Kovai Cora Cotton

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Kovai Cora cotton or Kovai Kora cotton is a kind of essence made in the Coimbatore region of Tamil Nadu, India. It has been recognized as a Geographical Indication by the Government of India in 2014-15.

Video Kovai Cora Cotton

About

Kovai Kora Cotton is made from a mixture of silk and cotton. Superior quality cotton yarn is blended with traditional silk to produce cotton kora. The sarees have a brightly colored border design with occasional use of shining zari. The required designs are woven using a loom using a combination of colored cotton and silk thread and added later borders.

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Weaving

The kora cotton sarees are woven with traditional looms. Each saree takes up to three days to weave and the weavers are paid from INR 450 (US $ 6.70) to INR 850 (US $ 13) per saree. Saree is woven by traditional weavers' families in the districts of Coimbatore, Tiruppur and Erode in the Kongu Nadu region of Tamil Nadu. Sirumugai in Coimbatore district is a major producer of kora cotton sarees.

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Sales

82 community cooperatives in the districts of Coimbatore, Tiruppur and Erode have been certified as authorized dealers of Kovai Kora cotton by the Tamil Nadu Government. Kora cotton sarees are priced between INR 800 (US $ 12) to INR 1,200 (US $ 18). Sales of kora cotton sarees have declined over the past three decades due to changes in women's dressing preferences. Sarees soft silk looks magnificent and colorful with a designer blouse. Lower demand and higher wages for weaving soft silk sarees have caused the weavers to switch to weaving silk weaving. GI tags help boost sales by 15% in 2014-15. But the surge in demand was able to convince the weavers to switch back to weaving the korare sarees and declining sales the following year. The Tamil Nadu government sells saree through a government-run Co-optex store.

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Competition

Kora cotton sarees woven from traditional hand looms face competition from cheaper cotton sarees woven through electric looms. Sarees of cotton produced through electric looms cost INR 400 (US $ 6.00) to INR 600 ( US $ 8.90) compared to hand sarees that cost between INR 900 (US $ 13) and INR 1,200 (US $ 18) per saree. The high excise duty on yarns used by hand looms leading to higher production costs and greater efficiency of electric looms has contributed to the decline in demand for cotton wool fabrics. Weavers often request assistance from the Tamil Nadu Government to subsidize production.

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Geographic Indication

In 2014, the Tamil Nadu Government proposes Geographical Indication for Kovai Kora's cotton. The Indian government recognizes it as an official geographical indication from 2014-15.

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References

Source of the article : Wikipedia