NEW SILK ROUTE

From humble cocoons come hand-spun eri silks in natural hues, sustaining Khasi traditions and the livelihoods of over 200 rural women

- APARMITA DAS

At 6 am, when most are still hitting pause on alarm buttons, Iaishah Rymbai is already in motion. By the time she reaches school at 9, she has completed household chores and mapped out the day's business plans. After teaching until 2 pm, she trades the classroom for her office—not to rest, but to manage what she calls “a movement that uplifts women in rural Meghalaya”. This is not your typical startup tale. There's no Silicon Valley origin, no venture capital windfall. Just a divorced single mother of four from Kdonghulu village, who in her 40s launched a business with Rs 20,000 from savings and Rs 30,000 in donations—armed only with inherited weaving skills and sheer determination. The enterprise that would become EriWeave in 2022 wasn't born from a business plan but from frustration.

“I was weaving, but couldn't source enough local yarn, even though our region produces so many cocoons,” Rymbai recalls. For years, Meghalaya’s rare eri silk cocoons—produced by the domesticated