Eri silk is spun from cocoons the moth has already left. The broken filament cannot be reeled, so every fibre is drawn out by hand on a takli, the traditional drop spindle. It is one of the yarns behind We Are KAL, founded in 2014 by Catherine Allié and Tsering Angtak, and we are delighted to welcome the brand to the Selvedge Artisan goods shop.
Allié, a German entrepreneur trained in business administration and fashion design, had been living in India since 2012 when she set out on a nine-month research trip through Northeast India and the Himalayas. Her aim was to find home-based weavers still working with natural fibre. It took trial and error, and then a meeting in Kharnak, in Ladakh's Changthang region. Angtak grew up there, and she was sourcing wool from his nomadic community. Today the two run the brand from their home in Ladakh. She looks after processes and communication, and contributes analogue photography and natural dyeing. He oversees production and runs the carding machines.
Above: A Yak shepherd tends to a member of his herd in the mountains of Ladakh. Below: Bharathi Kalita, Weaver, Assam. Bharati weaves scarves and fabric on her own loom for We Are KAL.
The brand describes itself as a community, from farmers and nomads to designers and knitters. In Ladakh, that means the herders of Changthang, who supply yak wool, and the families who have settled at Kharnakling near Leh, where they hand-spin yarn and weave nomadic carpets. In Assam, women weavers work eri silk on their own looms at home or in courtyards, trusted to draw on inherited skills.
Top: Silk moths emerge from Eri silk cocoons. Middle: We are KAL yarns, hand dyed with naturally sourced colour. Below: The We are KAL Striped Eri Silk Scarf in Green.
Their Eri silk comes from Assam, where between 50 and 60 women spin it into a thick, matte yarn with a soft, slubby texture that suits cooler climates. Other yarns are sheep and lambswool from Ladakh and yak wool from Changthang. Fibres are sorted, washed, carded and hand-spun, then woven on backstrap and fly-shuttle looms. Teak leaves, henna, jackfruit bark and Indian madder provide the dyes. Garments are stitched in small batches at the couple's home studio, and the range includes yarn, clothing and accessories, home textiles and carpets.
Top: Hand weaving Eri Silk at We Are Kal. Bottom: We are KAL, Eri Silk Wall Hanging "Bridges"
Four ideas anchor the brand: earth, culture, identity and value. Earth means natural fibres, free of chemicals. Culture means crafts passed down through generations. Identity recognises that self-expression through weaving can give women artisans in rural India a space of autonomy. Value comes from a plain observation: where the worth of craft is lost, skill follows.
Top: Expert weaver, Bina Thakur, Spinning yarn at We Are KAL. Below: We are KAL, Eri Silk Knot Blue Bag in Blue
The brand is open about its methods. Its makers document what they do so that buyers know what a piece means, and the clothes are meant to be worn for decades. Irregularities in the cloth are read as evidence of making and left to show. Because eri is still little known, education is part of the work, including explaining why a shawl made by many hands costs more. That work now supports around 100 people.
Their own line says it best: once a piece is sent, its story goes on.
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Further Information:
View the We Are KAL Selvedge Artisan collection HERE
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Image Credits:
Lead: Pink Eri Silk wrap dress 'Munu I', by We are Kal.
All further images as credited in captions.