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Malkha Cotton Khadi of Andhra Pradesh

Textiles, Weaving, Spinning, Khadi

Malkha Cotton Khadi of Andhra Pradesh

Malkha is pure cotton cloth made directly from raw cotton in the village close to cotton fields and combines traditional Indian principles of cloth making with modern small-scale technology. Malkha is energy efficient, avoids baling and unbaling of cotton by heavy machinery and unnecessary transport. The lack of heavy and intense industrial processing results in Malkha having a beautiful texture, is soft, and keeps its shape for ages.

Malkha fabrics are woven by skilled weaver families on handlooms in Indian villages from cotton grown by smallholder farmer families. The malkha process puts the intermediate stage of cotton spinning back in the village, making the entire textile chain from cotton to cloth village-based. The newly designed machines put sophisticated modern technology at the service of the village, on a human scale. They handle the delicate cotton fibres gently, avoiding the force and violence of conventional processing, keeping the springiness of the live fibres all the way into the cloth. That’s what gives malkha fabric its swing and drape. Malkha fabric is soft, it breathes, absorbs, holds colour, reflects its handmade heritage in its texture.

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