Weaving is an integral part of this region's heritage. Expect to see the complete Ikat weaving process from making of the dyes to forming the patterns and weaving. A traditional dyeing technique called "resist" is used to create the beautiful ikats design. The ‘resist’ areas bound with rubber bands, so they don’t pick up the dye. Ikat comes in two forms: single ikat and double ikat; the latter is requires more dexterity in arriving at the desired end; it’s also more expensive to buy. The word ikat comes from the Indonesian mengikat, which means’ to tie’. It is a technique popular in China, Japan and Indonesia.
Pochampalli (Bhoodan Pochampilli) is a little village in the Yadadri Bhuvanagiri district 45km from Hyderabad. Its renown has spread across the globe for its ikat weaves and other textiles. It is on the tentative list of UNESCO world heritage sites.
On this tour, we will be visiting two villages famous for their tie and dye (or ikat) craft on silk and cotton. One of the villages, Pochampally is famous for its silk weaving and Koyyalgudem is famous for weaving cotton. Almost every house in the village has a loom where the entire family is involved in the process. We will visit two or three homes and interact with the weavers and the family members.
In Pochampally only the members of the Padamshali and Devangas communities do ikat weaves in their homes. The speciality of Ikat is that instead of the woven cloth, the yarn is tied and dyed, and when dry, woven into saris. Some weavers still use traditional dyes; one of the weavers that we visit will show us how he extracts dye out of certain flowers, leaves, the skin of the pomegranate, certain roots, and seeds. The Pochampalli Weavers Coop retail outlet is excellent for picking up ikat material, sarees, shawls and bed linen. The Koyyalagudem Co-operative Centre helps the weavers sell their work. This tour will also present you will vignette of village life around Hyderabad city