda.

"So much effort has gone into making ayur vastra that we want to preserve our rights," says Dr Ravi, who was advisor to the Government in charge of sustainable development and offered all help for this experiment.

A scientific validation study is under way at the Regional Research Laboratory in Thiruvananthapuram.

Once it is over, the society's patent dreams may just go green.