Assam Silk Project (2000 - 2003)
Principal Investigator: Lorna Bircham
Funded by: Chelsea College of Art & Design

The main objective of this project was to help promote the unique silk industry of the area of Assam, one of the seven North Eastern states of India, by finding a new export furnishing fabric/product market as well as to encourage a group of tribal weavers to become more financially independent.

The Project mainly looked at the issue of yarn colouration. In the past, some of the local weave designs included embellished weft yarns that that been dyed with natural vegetable dyes. However, the modern Assamese tribal weaver prefers to choose yarns from a ready supply of commercially dyed acrylic and viscose rayon available in the markets and it was felt that the colour range was not entirely suitable for interior design schemes. Therefore, the first task was to arrange for the weft yarns to be dyed and a huge quantity of Eri silk yarn was sent to Delhi to be ‘professionally’ dyed. Although it was returned in poor condition and had been dyed unevenly, once it was used as weft stripes, the woven cloth took on the appearance of beautiful watercolour paintings.

Even though there had been some developments with yarn colouration, it was felt that teaching the weavers to dye their own silks would make them not only more independent (by keeping costs down) but make the final product 100% Assamese. Also, they could dye as little or as much as they needed at one time and have some creative input of their own. Therefore, the project set about trying to devise a method of dyeing suitable for local village conditions.

The most perfect solution to the problem was to introduce a method of exhaust dyeing in which the dye is gradually transferred from the dye bath to the yarn in a repeat process until the remaining water is clear and pure. Having tested the method in the UK by a quality control analyst at Thames Water, the project was satisfied that there would be no toxic effects from the residual water.

The dye method was then successfully piloted by the local village and a collection of samples is now stored at the TED Resource.