The Equitable Marketing Association was established in 1977 by co-operative societies of craftspeople and individual social activists. EMA's 'members' are registered bodies of craftspeople, small farmers and families, individual members and staff members. These constitute the general body, therefore all of EMA's activities (interest-free loans for production, purchase of machines and worksheds, design, raw materials procurement, tax advice, marketing etc) are designed for and with the people who own the organisation. EMA's goal is to enable people to obtain income security and thereby enable them to transform the socio-economic structures that exploit them. EMA was founded with the limited objective of selling 25% of the production of each of its corporate members in overseas markets.

Silk Production

Silkworms raised in Murshidabad are fed solely on mulberry leaves, and the silk obtained is thus mulberry silk. The indigenous silkworm is the “Nistari” type. The silk worms are reared in special rooms in the homes of farmers throughout the region. At the onset of the pupal stage from the larva stage, they are mounted on spiral structures on which the silkworms secrete the silk proteins and spin a cocoon around themselves. They are harvested after 10 days.

Weaving

The silk thread from the cocoons is drawn off by machine and wound onto reels, then twisted and tied into units of standard size. The thread is opened out and with the help of a “charkha” is wound around a bamboo spool which is used by the weavers. Weaving is done on traditional looms in weaver-villages, where every family has an entire room devoted to the loom. After weaving the fabric is printed and the printed fabric washed again. This dried material is folded and beaten for 5 minutes, to smoothen the cloth and lend it a shine.