Talk on Indigenous Cotton

We were delighted to have Swaminathan Vaithilingam come give a talk on indigenous cotton at Al Qamar Academy. He narrated the history of indigenous cotton, explained how a group of people are trying to revive this crop and the difficulties being faced.  The children got to see natural cotton, the yarn and some gorgeous clothes made out these using natural dyes. The children understood the key point that life shouldn't be about unlimited choices, but instead about  sustainable choices.

 Here is an account by a student of his talk:


India used to have a wide and vast variety of cotton, yet, here in the present, only 2% of our cotton is "Pure" Indian. So, how did this happen? Let us find out..

HISTORY OF INDIAN COTTON

As of current, our vast varieyt of cotton has been replaced by American cotton when the British colonized India. The reason being that, Indian cotton was getting popular - with audiences outside India as well. The British were afraid that this might affect their sheep wool industry. So they started to experiment with American cotton and growing it in other places.

The problem with this is that different varieties of "Indian Cotton" are made to fit different Indian climates. The term for this is called agro climates.

HOW FARMER SUFFER FROM NON AGRO CLIMATIC COTTON

The companies provide cotton seeds for farmers to grow. The farmers have to pay back using the money they make from the cotton. In some places, the seeds won't grow well, so the farmers are in debt. This forces some people to commit suicide.

TOXINS THAT GO INTO MAKING CLOTHES

Honestly most of us are aware of this problem - factories making toxic dyes which pollutes the area around it. Despite thi, we turn a blind eye and say "Its not that bad.". Little do we know that the clothes made in factories are "wear and throw away". So you constantly buy more making the environment a toxic and polluted area.

WHAT TO DO TO IMPROVE OUR SITUATION

It might not seem big, but if you cut down on buying from big companies that profit from the wear and throw away clothing and switch to more eco friendly sources and encourage other people you know to do so as well.

- Ishaal Azeez, Grade 7