Manipur launches handloom cluster to boost eco-tourism around Keibul Lamjao National Park

Twenty-five women from Keibul village will receive specialised weaving training as part of a groundbreaking initiative linking traditional crafts with conservation efforts at the world's only floating national park.

The handloom cluster, launched by Additional Chief Secretary Anurag Bajpai, represents the first collaboration between Manipur's Textiles, Commerce & Industries Department and the Forest Department. The project targets skills development in the buffer zone of Keibul Lamjao National Park, home to the endangered Sangai deer.

"This project has been conceived as an important element of developing eco-tourism in and around the world's only floating and eco-fragile Keibul Lamjao National Park," Bajpai told the media during the launch at Keibul village.

The initiative forms part of a larger eco-tourism strategy for the park, which protects the sole remaining population of Brow Antlered Deer called 'Sangai' and encompasses Loktak Lake, Manipur's largest freshwater body. The comprehensive project includes nature guides, photography studios, battery-operated carts, and souvenir shops.

Selected women will undergo 15 days of intensive training with Cluster Development Executives and Textile Designers, focusing on new design techniques and colour combinations to expand market reach. The training includes exposure to established weaving centres like the Moirang Cluster.

"Tourism and the local economy have to go hand in hand. Without looking at the economic upgradation of dependent communities, no efforts for promoting tourism would be successful," Bajpai emphasised.

Participants will receive a Rs 300 daily stipend during training, with the government procuring products created during the program. The handloom cluster aligns with the Chief Minister's Yarn Scheme, providing additional subsidies to weavers.

At Moirang, Bajpai inspected another training program for 20 women under the Kauna Craft Products initiative by the Directorate of Handlooms & Textiles.