Rethinking luxury; a story of craft, indigenous communities and biodiversity conservation
7Weaves seeks to leverage the knowledge and skills of the community for every process of fabrication, from rearing the silkworms sustainably to weaving high-quality fabrics. Furthermore, rather than imposing ways of working, 7Weaves provides a way for the employees to fit work into their lives, respecting the practices of their communities and the requirements of forest life.
The indigenous communities from the forests of Assam, in the Indo-Burma ecological region, have a long tradition of spinning and weaving silk, with every woman taking pride in their skills and final products. Rituraj and Mandakini’s journey began with a quest to support the women from these communities, empowering them and allowing them to secure economic freedom, while also protecting the forests where they lived.
Through a process of continuous questioning, learning and awakening, 7Weaves was born, taking a radically different approach than other companies in the industry. “If we want to safeguard the forests,” explains Rituraj, “we need to respect and learn from those that have always lived in the forest.”