Now, handloom tourism on cards to popularise Ilkal sarees in Karnataka

To popularise the Ilkal sarees and Guledgudd khana, the Bagalkot district administration has come up with an ambitious plan of organising handloom tourism, where visitors will be given a peep into the world of handloom weavers.

Bagalkot is considered one of the important hubs of traditional weaving as it is home to more than 6,514 handlooms that support nearly 7,000 families. Though the Ilkal sarees and Guledgudda khana are famous across the country, the weavers are facing hardship due to poor sales.

The administration by organising tour packages to these weaving centres not only intends to bring more buyers to the doorsteps of the artists but also plans to make buyers understand the process it takes to knit one saree and the hardship faced by the weaving community.

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Speaking to DH, Deputy Commissioner P Sunil Kumar said Bagalkot is known for its historical and religious places such as Badami, Aihole, Pattadakallu, Kudalasangama and others, which attract thousands of visitors from across India and the world. “We wish to divert a portion of these tourists to our handloom sites,” he said.

The district administration with the help of The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD), and the Tourism Department has trained guides at UNESCO-protected monuments to inform the visitors about the manufacturing process of the GI-tagged sarees.

So far, the district administration, under its tour package to Guledgudda, Ilkal, Sulebhavi and Kamatagi, has organised four such tours of 18-20 visitors each. The visitors were taken to these saree-knitting sites on a decorated bullock cart and provided with authentic traditional food. The administration charged Rs 1,000 per person.

The deputy commissioner said the trial run of the package gave a rough idea of various facilities that are required to improve the better market for handloom weavers. In the coming days we will improve them, he said. “We will also have to work out packages for visitors coming in their own vehicles,” he said.

Tourism Department Deputy Director Mallikarjun Bajantri said the four trips received good responses from the visitors as they saw how a saree is hand made and a majority of them purchased sarees at the weavers' society. “We are hopeful of scaling up the package tours,” he said.

Shrikant V Guled, an Ilkal-based weaver, welcoming the district administration’s move said the sales of Ilkal sarees will increase if more and more tourists visitors visit the weaving sites. “This move will also cut the middlemen changers, which is beneficiary for both buyers and weavers,” he said.