By Lakna Paranamanna

Batik is a fascinating technique that can be used in many aspects of fashion. The technique is back in trend and is viewed upon as a method that brings an exotic, unique touch to the creations.

A batik show with quite a different twist was held last week at Dwellings presented by Ecsat Lanka, an entity that specializes in community support and training.

The reason behind the difference in the creations featured at this show was the method in which they had merged the batik into the items that were featured. The motifs had been used in items which were used for domestic purposes and even the batik prints itself were quite novel.

The array of creations consisted of a variety of items ranging from cushion covers, cards, and party decorations to napkins, serviettes as well as bright-coloured kids' bean bags. The common batik prints which we come across mostly consist of a large portraits or paintings, but the prints used for these creations consisted of subtle geometric prints such as thin stripes and polka dots to dainty flowery motifs in various bright as well as light hues of reds, greens and dark blues.

Among the collection were also banners which could be used at  parties or various similar occasions.

This project had initiated as a venture of Ecsat Lanka in July 2005. "We met several Batik artistes from Galle. They were facing numerous difficulties, the main issue amongst them being the little profits they generated out of their businesses," said Ecsat Lanka Founder and Treasurer Catherine Diyanape.

Catherine asserted that while looking into the matter, they discovered that the reason behind the issues was the lack of marketing skills and the development of new designs. "Some of them made as little as Rs. 50 per day. The monotonous productions made the technique appear repetitive. Therefore we realized that we needed to assist them in producing and developing new designs," she added.

Thus, Ecsat had got onboard of the venture, engaging in developing the skills and knowledge of the Batik producers from Galle. Thereafter they had deployed some of the differently-abled persons also to engage and train in the activities. "They were provided training in the skills so that they could work from their homes," she said.

Currently about 115 individuals are employed in this project and 21 persons out of them are differently-abled. "Some of these individuals are not even allowed to go out of the houses they are living in. Through our venture we hope to provide them some sort of empowerment opportunity so that they too can live a normal life like you and me," said Cathy, hopefully.

Speaking of their future plans, Catherine said that they are planning to shift their focus into adding garments in their collections as well. "We are currently working on breaking down the handicraft skills so that we can break down the tasks and thereby employ more people in the venture. Through our next event we are hoping to feature garments as well," she said.