GUWAHATI, Aug. 9: Assam-based start-up Marvella Associates has won a National Handloom Award for its work integrating silk production, traditional weaving and rural livelihoods, bringing national recognition to Sualkuchi’s handloom heritage.
Co-founded by Pakumoni Das and Jugal Bharali, the Sualkuchi-based venture received the award in the start-up venture category from President Droupadi Murmu on National Handloom Day.
The award was among 22 national honours presented for achievements in India’s handloom sector, including three Sant Kabir Handloom Awards and 19 National Handloom Awards covering weaving, innovation, design development, marketing, start-up ventures and producer companies.
Marvella has developed a ‘Soil-to-Silk’ model that takes visitors through the entire silk-making process, from cultivating host plants and rearing eri and muga silkworms to cocoon production, yarn reeling, dyeing, weaving and finishing.
The model connects the production process with the livelihoods of people involved while promoting awareness of Assam’s silk and weaving traditions. The start-up has also introduced the model to students to familiarise them with the state’s weaving heritage and the communities dependent on it.
The National Handloom Awards are presented under the Handloom Marketing Assistance component of the National Handloom Development Programme to recognise creativity, quality and innovation in the sector and efforts to preserve traditional skills through contemporary approaches.
Marvella also received an award from the Ministry of Tourism in the craft category in 2025.
The venture aims to develop a self-sustaining Assamese village economy centred on traditional practices, including handloom weaving, folk music, rituals, agriculture and the use of local plants and herbs.
