Narrator: This golden fiber is considered
one of India's most important crops.
It's called jute,
and it's often used to make sacks
for coffee, sugar, and grain.
Women from the Rajbanshi ethnic group
have been weaving it into floor and prayer mats
for generations.
Narrator: Sanjita Sarkar learned the craft of Dhokra weaving
when she was 12.
Narrator: But cheaper alternatives
have flooded the market in recent decades,
forcing many weaving families out of business.
We visited the village of Mahishbathan
to see how, despite the challenges,
this ancient craft is still standing.
Eighty percent of India's jute
grows on the warm and humid lands of West Bengal.
Farmers cut the stalks once a year
during the rainy season in July.
They tie the jute to the wet ground to soak.
After three weeks,
the bark becomes soft,
and the plant turns from green to brown.
They strip the plant to expose the loose jute fibers
and rinse it in water.
It dries in the sun for up to three days
before it's sold to artisans like Sanjita.
Narrator: Women in her family
have practiced the craft for at least four generations.
Narrator: Sanjita pulls the loose fibers and separates them.
She avoids the dark fibers
and instead buys jute that is shiny golden brown.
Narrator: The water smooths and prepares the fibers for rolling.
She rolls it across this old piece of tire on her leg
to prepare for the next step.
This technique is called payeen,
and it helps to keep the threads the same thickness.
Otherwise, the mat may become uneven.
Threads wrap around this homemade spindle called the takur.
She can sit for hours hand-rolling the jute.
While some weavers buy pre-rolled jute from the market,
Sanjita prefers to do it herself.
She wraps the thread around her legs
to form the roll, called laachi,
and prepares them for dyeing.
Sanjita works with her sisters-in-law to prepare the threads.
Narrator: Weaving has been a task reserved for women
in the Rajbanshi tribe.
The community comprises 3 million people across India,
and they make a living mainly from farming.
But for centuries, Rajbanshi women
were not allowed to work outside the home.
So making and selling mats
was the only way for them to make money.
Nowadays, many split their time between farming,
household chores,
and weaving.
So it's not always easy to juggle it all.
They meet to bleach and color their threads once a month
to save time.
The best dye comes from a native fruit,
but it's been hard to find lately.
Narrator: So they buy the colors
from a market in Kolkata.
They hang the jute threads to dry for one day.
People in India
have used jute to weave mats since 3,000 BC.
Demand for the crops took off in the mid-19th century,
when companies worldwide
began using jute sacks to package products
like coffee, sugar, and grain.
This provided jobs for millions of people
in rural areas of West Bengal.
But when power looms entered the market
in the late 19th century,
the need for skilled hand-weavers decreased.
Today, less than 20% of India's textiles are hand-woven.
And from 1995 to 2010,
the handloom industry lost 2.2 million artisans.
Narrator: Dhokra mats are an essential part
of the Rajbanshi daily life.
People use them for sitting, praying, and sleeping.
Narrator: Products made from cheaper materials
are now bringing in competition.
Narrator: Sanjita uses a traditional loom
made of bamboo and wood
she inherited from her mother-in-law,
who built it 60 years ago.
Setting it up is an important step
that takes precision and expertise.
Narrator: She spends hours
looping and securing two to three rolls of jute
through the loom.
A simple pattern can take her a day and a half to weave.
And it's a full-body activity.
Narrator: She gets support from a back strap,
but years of weaving have taken a toll on her body.
Narrator: Sanjita sells her mats for 400 rupees,
around $5.
But plastic mats
can cost less than half
of what her jute ones cost.
She makes about 60,000 rupees selling her mats
at craft fairs across India.
That's $730 a year.
But traveling to them is expensive,
and she can't afford to do it on her own.
So nonprofit groups help her sell her products.
Narrator: Her family still mainly depends
on her husband's income from farming.
Sanjita uses her money from mat sales
to pay for their two sons' education.
She goes to workshops
three to four times a year
to learn ways to improve her mats
and make other products like bags and jackets.
Narrator: And with the skills she's learning,
she mentors other women in her community.
She hopes more people will see the beauty in the craft.