A spin on khadi

“Spinning yarn using a charkha improves concentration and helps you focus. It also helps to destress. I want executives to start using it and I am planning to soon have classes where we can teach people how to use it,” says Partho P Kar,trustee of the Sarvoday Ashram who conceptualised Ekmatra.

Inspired by Acharya Vinoba Bhave,Sarvoday Ashram,an NGO was founded in 1951 by social activist Rohan Lal Chaturvedi at Etah in Uttar Pradesh to create and provide employment opportunities to the rural people. Since 60 years,the organisation has been promoting khadi in India with their brand Khadiline that has 14 stores across the country,with products ranging between Rs 500 and Rs 1,000. With Ekmatra,they made their foray into the premium segment—here the products start from Rs 600 and go up to Rs 4,000 and above.

Explaining the concept behind the store,Kar says,“We want to give the modern consumers something by using this heritage of ours,and in turn create growth opportunities for the 5,000 spinners and 500 weavers who work at Sarvoday Ashram and make the khadi fabric. It’s about offering people something fashionable yet simple at the same time and the kind of customer we are looking at is 30 years and above. Ekmatra is a store where you get everything–from clothes to other household items,it has something for everyone. Also,khadi is a product that has not been focussed much on. It needs to be reinvented in such a way that it appeals to the consumers. This is what we are doing through Ekmatra—the products don’t need dry cleaning,they can be washed easily at home,the clothes can be worn formally as well as casually. The fabric is such that the more you wear,the more it grows on you.”

In spite of Ekmatra being a new entrant,it has received a good response from people. “The people who have come here have recommended other people to come and see the products so,more than marketing,it’s through word of mouth that many people have come to know about it. For us,it is about creating more livelihood opportunities for our spinners and weavers and we are planning to open about 25 more stores in 7-8 cities in the next three years,” says Parth Chaturvedi,marketing and operations head.