Natural, all the way

Tula, a non-profit organisation was started in Chennai, 2014 to revive the financial conditions of desi cotton farmers. It brings the garments from Indian (desi) cotton originally grown by smallholder, rainfed farmers, with the yarn handspun by skilled Khadhi workers and it is coloured with natural dyes.

For the first time in Hyderabad, the Tula team exhibited their collections at Our Sacred Space, titled ‘Tula-The Lightest and Most Eco-Friendly Garments’. The two-day exhibition witnessed many young citizens showing interest in purchasing the natural handlooms.

“As per the latest statistics, more than three lakh farmers committed suicide in which more than 50 per cent belong to the cotton industry. About 2,700 litres of clean and safe water is needed to make a shirt of inorganic cotton, whereas desi cotton only needs two per cent of water compared to inorganic,” said Srinath Suresh, volunteer, Tula.

“Today hand-spinning is being lost due to the drudgery involved and the really poor returns one gets for this. Tula while trying to improve on the drudgery part is ensuring there is a livelihood enhancement. As always, we ensure both economy and esteem is infused into this very eco-friendly and local livelihood,” he added.

He also said that the hand-spinning has become such a decentralised activity and a few decades back it used to be a revenue spinner for many rural folks, however, it is fading drastically. “The desi cotton will be useful at all times.

In summer, it keeps us cool and in winter it keeps us warm. We are planning to revive the spinning mills. One spinning mill helps livelihood of 10,000 farmer families. We also planning to set up our stores in all over the country, currently, we are working only on the online sales. Hyderabad has great demand for cotton,” he concluded.