Art and Culture

The Palm-Leaf and Bamboo Coop. Society at Pulicat is witnessing stagnation for several years.


The over 45-year old Pulicat Women’s Palm Leaf and Bamboo Cooperative Society which churns out colourful handicrafts is in urgent need of attention. The Society in this non-descript village on the banks of Pulicat lagoon, 60 kms north of Chennai, is witnessing stagnation for several years. It was started as far back as 1959, but the Society’s progress has been marred by the remoteness of the village from urban market and difficult access to the place.


The small fishing village on the Pulicat lake, where the Dutch set up their East India Company (Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie or VOC) in 1602, is also an old settlement of Arabs who came here centuries before the Dutch. These immigrants have merged with the locals and turned into a Tamil speaking community even while adhering to the Shafii maslak. The village has two mosques which are over 300 years old. The community is now mainly engaged in fishing. Considering the general poverty, the Tamil Nadu’s Handicrafts Development Board set up a small unit to train the local women, mainly Muslim, in weaving the palm leaves and making artifacts of daily use.


During the chief ministership of Kamaraj, a local activist Bava Sayedullah started the Cooperative Society. He enlisted 13 members from among the local women. Today the Society has 402 members, three-fourths of whom are Muslims. A master craftsman known as Ali Labbai introduced innovative designs and took the craft to new heights. His designs won wide acclaim in exhibitions. But then decline set in. Today the Society suffers from both deficiency of innovation and accessibility to newer markets. It has to mainly subsist on orders from the Handicrafts Board. Last year, it could register the turnover of merely Rs. 12 lakh and disbursed 14 per cent dividends.


Ms. Kokila, the in-charge of the Society, says newer markets and robust orders would lift the spirits of the poor women engaged in the craft. They barely raise Rs. 1,200 a month to supplement the family income. However, they have an additional benefit. Each woman member is insured for Rs. 50,000. For this they need to contribute only Rs. 40 a month and the Society contributes 60 from its side.


The craft requires raw palm leaves as the raw material, which is yellow in colour. On being dried under the sun, it becomes supple and can be dyed in all colours. The women weavers then prepare exquisite mats, laundry baskets, cradle beds, magazine carriers, jewel boxes, purses, towel pouches, tea-cup mats, shopping bags etc.


Kokila says the sagging fortunes of the artisans can be reversed, if handicrafts dealers from other centres such as Hyderabad, Bangalore, Mumbai could directly place orders with the society.


For more details contact, Ms. Kokila, The Pulicat Women Palm Leaf Cooperative Society, Post Pulicat-601205, Thiruvellore district, Phone: 04119- 276318.