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 Udhampur Cluster:-

Udhampur Cluster falls under Jammu & Kashmir State in Jammu district.

The Udhampur cluster is able to form 150 plus Artisans & 15 SHGs supporting the strong work force. The mobilization gains momentum day by day.

Textile Handloom:-

Handloom Textile Weaving includes shawl making, yarn spinning, Khadi weaving and related tasks. Weaving is an act of passing threads or strands of material under and over each other. By Weaving cloth, rugs, blankets shawls etc. are manufactured. Natural fibers used for weaving are cotton, silk and wool. Synthetic fibers such as nylon and Orlon are also used.

Due to mechanization, weaving is now done with the help of machines. Machines have increased the production and improved the quality of the final products. But traditional method of handloom weaving is still practiced in some states of India.

Shawls of Kullu and Kashmir are famous all over the world. Shawls are a protective layer of woolen stuff against winter. Kullu and Kashmir Shawls are prepared from angora and pashmina pure wool. There are different varieties of shawls - with borders on both opposite sides, borders on all four sides, shawls with floral patterns, shawls with natural images or Phulkari work etc.

Today Indian rugs are in demand. These are very cheap and easily available. During their invasions, Muslim rulers introduced rugs. These rugs were of Persian style and were preferred to Indian rugs. Due to the flourishing industry of rugs, weavers shifted their focus from shawls to rugs.

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:-

By Air:-

The city of Jammu has its own airport, well connected with most of the important cities. Almost all the major airlines like Indian Airlines, Jet Airways, etc operate flights to Jammu on a regular basis.

By Road:-

Jammu has good network of roads connecting it with all major cities like Delhi, Amritsar, Ambala, Chandigarh, Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Shimla, etc.

By Train:-

The most important railway station in the entire state of Jammu and Kashmir is that of Jammu only and is known as Jammu Tawi station. The station is well connected with almost all the key cities of India.