Hand weaving India

FiveP are a social enterprise who aim to protect, preserve and promote the handloom textile weaving heritage of Chennimalai in Southern India. A social initiative conceived by Bharathi Shree, the enterprising daughter of a succesful business man who is passionate about giving something back to this community.

Bharathi explains to me on a taxi ride to the weaving unit about the values the project is founded on. It is so important to give weaving the respect it deserves in order to sustain this as a viable career choice for generations going forward.

FIVE P’S ergonomic building design allows maximum air flow and is designed with this in mind. On entering the space it is immediately comfortable out of the heat, with large open windows and doors, this space feels light and airy and a stark contrast to the more commonly referenced weaving set up in India.

These purpose made looms have been designed by the technical director here at Five P, a man as passionate and knowledgable about the consistency of the end product as the wellbeing of the weaver. A huge element of fabric quality comes down to the rhythm and well being of the weaver who is working the loom; therefor the comfort of the weaver is paramount.

I was so incredibly excited to visit Five P and learn about their mission and their technical know how. The team here deserve the utmost respect for the project they are running, and the service they deliver. Since this visit, we developed fabric samples of various colours and gone on to weave our first order together, used for our recent collaboration with Naturalmat.

One of the biggest challenges for any small business is in finding the right working partnerships. I can safely say Five P have looked after our order with the greatest care and attention to detail. In addition to weaving the base WAFFLE organic cotton, Five P also managed the embroidery of the throws. It was important to find the right partnership for this kind of work and everyone was delighted with the end results.