Deep in Rhino country in the North East of India are an abundance of castor plants. These wonderful drought-resistant plants give us so much but need very little water. They leave an amazingly low carbon footprint.

While the mulberry silkworm became world famous, another species of silkworm, Samia Cynthia, was quietly carving its own story. It chewed on the castor (eranda) leaves and spun a unique silk, ‘eri’.

Unlike other silks, these silkworms spun amazing open-ended cocoons, which allow the moth to fly away.* These empty cocoons are then put in boiling water to extract the eri silk fibres. Because only empty, open-ended cocoons are used in making eri silk, it is often referred to as ‘peace silk’ or ‘ahimsa’ silk. This is also the reason why eri silk fibres are short and one can never have a long reelable filament.

The eri silkworm releases sericin (a kind of gum) while spinning its cocoon like other silks. Mostly, soap and water are sufficient to degum eri silk. Once degummed, these eri fibres were hand-spun into yarn and handwoven into shawls and fabrics by the women of the northeast. They loved their eri silk. It was considered sacred, and weaving eri was a way of life for them.

In this scenario entered a team of textile technologists, led by a pioneer, Dilip Barooah, who had a common mission to uplift a grassroots economy using natural resources and make eri yarn commercially viable and consistent.

It was the year 2009, when the North East was still seething with the undercurrents of insurgency. I took a big risk and joined them.

Over the years, once I understood eri’s wonderful properties, Eri silk is isothermal, UV-resistant, has good crease recovery, is breathable, has good moisture-wicking properties, and a superior drape. I felt it needed to be showcased to the world. Nobody would understand eri’s potential through just yarn. Traditional eri products have a unique beauty of their own. But in my opinion, eri had immense versatility and potential.

So, since 2014, I began independently exploring with eri yarn on different handlooms across the country. Any willing weaver or artisan became my target. Each quality took at least two years to develop — titrating looms, modifying reeds, adjusting warps and wefts to suit the yarn, the technique, and the weaver’s skill; understanding weather conditions and their effects on the yarn; trying to get the desired weight and feel, while importantly maintaining the essence of eri — its comfort. And we keep improvising as we learn and yarn qualities keep changing.

It has been exciting, challenging, and a lot of learning from wonderful people who shared their knowledge with me.

Now we have Eri Ikat, Eri Jamdani, Eri Paithani, Eri Jacquard, Eri Kalamkari, Eri with Kashmiri embroidery, Eri Natural block prints, Eri Prints, and more in the making. Brand Erisri showcases our various sarees and dhotis and ethnic wear in our studio in Hyderabad, stockists in some cities, and online.

Our very supportive Erisri staff will gladly take you through our various qualities.

Our Erisri sarees need to be experienced to be understood.