Use the button above to download Volume 1. Because of the high-resolution photographs, the PDF file is approximately 65 MB, so it may take a minute to download.
Save the file to your hard drive.
The anticipated publication date for Volume 2 is March 30, 2018. Be on the lookout for the publication announcement.
In each volume of the GumCha Design Portfolio PDF you will find high-resolution photographs of GumCha with corresponding design numbers, followed by high-resolution photographs of the individual design motifs that correspond with the design numbers. These photographs can be viewed on-screen and enlarged up to 1600% so that the designs can be easily studied.
Drastic increases in the cost of Indian cotton during the past five years (due to increased trade with China), as well is the introduction of cheap machine-made polyester/cotton blends, have made it difficult for weavers to earn an adequate income from weaving 100% cotton GumCha. Many families have been forced to stop weaving and find other sources of income, including becoming day laborers on construction sites far away from their homes and farms. The difficulty faced by weavers could be a permanent result of the now-globalized Indian cotton market.
GumCha4Health.com – follow the unfolding story
Please visit GumCha4Health.com to learn more about the GumCha4Health Project.
On our website you can:
American Weavers, Fabric Artists and Textile Designers Can Save a Tradition in Fabric Design and Handweaving
In a relatively small northeastern section of our District, around the village of Kashimnagar (within walking distance of the Ganges River), a survey conducted in 2012 counted over 3,000 farmer/weavers. This area of West Bengal has been known as the home of master weavers since before the Third Century BC. Subsistence farming economies in our area depend on cottage industries like weaving with a simple handloom to provide much-needed income for local families. With over 50% of the people in the area living below the rural poverty line in households with per capita incomes of less than $.50/day, weaving GumCha has been an indispensable economic activity for generations. In 2016, a new survey counted less than 500 active weavers.
The GumCha4Health project believes that we can make globalization work for small subsistence farmers/weavers. By opening up new markets in the West, many hundreds, perhaps thousands, of farming families who have depended on their skills as weaver artisans to hold households and farms together can return to self-sufficiency providing handloomed GumCha.
Our program triples the income that farmer/weavers derive from weaving GumCha. This of course is an immense boon to farm family economies, and helps ensure the survival of a valuable artisan craft that is more than 2,000 years old.
Send your questions, comments, reviews and GumCha stories and pictures to [email protected]. They are much appreciated.
GumCha4Health LLC,
1127 River Forest Road
Pittsboro, North Carolina, USA. 27312
If you buy 2 or more GumCha from our catalog, we will send you one complementary GumCha as a gift. (We’ll pick out a great design from the many we have in stock) Shipping is free (our standard shipping is through USPS and takes between 5 and 7 days), sales tax included, and your order will be much appreciated right now.
As an added bonus, each GumCha in your order will be accompanied by a 4″X5.5″card-sized 4-page brochure that introduces GumCha, the weavers, and the public health programs that the project supports. This is great for giving GumCha as a gift.
If you buy 2 or more GumCha from our catalog, we will send you one complementary GumCha as a gift. (We'll pick out a great design from the many we have in stock) Shipping is free (our standard shipping is through USPS and takes between 5 and 7 days), sales tax included, and your order will be much appreciated right now.
As an added bonus, each GumCha in your order will be accompanied by a card-sized 4-page brochure that introduces GumCha, the weavers, and the public health programs that the project supports. This is great for giving GumCha as a gift.
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