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CONNECTED LIFE Threads of livelihood From Scotland to rural Assam, Anna-Louise Meynell shares how her academic work led her to a life of ‘living consciously’ among artisan weavers in India – an experience she now offers to others My professional and personal world has always been focused on textiles, and while I come from Scotland where there is a deep history and tradition of weaving , my work and personal life have led me to establishing myself in India. I first came to India in 2005, to work as an intern in a jacquard mill in Bangalore, designing exquisite silk interior fabrics. The six-month contract became one year and one year became seven as I got deeper into the digital textile design in my job, and deeper into Indian handweaving in my free time. During this period in Bangalore, I came across a piece of fabric that quite literally changed my life. It was an eri silk shawl – handspun, naturally dyed and handwoven in Assam, Northeast India. Eri silk is soft and slubby. The yarn is irregular due to the handspinning , which gives it a beautiful rustic appearance. It is not nearly as shiny as mulberry silk, but rather has a soft, sophisticated sheen. I was curious to know more. I kept the contact details of the weavers, and several years later I made the journey to Assam to visit their workshop. In 2014 I started taking on freelance work as a designer and handweaving consultant, which gave me the freedom to travel and work in Northeast India and Southeast Asia. A Chakhesang Naga artisan preparing nettle fibre to be spun into yarn, Nagaland. Photo: Anna-Louise Meynell Eri silk came into my life again, but in a professional context through a consultancy working with eri silk weavers in Meghalaya. My curiosity and excitement were further ignited, and I ended up doing a PhD on the fibre, the practices, the artisans and the cultural heritage of eri silk. In 2018 I moved to Assam with my husband, Champak Deka, and our newborn daughter. We embarked on an ambitious project to build a homestay and establish a weave studio and natural dye garden, and a natural farm. We cultivate eri silk, raising the lar vae, growing the castor plant they feed on, and processing the silk from the cocoons. We saw this as a project that was a practical translation of the learnings of my research work, and a celebration of the many craft, agricultural and culinary practices of Assam. Turning academic research into practical applications and experience widens the reach of the academic learning , not restricting it to journals, books and conferences. We chose our location next to Assam’s Kaziranga National Park, which is a superb park home to rhinos, elephants, tigers, water buffalo and a vast array of water birds, migratory birds and large birds of prey, amongst many other animals. 18 Resurgence & Ecologist January/February 2025
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A DEEP UNDERSTANDING The Covid period was our construction phase – a mixed blessing because it allowed us to really focus on the project but the logistics were challenging. We are now into our third season hosting guests, offering them the experience of traditional practices and a deep understanding of the cultures around us. Champak is Assamese. His mother lives with us, and the authenticity of Assamese culture in the world of our Medini Homestay is what draws people in. Despite being a foreigner (a tall, fair-skinned redhead) who is clearly not Assamese, I have an honorary position as a promoter of cultures of the local area through the knowledge and experience of my work with handweavers. Our approach to everything , from construction to employing staff, designing , documentation and research, and from farming to cooking , has been grounded in transparency and authenticity. This has earned us a great deal of respect from our clients, colleagues and neighbours. Our neighbours belong to the Mishing , Karbi and Adivasi ethnic groups, three of 200-plus in Northeast India. The women are excellent weavers, but as with many of the Indigenous tribes of the region, their family, farming and community responsibilities come first, and weaving follows as and when they have time. Through our obser vation of their lifestyles, we have learnt about the balance of work/home life, the distribution of responsibilities, and the attention to the many threads of livelihood. We work with these weavers in different ways. Some of them weave from home, some weave in our studio on a daily basis, and others come and demonstrate preparing the warp and natural dyeing for guests who come to stay with us. We have taken small, careful steps with these weavers, keen to build a solid relationship over time rather than rush to success but miss out on essential understanding Above: Eri silkworms and their cocoons Below: Anna-Louise Meynell at the loom. Photos: Champak Deka We emphasise the centrality of the artisans to their products, and the urgency to value and support their textile heritage of each other. Through our academic work and presentations communicating the cultures of the artisans and their relationship with the textiles, we emphasise the centrality of the artisans to their products, and the urgency to value and support their textile heritage. Over and above the experience that we offer of rural Assamese life, agriculture and traditional cultural practices, our guests are able to witness the relationships we have with our neighbours, and the decisions we have made to live and run our business in a way that prioritises climate, culture and people. We have taken firm decisions to not use pesticides on our farm, to create circular production systems in food, farm, energ y, textiles and waste management, to regenerate unused land with attention to local biodiversity, and to create meaningful employment for local people based on their existing skills and talents. Mealtimes with guests are always full of dynamic discussions about the highs and lows of conscious living. We can confidently say that our guests leave Medini well rested, well fed and with food for thought to take home into their lives. Anna-Louise Meynell is a textile designer, handloom consultant and independent researcher from Scotland. She completed her PhD on the eri silk handweaving traditions of Meghalaya in 2021 through the University of the Arts, London. She now lives permanently in Assam. www.annaloom.com www.nativenortheast.com/medinihomestay Issue 348 Resurgence & Ecologist 19

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CONNECTED LIFE

Threads of livelihood From Scotland to rural Assam, Anna-Louise Meynell shares how her academic work led her to a life of ‘living consciously’ among artisan weavers in India – an experience she now offers to others

My professional and personal world has always been focused on textiles, and while I come from Scotland where there is a deep history and tradition of weaving , my work and personal life have led me to establishing myself in India. I first came to India in 2005, to work as an intern in a jacquard mill in Bangalore, designing exquisite silk interior fabrics. The six-month contract became one year and one year became seven as I got deeper into the digital textile design in my job, and deeper into Indian handweaving in my free time.

During this period in Bangalore, I came across a piece of fabric that quite literally changed my life. It was an eri silk shawl – handspun, naturally dyed and handwoven in Assam, Northeast India. Eri silk is soft and slubby. The yarn is irregular due to the handspinning , which gives it a beautiful rustic appearance. It is not nearly as shiny as mulberry silk, but rather has a soft, sophisticated sheen. I was curious to know more. I kept the contact details of the weavers, and several years later I made the journey to Assam to visit their workshop.

In 2014 I started taking on freelance work as a designer and handweaving consultant, which gave me the freedom to travel and work in Northeast India and Southeast Asia.

A Chakhesang Naga artisan preparing nettle fibre to be spun into yarn, Nagaland. Photo: Anna-Louise Meynell

Eri silk came into my life again, but in a professional context through a consultancy working with eri silk weavers in Meghalaya. My curiosity and excitement were further ignited, and I ended up doing a PhD on the fibre, the practices, the artisans and the cultural heritage of eri silk.

In 2018 I moved to Assam with my husband, Champak Deka, and our newborn daughter. We embarked on an ambitious project to build a homestay and establish a weave studio and natural dye garden, and a natural farm. We cultivate eri silk, raising the lar vae, growing the castor plant they feed on, and processing the silk from the cocoons. We saw this as a project that was a practical translation of the learnings of my research work, and a celebration of the many craft, agricultural and culinary practices of Assam.

Turning academic research into practical applications and experience widens the reach of the academic learning , not restricting it to journals, books and conferences. We chose our location next to Assam’s Kaziranga National Park, which is a superb park home to rhinos, elephants, tigers, water buffalo and a vast array of water birds, migratory birds and large birds of prey, amongst many other animals.

18 Resurgence & Ecologist

January/February 2025

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