A cluster is defined as a geographic concentration (a city/town/few adjacent village and their adjoining areas) of units producing near similar products and facing common opportunities and threats. An artisan cluster is defined as geographically concentrated (mostly in villages/townships) household units producing handicraft/handloom products. In a typical cluster, such producers often belong to a traditional community, producing the long-established products for generations. Indeed, many artisan clusters are centuries old Artisan.

About Amroha Cluster:-

Amroha Cluster falls under Uttar Pradesh State in Jotiba Phule Nagar district.

The Amroha cluster is able to form 200 plus Artisans & 20 SHGs supporting the strong work force. The mobilization gains momentum day by day.

Textile Handloom:-

The main centers of Jamdani weaving in Uttar Pradesh are Tanda (Fyzabad district) and Banaras. Jamdanis are very thinly textured muslins (white thin cloth) with floral, bird and animal motifs which are woven on the loom. The warp is unbleached gray yarn and the motifs are woven with bleached white yarn. At Banaras the craftsperson use gold thread in addition to the bleached and unbleached white threads. The finest Banaras muslins are called Kasivastras. Tanda fabrics are exceptionally frail and only white yarn is used for the weaving. The threads used for decoration are not cut at the edges, but are left hanging in the spool and then introduced into the figured pick.

The craftsperson today also follows the traditional Jamdani pit looms to form traditional designs. The weaving done is with two threads of yarn of the same count as the background are used to weave the floral motifs which are done by means of extra spools, The kind of weaving done is known as twill-tapestry, which is same as embroidery where the bamboo-spindle takes the place of the needle. Jamdanis are very suitable for saris, caps and angarkhis.. The motifs of flowers used for the weaving are chameli, pomera, genda, mogra, kamana,juhi, khas ishqapench, harsingar and phulbanjari. Aribel, Kangura, Jaldar, Saro, Marava, Haravver, Lahar, Purmatan, Kharibel are few motifs which are very regularly used in Jamdani weaving of Uttar Pradesh.

While the Daccai Jamdani is strictly a party affair, the other Jamdani are much sought after by fashion-conscious working women for their elegance. These are mostly Jamdani motifs on Tangail fabric and are generally known by the confusing nomenclature of Tangail Jamdani. Although beige background is the most popular, these are available in a riot of colors, at affordable prices.

Raw Materials:-

1.Thread
2.Cotton Cloth
3.Wood Blocks
4.Colours

Process:-

The wool is collected every spring, and spinning is done by hand. The yarn is spun on a spinning wheel locally known as ‘Charkha’. Prior to spinning, the raw material is treated by stretching and cleaning it to remove any dirt and soaked for a few days in a mixture of rice and water to make it softer. Hand-spinning is an extremely painstaking and a lengthy task. It requires extreme patience and dedication, and is an amazing process to watch.

Yarn is too fragile for the vibration caused by power looms thus the weaving of the traditional 100% shawls is therefore done on Hand Looms. It is essential for the weaver to have a uniform hand, for par excellence fabric. Weaving is done with a shuttle. The weaving process is in itself an art, which has been passed over from generations to generations. It takes about 4 days to weave a single shawl on a handloom.

Dyeing is also done by hand and each piece individually. Dyers with immense patience and generations of experience are the ones who dye the shawls, as even the smallest negligence reflects on the quality of the product. Only metal and azo-free dyes are used, making the shawls completely eco-friendly. The pure water used for dying is pumped up from deep beneath the surface. Dyeing is done at a temperature just below boiling point for nearly an hour. Pashmina wool is exceptionally absorbent, and dyes easily and deeply.

Techniques:-

In Jamdani the pattern of design drawn on paper is pinned beneath the warp threads. As the weaving proceeds, the designs are worked in like embroidery. When the weft thread approaches close to where a flower or other figure has to be inserted, the weaver takes up one of a set of bamboo needles round each of which is wrapped yarn of a different colour as needed for the design. As every weft or wool thread passes through the warp, he sews down the intersected portion of the pattern with one or another of the needles as might be required and so continues till the pattern is completed. When the pattern is continuous and regular, a master weaver generally dispenses with the aid of paper patterns.

How to Reach:-

Amroha is a small town located almost 30 km from Moradabad in the west on the Lucknow-Delhi line and about 135 km from New Delhi. The town is well connected by roadways