Not letting the grass grow under feet: Women from Prayagraj revive ‘Moonj’ craft

Cloaked in her white dupatta, glittering in the sunshine with sequins, the feisty 28-year-old Fatima Bibi, an artisan and entrepreneur from Mahewa town in Prayagraj (formerly Allahabad) district of Uttar Pradesh crafts and sells an array of products made from sturdy grass.

A skilled artisan and craft entrepreneur at present, she fashions and sells a variety of household products made from moonj grass, scientifically called Saccharum munja which is a wild weed that grows near the banks of rivers and is available for harvest once a year for a time period of a month just after the rainy seasons.

Fatima was ignorant of her interests as an artisan until she got married to Mohammed Shakeel in Mahewa, the home of the experienced moonj artisan, her mother-in-law, Ayesha Begum.

Ayesha’s deft calloused hands with deep gashes have crafted an array of products: baskets with and without lids, and of all shapes and sizes; coasters; trays; pen stands; bags; dustbins; and decorative items like tiny swings, tractors, and much more.

The crafting of handwoven grass products is a traditional art form being practiced here for a very long. The outer blades of the tapering reed-like sarpat grass, lend its name to a range of products made from it. The green grass is collected from November to February and then ripped into strips with just a pair of scissors and a sharp needle, she snips, pulls, and pushes which tightens the fine blades of grass. Then it is stored in the driest place so that it becomes yellow.

Though Fatima watched her mother also do it [make moonj products] in our home in Pipirasa. Within no time, Fatima too picked up the craft. She was a housewife, working at home but with a desire to do something more.

Successfully managing her own women’s self-help group (SHG), which she has named ‘Angel’.She is also promoting the craft in various ways: collecting and marketing moonj products, finding new buyers, organising and conducting training workshops, and trying to shape policy around the craft.

With a gatta of moonj , an artisan can expect to make roughly two 12 x 12 inch baskets that are sold for a total of Rs. 1,500; baskets of this size are normally used to grow plants or to store clothes

In 2013, the UP government launched its One District One Product (ODOP) scheme, and moonj was chosen as the distinct product of Prayagraj district.Fatima’s mother, Aasma Begum, recently trained 90 women in moonj craft at her home in Pipirasa, about 25 kilometers from Mahewa. Her students’ ages range from 14 to 50 years.

For the moonj artisans, next up are plans for a museum and a workshop. It will have the most finely crafted products on show and you will be able to see the process. The workshop attached to the museum will encourage more women to step forward. In the workshop, some do only weaving, some do only coloring work – as tasks are divided.

Photographs • PRITI DAVID

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