Kandygs' takes the initiative:

Bamboo fabrics capture local market

by Anuradha KODAGODA

A unique exhibition of products made with handloom woven bamboo fabrics was opened by the Minister of Economic Development, Basil Rajapaksa, at Kandygs Thirasara Island recently. The following is an interview done by Sunday Observer with the Design Director of Kandygs Pvt Ltd, Anuradha Yahampath.

"Kandygs have worked with bamboo fabrics for a while and we have imported bamboo yarn as similar way we import cotton yarn and have already done a collection of products.

We bring down bamboo yarn and dye them here in our factories and hand weave the fabrics out of that yarn.

We have already started exporting bamboo yarn fabrics to many countries for which we have quite a good demand since it's a purely eco-friendly product which is produced by using 100 percent natural raw materials,"Anuradha said.

"While doing this business for some time, I realised the potential that we have to produce bamboo yarn within the country without importing them from overseas. However, the handloom fabric industry has come down tremendously for the last couple of years which is mainly due to the high prices and due to other reasons. The main reason is that the handloom manufacturers cannot sell handlooms for an economical price because the higher raw material prices that have to bear by them at the initial stage due to importing raw materials which is not possible with the manufacturers who are in rural areas of the country. And due to lack of knowledge the handloom manufacturers have to identify the right product that they have to produce to grab the market share in locally as well as internationally also a loophole to collapse handloom industry in our country.

As a solution I thought of producing bamboo which is an ecological plant which can be planted anywhere in the country very successfully and it would be an ideal raw material to boom the lost market share in the handloom industry because it will save lot of money for the handloom manufacturers and make them encouraged continuing with their production," she said.

"The main reason we organized this exhibition was to show that we can make fantastic fabrics which out of bamboo yarn and especially to encourage the manufacturers who are in rural areas of the country. Bamboo is the largest member of grass family and the fastest growing woody plant.

It grows in diverse climates, making the bamboo plant a sustainable and versatile resource. Other than that bamboo has many ecological advantages through sustainable land use, grows easily without pesticides or fertilizers.

It regenerates after harvesting without a need for replanting and is a good carbon sink.

The water-use efficiency of bamboo is high.

There are so many skilled handloom manufacturers in our country that don't have the correct guidance to produce good and quality products which has a higher market potential in overseas.

Therefore, we introduced and trained them to use bamboo yarn which they can use to produce better ecological product which has a high demand in locally and internationally.

The durability of this bamboo fabric would be in high standard and my whole idea behind this project is to make popular bamboo yarn manufactory in our country which can be used not only in handloom manufacturing but in textile manufacturing too," she further said.The exhibition featured the work of rural weavers from the village of Ihala Madampalla in Divulapitiya.

Handloom weaving in this village was revived through a pilot project initiated by Kandygs who provided the bamboo yarn as well as guidance in weaving with bamboo, contemporary design, and working with colour.

The Ministry of Economic Development through setting up and equipping a Centre to coordinate the work of the weavers as well as to facilitate sales supported the project.

This pioneering project is an initiative to create Sri Lankan fabric industry by growing the right accessing the technology to manufacture bamboo, the dependency of rural weavers on cotton yarn sustainable local industry.Bamboo fabric is soft like cashmere and shines like silk; it is ideal for tropical humid climates as it is permeable and breathes actively thereby cooling the body.

The fabric does not stick to the body, but holds its shape well," she further said.