Clothes made from lotus Stem Fibers | Bijiyashanti Tongbram from Manipur

Clothes made from lotus Stem Fibers | Bijiyashanti Tongbram from Manipur

Clothes made from lotus Stem | 27 year old Bijiyashanti Tongbram from Manipur makes fibers from lotus stem gathered from the Loktak Lake, then she spins this yarn into scarves, stoles, neckties & other apparels. Her innovative approach has caught the attention of many, including the state Chief Minister N Biren Singh & Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In his recent, Mann Ki Baat radio programme, PM Modi appreciated Bijiyashanti for her innovative ideas. 

Clothes made from lotus stem are in high demand in foreign countries. There are only a few places in the world where this kind of work is done – in Myanmar and in Cambodia. This has opened new avenues in the field of lotus farming and textile.

Bijiyashanti Tongbram: The Journey

A graduate in botany honours, Bijiyashanti is the daughter of Joykumar Tangram and Sanahal Tongbram, of Thanga Tongbram village, near Loktak, the largest freshwater lake in the Northeast region. Bijiyashanti Tongbram’s father is a field assistant in the Fishery department of Manipur.

In 2014, after gratuating from GP Women’s college Imphal, Bijiyashanti’s initial plan was to establish agro-tourism in her area. However, due to lack of resources, her plans could not take flight. Nevertheless, her experiment with lotus’s medicinal properties continued.

Image Credits: Indian Express

Later in May 2019, she started spinning yarn from lotus stems and weaving neckties, mufflers, etc., with the help of a handful of women from her locality. Subsequently, she set up an enterprise ‘Sanajing Sana Thambal”, which now has 10 women, including her. Sanajing Sana Thambal has been recently selected for Start-Up Manipur.

Turning Lotus into Yarn

Along with women team at her own enterprise ‘Sanajing Sana Thambal’, she breaks the lotus stem at the length of a thumb and pulls and expands the fire from the lotus stem. Using their palms and the wooden plank, the fiber is then hand-rolled at their desired size.

Ayingbi, a weaver working at the enterprise, said “the lotus thread is similar to that of muga silk and the only difference lies in the strength. Muga silk is stronger than lotus. But the finish products are as good as silk. As the lotus thread is delicate, using machines may not be feasible as of now. So, we are using traditional handloom“.

The fiber extracted from the lotus stems and stalk is produced as yarns for weaving cloths, neckties and scarves on loin loom.

Join us to congratulate Bijiyashanti and wish her all success.

27 thoughts on “Clothes made from lotus Stem Fibers | Bijiyashanti Tongbram from Manipur”

  1. I want to order ur lotus silk product.. how to reach you.. kindly contact or give link to order.

    Reply

  3. HI,

    I want to work with you. I export silk from India. and it will be a good story. we can promote Indian Lotus silk in other countries. please contact me or provide your contact details to approach.

    Reply

  4. We are interested to export your produce, so need to know about your product brochure and quantity you may provide and of course the pricing.

    Reply

  8. I am interested in purchasing a lotus silk men’s scarf made personally by you Ms. Bijiyashanti Tongbram for my personal use only.

    Reply

  9. hello mam,
    I am K.murugan from tuticorin Tamilnadu,
    I am making banana silk fiber based cloth, please share your contact details i will contact you. so that you can increase your production of lotus fiber
    by
    K.Murugan
    9443110344

    Reply

  12. Hi, I am Swati Chatterjee from Kolkata. First, let me congratulate you for your innovation. I am interested to know more. How to reach you? If not, I would like to get a scarf. Please tell me the price and the way to get it.
    contact at: swati.chatterjee1961@gmail.com

    Reply

  13. Hi, I am from Mumbai. I am interested in purchasing natural Lotus Silk scarf that you have innovated. How to reach you? Please tell me the price and the way to get it.

    Plz reply

    Reply

  19. HI,

    I want to work with you. I export silk from India. and it will be a good story. we can promote Indian Lotus silk in other countries. please contact me or provide your contact details to approach.
    if any update pls contact on+919665227376 this my watsapp no

    Reply

  23. I am exporter of handloom and khadi cotton fabric and garments. I want to give you the order and need some swatches for my overseas buyer who will come to India in June 2023.

    Reply

  25. Namaste- greetings to u!!
    We learnt from Modiji’s mann ki baat about this unique Lotus yarn. Congratulations for your achievement. We need to buy from you table cloth where we put up every year Laxmiji idol during Navratri. I have 3 sisters , would like to gift them 1 cloth each as well. Could you pls share catalogue and cost for cloth at earliest. Contact number 9004623159 same what’s app number as well. Jai hind and wish you great heights in ur journey. God bless you. Warm Regards- siddhesh keni Malad West , Mumbai 400064

    Reply

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