Organic cotton and timeless tradition
Chamanlal Premji Siju is a 11th generation weaver. His father, Premjibhai won the Shilp guru award. He now works at home with his three brothers and their families. He loves to work with kala cotton and natural dyes.
A few years ago, Chamanlal Siju started a store called “Dora N Mani.” The store sells his work and those of others. The goal is to experience the many facets of Kutch. Dora means thread. Mani means bread.
Chamanlal and his brothers work beside each other in a large room that is both their workshop and studio. One brother spins, the other may set the warp, the third might sit in the pit loom and weave. In the back is an open courtyard where the dyeing happens.
Family and community are the glue that keeps the weave together.