Ahimsa Eri Silk is a wild silk with a wooly fibrous filament hand spun into yarn, handwoven on traditional throw shuttle looms of Assam.

It is elegant in drape, subtle in appearance and the texture of fabric does not carry obvious lustre that we typically associate with silk. It is substantial, adaptable and offers dynamic structure in custom-made garments. As a well-being textile, it is nature-sensitive, chemical-free, decomposable from source to product. It is also nourishing for health because of its thermal insulation, with remarkable moisture absorption and UV protection properties.

Ahimsa Eri silk is ethically produced with reverence to life and fair benefit to rearers, spinners, weavers, dyers and facilitators. It is made by hand, made at home and has gone through no machine or mechanised processing units. Thereby, it qualifies as a slow-movement product where the maker is a farmer, a house-holder and then an artisan. Our project’s primary motivation has been “maker at ease” where the maker works from home in their available time. Added to this no pressure and creative work environment, are a few genuine laughters, concern for each other’s well being and a lot of patience to not give in to the expectation of the fast economy cycles of mainstream textiles.

Fabric

 

Ahimsa Eri silk is available in plain fabric yardage (110-115 cm width) though can also be customised for a certain quality of order if textures, warp-weft alterations and specific dimensions need to be diversified. However, these processes that are carried out completely by hand will require a generosity of time frame to achieve the order. We also honour keeping a declaration in heart that something that is made by hands using sources directly from nature will experience natural diversity and hence cannot be alike, consistent and perfect. The irregularity and slub of the weave is a natural occurrence, so are the waves in selvage. The weavers still calculate by traditional methods, a practice we encourage and celebrate so variations in size (by few mms) are expected.

While some may prefer these textiles in various colours of natural dyes, we encourage you to begin your experience of this textile with non-dyed natural textile.

Yarn

 

Ahimsa Silk Eri yarn has potential to yield a diversity of results when woven through different looms, or applied with crochet or knitting. To diversify its usage, we have made this hand-spun yarn available to you in natural ivory as well as with natural dyes. You can order a minimum quantity of 500 gms and begin your personal or organisation exploration with a choice to support this conscientious textile.