From Our Correspondent
TURA, Sep 28: With an aim to enable livelihood generation amongst rural women folk through skill development, 14-day training on post cocoon processing of Muga silk was successfully held at Baljek Agal in West Garo Hills. The training under sponsorship by the Meghalaya State Skill Development Society (MSSDS) was organized by the West Garo Hills District Sericulture Office at Baljek Agal from September 14 to 28.
The 14-day training included Muga twisted yarn reeling, Muga untwisted yarn reeling, Ghicha making and spinning. Altogether 40 women including mothers and youth from Baljek Agal and surrounding villages were inducted into the exercise and were successfully trained in essential yarn reeling and spinning skills required for sustainable livelihood generation activities.
The Jengjal area of West Garo Hills has been called the Muga hub of the region because of the exceptional quality of the Muga silk produced here. The cocoons from Garo hills has been certifies by scientists to be of exceptional quality. There are close to hundred plus Muga silk farmers in the Jengjal region who harvest around 50,000 to 75,000 Muga silk cocoons per farmer per season. These farmers who are mostly untrained miss out on potentially huge earnings as they harvest their cocoons and sell it for marginal price to traders from Assam who buy the produce in truck loads and take it back with them to produce the costly Muga silk. At present Muga silk cost close to Rs.25,000 per kg in the market.
West Garo Hills, Additional Deputy Commissioner, Mary Lisa K Marak attended the last day of the training as the Chief Guest and handed over certificates to the participants. Addressing the gathering she congratulated the participants and urged them to work as a team. She stated that the fame of the Muga Silk of the region was reaching far and wide and that through proper upgradation of skills and tapping of resources the products of the region would become famous.