Bhutan's Economy: Textile Industry Weaving in Radhi Bhutan Videos

With children going to school, Dawa Dema says that finding time to weave together with home and field work was difficult. "But weaving is an important source of income for us," she adds. "Even my ancestors used to weave for the Trashigang dzong in the old days." Thinley Pem and two of her sisters devote their entire time to weaving - they weave throughout the year.

She claims that weaves from her household are the best burrey in the geog. Her elder sister Dorji Choezom, 28, won the best design award in Thimphu during a recent textile exhibition for a Kishuthara weave.

Dorji Choezom who started weaving at the age of 13 said that she learnt the art, like most, by watching "our mother and aunts weave". "They only helped us on delicate designing," she added. As in the past the raw silk and dyes are brought from Indian traders in Samdrup Jongkhar the cost of which has quite naturally escalated over the years. "The raw material is easily available, the market is good and everyone knows how to weave burrey," says Thinley Pem who took to weaving seven years ago after dropping out of class x.

Choeden, 70, of Changkhar village in Radhi has woven for more than 50 years but cannot anymore because cataract has severely affected her eyesight. "The thread used to be nice but now it is coarse and so is the quality of the gho or kira," she says. Choeden says that in the past selling a Burrey was difficult. It used to take a month to sell a burrey gho in Samdrup Jongkhar which was then, the main outlet, she recalls. "Today it is easier to sell a burrey and there are more weavers but they weave mostly plain designs without intricate patterns like we used to in the past." transport.