Kooja – Coppa – Set of Jug + Six Cups

In Kerala, during good old days, one of the first activity in the morning during summer is to fill a "kooja" (an earthen pot) with water. The kooja perspires and cools the water and it quenches the thirst of everyone in the household with cool water. In olden days, people used to drink water from Kooja using a small bowl called "coppa" or "pinjanam". Here is an attempt to recreate the way of serving some naturally cooled water. It is a "Kooja and coppa" set

Lalitham Yoga Mat

She goes for an early morning yoga session to a park near her home. An easy to carry mat makes her walk to the park breezy. Once she reaches the park, she spreads the mat on any flat surface. She is all ready for a relaxing yoga to energise her body and soul.  The early morning sun dries up the mat. After yoga, she rolls her mat and returns home. If there is anything stuck to the mat, she just shows it under running water and put it under the sun to dry. On days when there is a slight drizzle, she blow dries the mat with a hair dryer. She keeps the dry mat in her cupboard and is ready for another busy day at work.   Story of Cora Grass and Mat weaving: Cora Grass is found along river banks and in marshy lands. It can grow up to a height of two meters. Family members of mat weavers collect these cora grass and bring it for processing. They cut each grass stem into four strands and remove the soft material at the centre. Before further processing, the grass is dried under the sun, till it develops a beige colour naturally. The grass is then dyed using different colouring materials and processes to match artists imagination. Sometimes, the colouring process takes days, depending on the shade of colour desired. The handcrafted mats are woven using hand operated looms. A set of  white yarns as the warp (length) and thin strands of cora grass as weft (width), are woven on a loom hand-operated by weavers. These looms do not use electricity. Human handling lends the mat a unique feel and more value. The resultant mat is softer, more durable and much more comfortable than machine-made mats. The cora grass strands are compacted by hand by the weavers, ensuring sturdiness to the mat. The art of hand weaving is labour intensive and takes a longer time. But, the beauty and quality it adds to the mat is priceless. Choosing handwoven mats  supports the rich weaving heritage of Killimangalam and lets the weavers carry on the precious art-form to the future generations as well.

Jaivam Yoga Mat

We always look for ways to be environment friendly and use natural materials as much as possible. With this spirit, we experimented with vegetable dyes. And here we are, with a mat dyed using natural colours extracted from the vegetable. Though it takes an additional three days of processing, we feel it is worth the effort. We are confident, very soon, you will feel the same way.   Story of Cora Grass and Mat weaving: Cora Grass is found along river banks and in marshy lands. It can grow up to a height of two meters. Family members of mat weavers collect these cora grass and bring it for processing. They cut each grass stem into four strands and remove the soft material at the centre. Before further processing, the grass is dried under the sun, till it develops a beige colour naturally. The grass is then dyed using different colouring materials and processes to match artists imagination. Sometimes, the colouring process takes days, depending on the shade of colour desired. The handcrafted mats are woven using hand operated looms. A set of  white yarns as the warp (length) and thin strands of cora grass as weft (width), are woven on a loom hand-operated by weavers. These looms do not use electricity. Human handling lends the mat a unique feel and more value. The resultant mat is softer, more durable and much more comfortable than machine-made mats. The cora grass strands are compacted by hand by the weavers, ensuring sturdiness to the mat. The art of hand weaving is labour intensive and takes a longer time. But, the beauty and quality it adds to the mat is priceless. Choosing handwoven mats  supports the rich weaving heritage of Killimangalam and lets the weavers carry on the precious art-form to the future generations as well.