This is the journey of Rajaiah Kusuma, the man who holds the patent for Ahimsa (non-violent) Silk or Peace Silk. Though the silk has great market potential, especially worldwide, it has not got the required promotional push and investment needed to make it another fabulous Made in India product.
Rajaiah Kusuma, the man behind Ahimsa Silk or Peace Silk was born in a weaver’s family in Nagaram an Agency village, 100 kilometres away from Warangal District Headquarters (present Bhoopalpally District). After completing his Diploma in Handloom Technology at Indian Institute of Handloom Technology, Salem (the highest diploma in handloom technology), he joined the Andhra Pradesh State Handloom Weavers Cooperative Society (APCO) in 1979 as a Technical Officer and retired in 2014 as a Marketing Officer (Technical).
An average silkworm gives about 1000 yards of cocoon. However, it becomes difficult for the sericulture farmers to get an unbroken thread of silk as long as the silkworm is in the cocoon. Hence, cocoons are immersed in boiling water and the silk is obtained.
Saving the silkworm
Rajaiah recollects, “In the 1990s, the then First Lady of India, Mrs Janki Venkataraman posed a question to me – Is it possible to make a silk saree without killing the silkworm? This question got me thinking. I started researching on the subject and years later succeeded in making a sample saree from silk using the Ahimsa way, a technique of obtaining silk without killing the silkworms for the first time in the world. In 2000, after more research, I was able to find a viable way for bulk and commercial production of Ahimsa Silk.”
Rajaiah shares that Mahatma Gandhi, the man who coined the term Ahimsa had also hoped that the Indian silk industry would use only those cocoons whose worms had already matured into moths and flown out into the world, not boiled to death for the sake of the rich yarn known all over the world for its richness and lustre. “My achievement is the fulfillment of the hope of Gandhiji in the invention of Ahimsa Silk by avoiding the killing of millions of innocent silkworms for the sake of human commercial benefit,” he says. Ahmisa Silk was commercialised in 2001. It uses the same silkworms Bombyx Mori which feeds on mulberry leaves and whose caterpillar has been used in silk production (sericulture) for thousands of years. Although native to China, the silkworm has been introduced throughout the world and has undergone complete domestication, with the species no longer being found in the wild.
The Ahimsa Man as he is popularly known, created world awareness about the silk worldwide. “People all over the world were turning to our Indian concepts of Non-violence and Vegetarianism. I visited so many countries in Europe and US and spread the message of Non-violence and Vegetarianism. As per a BBC survey by 2050, the number of people following Non-violence and Vegetarianism would rise to 8 million per year,” he adds.
More laborious than regular silk farming
How has the business grown? Rajaiah says that the business has grown to some extent and at the same time fake products are also being sold in the name of Ahimsa Silk. “Overseas there is a huge market for Ahimsa Silk. In India, it is yet to pick up,” he points out.
Ahimsa Silk fabric has reached the Pope; Duchess of Cornwall; H.E. Meghavathi Seokarno Puthri, the then President of Indonesia; Sri. Ravishankar, Art of Living, H.H.Bhagawan Puttaparthi Saibaba, H.H. Ganapathi Sachidananda Swamy, Mrs. Amy Suzi wife of Camaroon, Director of the Avataar movie, Courtney Cox, etc. His wife and parents help him in the Ahimsa silk production.
Is the process more laborious than regular silk farming? Yes, he says, “Ahimsa Silk does not have a separate silk farming method, it is only different in the process of extraction – it is more laborious and time consuming. In regular silk production, you just buy the cocoons and pour into boiling water and get the silk. In one day you can procure 95% silk. Whereas in Ahimsa Silk, saving the live cocoons takes about 10 days and then piercing starts, followed by separating the broken cocoons and freeing the moth. This moth will be saved until its peaceful natural death. After checking each cocoon separately to ensure that the matured moths have left, the silk yarn is then retrieved from the broken cocoons and spun into fine yarn, but here we will get only 25 to 30% silk. Nearly 500 kgs of live cocoons are required to get 35 kgs of yarn. Moreover, the labour and conversion charges are also high. That is why Ahimsa Silk is expensive. A saree from this silk can cost anywhere between Rs 12,000 to Rs 17,000!”
Ahimsa Silk needs more promotion and investment
Rajaiah has won many awards for his revolutionary work including the Eminent Personality of Telangana State by the Government of Telangana (he is based in Hyderabad). He purchases live cocoons from nearby sericulture farmers and markets like Anantpur which is a bit far so there are transport costs. The cocoons are transported in open baskets during the night so that they are not harmed by the heat of the daytime.
He has had no support from the government agencies though during Gandhiji’s time, he had even written to the Central Silk Board to use his non-violent method to produce silk. He is all for encouraging organic sericulture and feels that Organic is the future.
Ahimsa Silk is almost like the regular silk having the same qualities. However, it is less lustrous but, more soft compared to regular silk. It is very comfortable as it has air permeability so can be used even in hot climates. As more and more consumers are getting environment conscious and want to use eco friendly and cruelty safe products, he feels the market for Ahimsa Silk has great potential. He mostly makes sarees and stoles from Ahimsa Silk outsourcing the weaving to powerlooms in Bengaluru and nearby weaving cooperatives. There are no middlemen so the weavers get the direct benefit, Rajaiah informs. On an average nearly 50 weavers and labourers who are needed for piercing the cocoons get employment.
Rajaiah Kusuma can be contacted on rajaiahk@gmail.com
