Skip to main content

Digital designs, Product designs & Weaving experiments

With a focus on environmental sustainability, the Foundation aims to set up research and development in textile designing. This centre would document knowledge and innovative practices in reducing, reusing and recycling textile waste.

India has a rich diversity in weaving patterns and techniques but most of the knowledge and skill is dying because of lack of awareness and patronage for the art from the wider public. To conserve and add value to India’s heritage and to the existing knowledge bank, is the need of the hour. This rich compendium of knowledge will enable future generations to learn and assimilate the knowledge across regions to create one’s unique style and identity.

The synthetic textile industry is one of the largest greenhouse gas emitters, amounting to about 5% of the total carbon footprint. Environmental consciousness has been an important feature of Vimor philosophy of its approach to textile design, using upcycled waste yarn and fabrics to create sarees. With a focus on environmental sustainability, the Foundation aims to set up research and development in textile designing. This centre would document knowledge and innovative practices in reducing, reusing and recycling textile waste.

We need to document local oral histories from the village elders to understand what could have been lost in terms of fabric and practises. This enables weavers and artisans to build ownership and then take up possible production to continue forgotten techniques.

Research

Research on available technology-Kambli weaving

‘The Kambli Project’ focuses on the marginalized kuruba community of pastoralists, who practice the age-old tradition of blanket weaving in the Belgaum district, North Karnataka. This indigenous weaving practice incorporates sustainability in the truest sense –adopting methods such as thigh reeling to make yarn; dried coconut shell for spindle; tamarind seed paste as emulsion for fibers; dried root brush for combing; and sticks as loom, shuttle and measuring tools. 

‘The Kambli Project’ encourages the eco-friendly ecosystem of the Kuruba community by creating a varied range of products for a wider audience. Conserving the community’s traditional practices by producing innovative and sustainable products with design compositions is key to this project. This will improve employment rates, income creation, and entrepreneurship with reduced carbon footprints. 

In 2019, we conducted a three-month-long design intervention where we realized the coarseness of wool which is producing stiff blankets. In order to remove stiffness and create design variation and textures we introduced a newly designed kambli which incorporated recycled silk waste. This created a textured brightly coloured kambli product with reduced stiffness.

For the kambli project now, we wish to research on the available technology to treat wool fibers making it less coarse and alongside find sustainable friendly solutions to reduce stiffness of kambli fabric. The proposed outcome of this research should be a research hypothesis which will compile existing information from institutions working in softening fibers, and the prime knowledge of kuruba pastoralist community who have been weaving kambli for ages.

Conservation and Documentation

Vimor foundation houses a wide array of textiles ranging from wall hangings and carpets to embroidered brocades.

These textiles are over 100 years old, they are carefully preserved in a controlled environment are constantly studied, referred to and documented by a dedicated research team with an aim to conserve the craft.

Reimagining Handloom in Karnataka | Heritage & Livelihoods

Vimor plays a significant role in enduring traditions of indigenous weaves.

The foundation takes up initiatives to collect a huge repository of ancient textiles and techniques from the senior weavers. The Vimor team documents the weaver’s oral textile-tales creating large archives of authentic information about weaves and designs.

The design team later reinterprets the designs and helps the young weaves to be able to cater to the current masses.

As an environmentally-conscious brand, Vimor teaches weavers cost-effective ways to succeed.