21 Oct

Posted at 00:45h in Cotton Series, Earth Democracy, Farming, History, Sustainability, Technology by
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[vc_row css_animation="" row_type="row" use_row_as_full_screen_section="no" type="full_width" angled_section="no" text_align="left" background_image_as_pattern="without_pattern" css=".vc_custom_1634756508566{padding-right: 15px !important;}" z_index=""][vc_column offset="vc_col-xs-12"][vc_column_text]Earth Democracy: This month, I found my life coming a full circle after I took a little break from the day-to-day research work of our textile craft company Marasim. I invested my time into studying a course 'Return to Earth: A-Z of biodiversity, agroecology, and regenerative organic systems' with the Earth University by Navdanya foundation under the tutelage of Dr. Vandana Shiva ( A global impact leader on Climate Change, farmers rights, organic farming, biopiracy and a lot more.) 

02 Apr

Posted at 11:31h in Cotton Series, Earth Democracy, Farming, History, Sustainability by
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[vc_row css_animation="" row_type="row" use_row_as_full_screen_section="no" type="full_width" angled_section="no" text_align="left" background_image_as_pattern="without_pattern" css=".vc_custom_1617338351795{padding-right: 15px !important;}" z_index=""][vc_column offset="vc_col-xs-12"][vc_column_text]Cotton was the primary commodity of the first days of an Industrial production system that changed the world.With the arrival of the British East India Company in India and their overlordship on the cotton manufacturing (among other things) on the Indian Subcontinent, the ever so romantic and prosperous Story of cotton and cotton farmers that I discussed in my earlier post came to an erratic end. 

SEED SELECTION AND GROUND PREPARATION FROM HISTORY OF SUSTAINABLE COTTON

READ MORE ON OUR COTTON SERIESI will talk more about the India story at the end of this article. Let us first look at the Story of cotton in America.

15 Mar

Posted at 16:05h in Cotton Series, Earth Democracy, Farming, Sustainability, Technique by
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[vc_row css_animation="" row_type="row" use_row_as_full_screen_section="no" type="full_width" angled_section="no" text_align="left" background_image_as_pattern="without_pattern" css=".vc_custom_1615836859728{padding-right: 15px !important;}" z_index=""][vc_column offset="vc_col-xs-12"][vc_column_text]Sustainable Cotton: As I turn through the pages of the book 'A Frayed History. The Journey of Cotton in India'. I find nuggets of great information, which I plan to compile and share succinctly in a series of articles starting with this one. Cotton, the wonder fiber, was at the start of history, found in two parts of the world—India, and Peru, as has been inferred from the study of old inscriptions and arts. Sir George Watt, a Scottish Botanist who worked in India as a reporter on botany, has shared very early research that says cotton was considered sacred in India. In those times, the word used for cotton was 'karpasi.' The sacred threads of a Brahman were made of 'karpasi' to put on over his head in three strings.

11 Sep

Posted at 18:07h in Culture, Farming, History by
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[vc_row css_animation="" row_type="row" use_row_as_full_screen_section="no" type="full_width" angled_section="no" text_align="left" background_image_as_pattern="without_pattern" css=".vc_custom_1599878627805{padding-right: 15px !important;}" z_index=""][vc_column offset="vc_col-xs-12"][vc_column_text]NATURAL DYES – THE HISTORY OF EXTRACTION OF PLANT PIGMENTSLast week, I had written about dyes extracted from animals. In continuation of the story of natural dyes, I will describe the primary dyes extracted from plant sources and the often violent history associated with at least one of these.  

04 Sep

Posted at 13:00h in Artisan, Culture, Farming, History, Sustainability by
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[vc_row css_animation="" row_type="row" use_row_as_full_screen_section="no" type="full_width" angled_section="no" text_align="left" background_image_as_pattern="without_pattern" css=".vc_custom_1599375663374{padding-right: 15px !important;}" z_index=""][vc_column offset="vc_col-xs-12"][vc_column_text]THE HISTORY OF EXTRACTION OF NATURAL DYES-ANIMAL PIGMENTSCan you imagine a world where all our apparel, our interiors, the objects we use in our daily lives were a uniform white or grey? We take color so much for granted that we cannot imagine that this was the case at the dawn of humanity. As civilizations started flourishing in Asia and Egypt around 2500 BC, the human need for adornment and self-actualization asserted itself in the first use of color.

13 Aug

Posted at 01:25h in Artisan, Cotton Series, Culture, Earth Democracy, Farming, History, Sustainability, Technology by
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[vc_row css_animation="" row_type="row" use_row_as_full_screen_section="no" type="full_width" angled_section="no" text_align="left" background_image_as_pattern="without_pattern" css=".vc_custom_1597860824004{padding-right: 15px !important;}" z_index=""][vc_column offset="vc_col-xs-12"][vc_single_image image="2315" img_size="full" add_caption="yes" qode_css_animation=""][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row css_animation="" row_type="row" use_row_as_full_screen_section="no" type="full_width" angled_section="no" text_align="left" background_image_as_pattern="without_pattern"][vc_column offset="vc_col-xs-12"][vc_empty_space][vc_column_text]The Story of Indian Cotton: As we enter the sixth month of the pandemic I sit in disbelief, bewildered at the might of the virus- something that has incredible power but molecularly so small. This destructive virus almost feels like prescience as I consecutively write about how mankind has manipulated the existence of indigenous cottonseed, another ‘small’ yet ‘mighty’ being of nature. 

The Discovery of Indian Cotton

22 May

Posted at 21:57h in Culture, Farming, History, Perspective, Sustainability, Technique by
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[vc_row css_animation="" row_type="row" use_row_as_full_screen_section="no" type="full_width" angled_section="no" text_align="left" background_image_as_pattern="without_pattern" css=".vc_custom_1590199058732{padding-right: 20px !important;}" z_index=""][vc_column offset="vc_col-xs-12"][vc_single_image image="2023" img_size="full" add_caption="yes" qode_css_animation=""][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row css_animation="" row_type="row" use_row_as_full_screen_section="no" type="full_width" angled_section="no" text_align="left" background_image_as_pattern="without_pattern" css=".vc_custom_1590199066242{padding-right: 20px !important;}" z_index=""][vc_column offset="vc_col-xs-12"][vc_column_text]Khadi or Khaddar- How is Khadi philosophy applicable todayMy husband and I transition our day into relaxation and nostalgia by binge watching motion series adaptation of R. K. Narayan’s book  ‘Malgudi days’ .  Short stories from a small village exuding the zeitgeist of pre-independence India- reminiscent of my grandmother’s beautiful stories. In one particular episode of Malgudi days, the whole village organizes a bonfire to burn their ‘English’ clothes.. The story belongs to a time when Indian's were encouraged to keep only ‘khadi’ or ‘khaddar’ clothes with them. It gives the audience a glimpse of the boycott movement that was adopted to fight against the imperial rule.

'Khadi’ , a  material embodiment of an ideal'

In the current situation, we are witnessing the collapse of long distant supply chains and brutal financial realities. It is time that countries adopted self reliance and economic self sufficiency that was advocated by  M.K Gandhi for India. Gandhi used humble Khadi as his weapon for inspiring a revolution.

10 May

Posted at 03:08h in Cotton Series, Culture, Earth Democracy, Farming, History, Perspective, Sustainability by
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[vc_row css_animation="" row_type="row" use_row_as_full_screen_section="no" type="full_width" angled_section="no" text_align="left" background_image_as_pattern="without_pattern"][vc_column width="1/2"][vc_single_image image="1933" img_size="large" qode_css_animation=""][/vc_column][vc_column width="1/2"][vc_single_image image="1953" img_size="large" qode_css_animation=""][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row css_animation="" row_type="row" use_row_as_full_screen_section="no" type="full_width" angled_section="no" text_align="left" background_image_as_pattern="without_pattern" css=".vc_custom_1589245353205{padding-right: 20px !important;}" z_index=""][vc_column offset="vc_col-xs-12"][vc_column_text]Sustainable Cotton. In 2012, when I was doing my research on traditional wisdom of food in India. I learnt about the scholar and environmental activist Vandana Shiva. I appreciate the knowledge she shared on biodiversity conservation, organic farming, the rights of farmers, and the process of seed saving. It is a good sign that the food environmentalists have started to understand the harm the food ‘industry’ has done to the soil by replacing the traditional wisdom of nurturing and growing food on farms with the modern invention of  lab made, chemically manipulated foods and agricultural practices.The fashion industry should also adopt the concept of returning to “Earth Citizenship” and becoming a part of the Earth’s life cycles. The issue is that the fashion industry, with its long supply chains and numerous processes between idea generation and product development, lacks the time to develop an understanding of something as ancient and essential as cotton farming methods. The fashion industry generally places price above practices when it comes to most steps in the product development process.

COTTON- A CASH CROP

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