Prelims: Current events of national and international importance | Environment
Why in News?
Recently, reseachers highlighted the urgent need to preserve traditional knowledge around Aak fibre extraction and weaving in the arid landscapes of western Rajasthan.
Key Attributes of Aak (Calotropis)
- Botanical Profile – It belongs to the family Apocynaceae (milkweed family).
- A hardy, drought-resistant perennial shrub that thrives in dry, hot, sandy, and semi-arid climates across West Asia, North Africa, and India (predominantly Rajasthan, Gujarat, MP, and UP).
- Lifespan - 5 to 7 years, producing flowers and seed pods within its first year.
- Fibre Properties (Bhambhuriya)
- Seed Floss / Silk - The fine, soft pappus fibers inside the seed pods (locally termed bhambhuriya) yield a silky, lightweight, insulating natural texturing material used for spinning fine yarn, quilts, and pillows.
- Bast Fibre - The inner bark of the stem yields strong, durable coarse fibers traditionally processed to make resilient ropes, charpoys, fishing lines, and agricultural bindings.
- Significance
- Represents an eco-friendly, bio-based economic opportunity for rural desert women and artisans.
- Revival of Aak fibre weaving offers sustainable income diversification in rainfed regions vulnerable to recurrent agricultural droughts.
- Unlike water-intensive cash crops like cotton, Aak grows naturally on degraded and marginal soils without synthetic fertilizers, irrigation, or pesticides.
- Helps bind soil particles, combating soil erosion and desertification along desert margins.
- Threat of "Silent Loss" - Due to changing rural lifestyles, synthetic plastic ropes, and the widespread neglect of traditional handicrafts, the intergenerational skill of harvesting and spinning Aak fibre faces severe risk of extinction.
- Honour by State Government - The state government honored rural artisan Kabbu Devi from Aati village in Barmer district for her craftsmanship in weaving traditional textiles.
- She includes mufflers made from bhambhuriya, a fine, silk-like natural fibre harvested from the pods of the Aak plant (Calotropis gigantea / Calotropis procera).
- Community Preservation - The Maru Meghwal community and farmers of western Rajasthan have preserved the indigenous craft of extracting and weaving fibre from aak bark for generations.
Reference
Down to Earth | Saving a desert tradition
