Bannerugatta is situated 22 KM from the city of Bangalore in the state of Karnataka in India. This is a small village with an average educational level of 8th standard. The population of this village is around 18000 with almost equal number of males and females.

Places to visit
There is a Tiger and Lion reserve park of Indian tigers including white tigers, lions and other mammals in this village. There is also a Butterfly Park in Bannerugatta which is spread across 7.5 acres. It comprises a butterfly conservatory, museum and an audio-visual room. The butterfly conservatory has a circular enclosure, inside which the living environment has been carefully designed to support over 20 species of butterflies. The environment has a tropical setting complete with the humid climate, an artificial waterfall, a narrow walking bridge and host plants and shrubs that attract butterflies.

Weaver’s village
In Bannerugatta there is a place called weavers colony which is known for its handloom products. These sarees are weaved in pure silk and zari. The yarn is locally available and zari comes from Surat in the state of Gujarat in India. The zari used is usually of silver. There are around 3000 looms in Bannerugatta in which around 2750 are power looms and balance handlooms. Due to the heavy cost incurring in handloom weaving and the non availability of weavers, once famous handlooms are now shifting to power looms. New generation is not interested in the traditional weaving due to low wages.

Dyeing of Yarn
Bannerugatta handlooms are well known for the durability of the colours used in the yarn. The mixture of colour gives the durability. The process of manufacturing a Bannerugatta handloom Saree starts with dyeing the silk yarn.  Dyeing is the coloring process of the yarn by dipping the yarn in the boiled color water in very high temperature, higher the temperature durability of colour is also higher. Dyeing of the yarn is done making sure that the color is spread uniformly throughout the yarn and it doesn't affect the quality of the yarn. The coloring process is a very crucial step in getting a good colourful saree. The colours are applied as per the specifications of the designers and also some times as per the orders from customers who orders for a designer Saree. After coloring the silk yarn is dried in shade. Drying yarn in sun can be harmful to yarn.


Process of weaving
The count used in weaving gives the softness and hardness of the fabric.  Count means the number of threads used in the length and breadth for weaving known as warp and weft respectively. Each and every thread of the Bannerugatta handloom saree is hand woven. Each weaver works from home with all his / her family helping in different steps of the process. It requires approximately 4-8 days (depending on the variety of saree) of continuous efforts of two persons for weaving a saree. It is also rolled over small sticks to use for weft. After dyeing and drying the yarn it is converted to thread and is loaded as warp which is called pavvu and then it is loaded into the loom for actual weaving. One pavvu will make 12 sarees. It will take 2 months to complete weaving of one pavvu. The weaver will get a remuneration of around `250 per saree.

Techniques of weaving
Bannerugatta handloom sarees are traditionally woven in the interlocked-weft technique. The design required on the saree is initially drawn in a computer and then this is punched into a card and then these cards are loaded in Jacard in the loom.

Declining Handloom Industry
Once famous Bannerugatta Handloom products are now becoming extinct due to the low wages prevailing in the industry. Previously Bannerugatta was full of talented weavers who used to do magic in the looms to produce the best handloom products. Now you can see very small number of weavers is actually in the profession and most of the handlooms are being converted to power looms. One can see only rare cases of handlooms in Bannerugatta. There is an emergency situation to take necessary action to protect the traditional Bannerugatta handloom products.

Weaver’s voice
The weavers demand a responsible role by the government to protect the handloom industry by providing subsidy for yarn and a rehabilitation package for the weavers who have suffering due to high cost of yarn and low wages prevailing in the industry. They hope that if the government takes the responsibility to support the handloom industry by way of showcasing and marketing the handloom products, then only the industry can survive or else the present situation has started the end of handloom industry in Bannerugatta. The new generation is also not interested in the profession due to the hard labour and long hours to bring out the finished product, but the returns are not lucrative to make them stay in the profession