Resham Sutra

The Challenge

Traditional silk production has an ugly environmental footprint, from the water required to grow mulberry trees to the fossil fuels used to power production facilities. Wild silk production is less environmentally damaging but is hard to scale and hazardous for workers. In parts of rural India, women turn wild cocoons into raw silk by reeling it against their thighs, a painful, laborious task known as thigh reeling that leaves physical as well as social scars. 

The Innovation

Resham Sutra sells affordable silk reeling machines that allow women weavers to eliminate thigh reeling for good and increase their output and income. The machines cater to a range of different tasks in wild silk production and come hooked up to solar panels that work anywhere, including villages that are off the grid. Resham Sutra is building a digital platform that connects all stakeholders in the rural textile value chain and Rural Facility Centers where women can receive training, access raw material, and finance their operations.