Prafulla Kumar Sahoo has spent decades honing labor-intensive methods like the hand-inserted Chiadifoda technique to craft high-grade sarees and shirting. He regularly conducts six-month practical courses in districts such as Boudh, Koraput, and Kendrapara to build economic self-sufficiency among unemployed residents. The Netaji Weavers Cooperative Society Ltd further protects these livelihoods by supplying raw materials and directly purchasing finished goods from roughly 300 artisans for major state distributors.
Key points
Community-based training programs in specialized weaving offer reliable economic independ…: Community-based training programs in specialized weaving offer reliable economic independence to rural unemployed populations.
Cooperative models absorb material costs and guarantee sales to state buyers, protecting…: Cooperative models absorb material costs and guarantee sales to state buyers, protecting traditional weavers from upfront financial burdens.
Preserving intricate heritage handloom techniques relies heavily on active mentorship and…: Preserving intricate heritage handloom techniques relies heavily on active mentorship and organized institutional market access.
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A saree woven by Prafulla Kumar Sahoo is not completed in a few days. The 59-year-old weaver from Dodunda Singipur village in Odisha’s Jagatsinghpur district spends around 30 days, including preparation, making one specially designed Patta saree. The work involves fine cotton yarn, carefully arranged threads and motifs created by hand, one section at a time.
Sahoo has spent nearly 45 years practising this craft. But his work is not limited to keeping an old weaving technique alive. He has also trained more than 200 unemployed women and young people in basic weaving and jalla dobby techniques, helping some of them earn a monthly income of around Rs 10,000 to Rs 12,000.
According to Odisha Bytes, his contribution to handloom weaving was recognised with the National Handloom Award 2025, which President Droupadi Murmu presented in August 2026. He had also received the Tantakruti Award from Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi in 2025..
For Sahoo, preserving Jagatsinghpur’s distinctive single-count Patta design and making weaving a viable livelihood for others are closely connected.
A weaving technique that takes patience and precision
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