“All these shades are natural,” explains Raju Kanchawar, who has helped design the products. “This wool is so coarse that it cannot be dyed. But see what an array of colours exists naturally -– at least 12 to 15 different shades.”

The items in question are made from bura, a coarse wool extracted from mendhi, a local variety of sheep reared by the Dhanghar or Kurmar (shepherd) community that lives in Maharashtra’s Chandrapur and Gadchiroli districts.

Until very recently, the community used to weave ghonghdis for personal use only, and very rarely for sale. But recently, Elgar, a PACS Programme partner working with tribals and unorganised labour in the area, has helped members of this community come together and develop their traditional craft into a commercially viable art.

The nomadic Dhanghars of the Vidarbha region have traditionally reared sheep for a livelihood. The animals provide them food and wool. They also receive gifts of money or grain during their seasonal travels in search of pasture, in return for ‘sitting’ or keeping their herds in farmers’ fields for the night, as the droppings provide good manure.

However, the Dhanghars have slowly begun to lose their livelihood sources.

The wool of their variety of sheep is coarser than that of sheep from higher altitudes and with the advent of soft machine-made blankets, demand for the ghonghdi has slid to almost nothing.

Further, the Dhanghars’ traditional migration routes have been diverted or disturbed due to increasing urbanisation. Hence, income from the ‘sitting’ of sheep has also declined.

A few lucky Dhanghars have succeeded in buying land and settling down. But quite a large number are turning to casual labour-- urban or rural--in despair.

Says Paromita Goswami of Elgar: “When we came into contact with this community we found that a sizeable section of them still own sheep in good numbers -- on average, 100 sheep per family. We felt that their condition could be improved if their traditional resources were put to commercially viable use.”

But the going was far from easy. The process of spinning raw bura into yarn and weaving it into ghonghdis is difficult and labour-intensive. The wool has to first be ginned, then spun into yarn with the help of a takli (spinning top).

It’s usually the women of the community who do this work. Since the process of pressing and rolling the bura to form yarn has to be done against the bare skin of the thigh, it can be quite exacting. “We get sores on our thighs rolling the bura all day in season,” says an elderly woman as she demonstrates the spinning process.

The ginning, spinning and weaving of one ghonghdi takes a whole month. At present, a ghonghdi sells for just Rs 125 in the rural market, which translates to a very meagre income compared to the amount of labour and material that goes into making it.

“That is why we tried to introduce smaller items that use less material and are made faster,” says Goswami. “Items such as small mats and doormats, decoration pieces, bags and purses, even utility items like pen-stands and pin-cushions, sell at much better prices.”

The 180 Dhanghar families from 15 villages in Chandrapur and Gadchiroli districts, with whom Elgar is working, have a modest array of products to show.

There are single and double ghonghdis woven in intricate patterns in different colours. There are seven or eight types of handbags stitched out of a ghonghdi. There are mats with beautiful patterns along the edges; and doormats in thick, durable weaves.

There is also the owl and an equally cute tortoise stuffed with sand. “This doubles up as a paperweight and a pin-cushion,” explains Raju Kanchawar.

Elgar has put very little effort into formally training members of the community. “The weaving and spinning skills were already there in the community,” explains Goswami. “They also have a lot of imagination and talent. Apart from this, we picked up ideas from here and there.”

The inspiration for many of the products came from articles made out of jute and similar material. “Raju here is a magician,” Goswami says with pride. “He can recreate in ghonghdi any design he sees in other materials, and also innovate on his own. He is the community’s own designer.”

Income from these products varies. “With consistent work, a family can earn as much as Rs 3,000-Rs 4,000 per month, though a lot depends on the orders we receive,” says Vijay Korawar, secretary, Elgar.

Members of the community have their own marketing channels in the rural areas, through which they sell some of their goods, mostly utility items like blankets and bags.

In addition, Elgar has helped the community display products at various craft expos and agriculture centres.

The response has been good, but Goswami admits that more can be done. “The Khadi Gramodyog Commission has not granted handloom status to this craft, so it does not enjoy the benefit of any government schemes,” she says. “We have applied for handloom status, and it would be a great help if it is granted.”

“People do not know much about the ghonghdi and its good qualities,” says Kanchawar. “This blanket may be rough but it is virtually waterproof, as water does not penetrate the fibre. Dhanghars spend the entire rainy season under the open sky relying only on this blanket to protect them.”

“What we want is support from government and voluntary agencies working in the area of handicrafts and handloom,” says Korawar. “We could do with marketing support and some training in finishing and packaging our products. This would be a useful exercise, as the Dhanghars and similar communities still live in many parts of central India.”

As Korawar points out, support to this art would go a long way in saving the traditional lifestyle and livelihood of the Dhanghars from extinction.