Kala cotton, a rare species indigenous to the arid region of Kutch is set for revival, thanks to a British-based research project. As part of the project, Alison Welsh, Head of the Department of Apparel at Manchester Metropolitan University, is working with Bhuj weaver Shamji Vishram Vankar for her project ‘Field to Fashion’. The project has been pioneered in conjunction with a Gujarat-based NGO, Khamir, which works for the development of craft heritage in Kutch. The possibility of creating a niche for organic, sustainable cotton in the international market and raise awareness about this stretchable fibre which is often used in denim is being explored through this project.

"This is a research-based project without any aim at generating revenue from it. What we wish to do is to spread the word about this rare cotton through exhibitions and my classes at the university,"Welsh says,"We do appreciate craftsmen and crafts in Britain, but sometimes, we too neglect our own craftsmen,"she pointed out.

Welsh says both countries have suffered from the rise of mechanisation. Although sometimes one sees how smartly some design houses or designers combine machinery with craft, and create a very commercially viable product," she added, saying the trick is to ‘balance’. "The only way these native crafts can flourish and grow is by smartly combining machinery and craftsmanship. They might be expensive but all good things come with a price tag and they are worth every penny," Welsh added.