What does cannabis have to do with women’s empowerment? Much. The handloom is the link between the two. Let’s find out how we can weave women’s empowerment with cannabis. Rudraprayag in Uttarakhand is a unique place and it is beautiful. With the Himalayas in the background and the pink and cold weather. But job opportunities? It does not exist, you can hardly expect entrepreneurs to set up industries in mountainous terrain, besides, the soil does not grow much.
Also, irrigation water is not readily available, so men migrate to other places in the state, or even out of the state. Of course to make a better living for their families. It seems fair enough. Men migrate to work and make ends meet, right? But they don’t leave their brick-and-mortar homes behind. Women are left behind too, with children sleeping and sick old people, their farms yielding little, no source of income, no financial independence, and their own voice? They have no voice. Their only sound is muffled cries for help. Silent cries for independence. Freedom. Release.
But these women are neither unskilled nor incapable, they are skilled farmers, born here and raised on farms, they may have forgotten him, but farming is in their blood, they are also very creative, they can knit and sew. They can create beautiful patterns and bring out vibrant stories on fabrics, all they need is a little practice. However, they also do not have fibers to weave. So why don’t these women grow cotton on their farms? The farms are barren and sterile.
The weather is not suitable. Water is not available. But we can still use idle handlooms to weave women’s empowerment. Give these women jobs, financial independence, a sense of self-worth, and a voice. Weave what now? chopsticks when? Cannabis, handloom, and women’s empowerment. All this does not fit together. Well, it is. It is a simple cause and effect relationship. We start with hemp, use hand looms, and end with empowered and self-sufficient women with a distinctive voice of their own. Here’s how: Cannabis grows anywhere. Even in the cold and dry valley of Uttarakhand. It only requires 50% of the water needed to produce cotton. So the lack of irrigation water will not be a problem. Hemp does not need pesticides, pesticides, or even fertilizers. It is insect, pest and disease resistant. So it does not need a lot of initial investment.
Plus, it grows within 90 to 120 days. It restores nutrients to the soil. So in later crop season, it can help to plant something else on the same plot of land. Hemp can also be grown back in the field for up to two decades. Hemp is good for everyone If you wear hemp clothing, it will give you the following benefits: It is antimicrobial. Hemp clothing is lightweight. The fabric is breathable, absorbs sweat and keeps you cool. Hemp clothing will not show signs of recent wear. It is also very durable, with 8 times the tensile strength of cotton, and will not fray or tear easily. It dries quickly and dyes well. Color options abound, designs and patterns too. Hemp can be blended with other fabrics to create blends that bring the two best textures together. Contrary to popular opinion, hemp fabric does not look like you’re wearing a backpack.
Moreover, it becomes softer with regular use. But you are not the only beneficiary of hemp clothing. Mother Nature shares the pleasures of hemp fabric with you. Hemp is a carbon negative crop. This means that the plant sequesters more carbon dioxide from the environment as a result of its production and processing. Hemp’s long roots also bind the soil and prevent erosion. In mountainous regions such as villages of Uttarakhand, this means that aiding crops can also reduce the incidence and severity of soil erosion. OK, but isn’t cannabis something to do with marijuana? I know they are different, but still, is cannabis legal? Yes, Hemp is legal. Industrial hemp, which contains less than 0.3% of THC (the highly psychoactive substance in marijuana), is legal to grow and use.
So, if we use hemp fabric to empower women in Uttarakhand, they won’t do some shady business. Hemp fabric can revive the handloom industry. Hemp is a suitable fabric for everyday and runway wear. Hemp blend can be used to make almost any type of clothing. It is good for the environment. It is cost effective as it requires fewer chemical resources to grow. It ticks all the boxes when it comes to what we need to revive the hand loom industry.
The handloom industry – the pride of ancient India – relied solely on cotton as the primary raw material. But synthetic fibers have made cotton financially unsustainable. Also, especially waking people of millennials are beginning to realize that cotton was a natural disaster in the making. The number of chemicals it needed, the amount of water it took in, and the damage it did to the soil, was astonishing. But hemp can fix all those holes. I talk a lot about hemp that could revive the handloom industry. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. Hemp is the Messiah we didn’t know we needed. It will bring the hand loom industry back to life.
And also to re-establish our pride and position in the textile world. And then… Reviving the hand loom industry will women’s empowerment launch the maximum for Indian weavers? Women: Who has been hit hardest by the decline in the handloom industry? Women: Who has suffered the financial, social, emotional and psychological burden of the decline of the handloom industry? women. So who stands to gain if we bring the handloom from behind the rusty warehouses back into the spotlight? women.
If cannabis can fuel the return of the handloom, then the handloom can ignite the torch of women’s empowerment. How do? Here’s how events unfold: Hemp will be grown in the fields in rural Uttarakhand. These women can work on farms. Then hemp fibers collected from the fields need to be sewn into canvas. […]
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