

Talking about her idea and innovation. Bijayashanti Devi said, “in our village, there are no options to do work except fishing and farming. Many women cannot work in this field, so I thought of making textiles from Lotus Stem as it is available in abundance in Loktak lake.” In this process, the innovation breaks the lotus stem at the length of a thumb and pulls and expands the fiber from the lotus stem. Then, the fiber is hand rolled into its desired size using the wooden plank and palms. Using a loin loom, the fiber extracted from the lotus stems and stock is produced as yarns for weaving clothes, neckties, scarves, and mufflers. This innovation can potentially open new avenues in Lotus farming and textile along with female empowerment. Clothes made out of lotus stem fibers have health benefits, but as it is labor-intensive work, it is very costly and hence, highly in demand in foreign countries than in local markets