Sentila Yanger and her team at Tribal Weave are trying to spin a dream for the people of the Northeast

Most Indian and international fashionistas have an item or two in their closets which have been sourced from the eastern side of the Himalayas. Those who frequent the markets at Paharganj (Delhi) or Fashion Street (Mumbai) will find it hard to believe that the traditional crafts of the Northeast were once fast disappearing. “Now these items are a rage in both the national and international markets and have been so for the past few years,” says a content Yanger. She has every reason to be pleased—it is because of the hard work put in by her and her team that these accessories, textiles and artefacts, so popular and readily available today, reached the markets. Ironically, these omnipresent popular crafts were not to be seen, even in the Northeast, during the years she was growing up. “One time, I was at my grandmother’s house in Nagaland spending my vacations. Some of her friends dropped by carrying a material. I saw the fabric and yelled ‘jeans’!” Denim, one of the most popular fabrics for young people today, was a rarity in those days. It was thus inevitable that the young Yanger got all excited about it. Yanger’s grandmother gently informed the excited girl that the fabric was not denim, but a more traditional textile dyed with natural indigo. “The fabric stayed with me,” says Yanger. In the late 1980s, Yanger began to work with an NGO which fought substance abuse in the Northeast. It was then, when she regularly met people who had forgotten their traditional attire, that Yanger was reminded of the magic fabric that looked like denim. When she inquired about it, she came faceto- face with a sad reality—people had not even heard of the material. She realised that people had forgotten about their roots and culture. She met others who shared her concerns and they decided to do something - and so was born the idea for Tribal Weave. Talking to DW, Yanger’s conversation moved across her diverse concerns. At one moment she would talk of fighting substance abuse—a still alarming issue in most parts of India—and in the next, she would talk about dying crafts in the same breath. While working with families struggling to support an addict, Yanger realised that crafts could be an excellent medium to make communities more self-reliant, and help them move away from addiction. Yanger started to take steps to rectify the situation. Her first act was to gather weavers under one roof and make them work in an organised fashion. “It was one difficult task,” admits Yanger. After all, the weavers she had gathered together were craftspeople who had quit their craft generations ago. The few still continuing were doing so on their own, without direction in isolated pockets. Most were unaware of how to promote their craft. In fact, most of the time, the weavers and craftspeople were themselves unaware of the value of the craft. They started with the women , who were brought under the Tribal Weave umbrella and given more specialised training in an effort to upgrade their skills. To make exemplary products, they were provided with the fabric, yarn and material required. Then, the finished products were marketed and put up in exhibitions. When the world saw the exquisite accessories, it literally went mad. The first exhibition held by Tribal Weave was a hit! The demand skyrocketed, and continues to do so. However, do remember that Yanger was working in the Northeast—a region suffering years of neglect and riven with disputes. In the thick of the brewing tension and growing anti-India sentiments, how did she manage to convince her people to come out and be a part of the mainstream? “It was an uphill task to organise everything but the ‘anti-India’ sentiment that you speak of was not a concern. Mainland India has got it all wrong. If any anti-India sentiments have been brewing, they are a by-product of the treatment Northeastern people have received in the rest of India. If anyone has been anti, it has been mainland India,” she says. Yanger had no problem in trying to convince the craftspeople to sell their products in the bigger markets. The movement, if one may call it that, began by working with tribal women, but today men also have become active participants. “I have been able to impact the lives of the people in the region, I think this has been my biggest achievement so far,” says Yanger. And then, as an afterthought, adds that she was rather overwhelmed when she got the Padma Shri. “It was completely out of the blue, but it felt nice to be acknowledged,” she says. The busy woman that she is, she barely has time to sit back and reflect on awards and honours. As we are having this conversation, one can hear the honking of horns from the other end. She informs us that she is headed for another meeting and this was the only time she had been able to squeeze out for the interview. As we get ready to leave, I reflect on the fact that, had it not been for this industrious lady, the wonders of the Northeast would have been lost forever. So, the next time you flaunt your accessory, whether it’s that cool necklace or the beaded bag, in front of your friends abroad, just remember to thank the fighter. She may not be asking for your appreciation, but she certainly deserves it.