Kusuma Rajaiah displaying a sari made from ‘Ahimsa Silk’. Photo: Balachander Goud
Do you know how many silkworms are normally killed to make a five yard silk sari? Kusuma Rajaiah, a 55-year old government officer from India’s Andhra Pradesh state, does: “Around 50,000.” Rajaiah estimates that around 15 silkworms are normally sacrificed to produce a gram of silk yarn. For years, he’s been battling against what he describes as the “cruel killing of millions of innocent worms.” And has come up with an alternative. He realized the lure of silk was too strong to persuade people to give it up altogether so he came up with a technique that spares the life of the silkworm.
Ahimsa silk derives its idea and the brand name from Mahatma Gandhi, who was also critical of the conventional method of silk production. In fact, he had written to the Silk Board of India to explore ways of producing silk without hurting any living being. For Rajaiah, it’s a matter of pride to have fulfilled that wish; a pride shared by those who use the fabric.
Organikos 