Trip to Pochampally

As part of a social sensitisation drive, enthusiastic students of  the Indian School of Business made a full-day village visit to Pochampally on July 16, 2009.

In addition to its famous textile industry, Pochampally is also known for the Bhoodan (land donation) movement started by Acharya Vinoba Bhave. The movement started here when one of the local landlords, Shri Vedire Ramchendre Reddy pledged 100 acres of his land to the poor people of Pochampally.

The group visited a building complex constructed by the Andhra Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (APTDC) for the sole purpose of promoting rural tourism in the region. The village was a part of the United Nations Development Project (UNDP)’s 36 rural tourism sites, and through these programmes the livelihood of the rural people is strengthened. This tourism project is complemented by the rural tourism scheme of the ministry of tourism, Government of India. 

Currently, it is only supported by the State tourism department and the Managing Director of APTDC, Venkatesam was visiting Pochampally that day. They met him and he asked them to suggest improvements to the existing infrastructure at Pochampally. As a result, the Net Impact club will be working on a pro-bono consulting assignment from the APTDC to help market rural tourism as well as build a sustainable model for the villagers so that the lives of thousands of villagers can be improved.

The local non-government organisation (NGO) partner had arranged a tip  around the museum and Pochampally. The museum showcases the entire process of how Pochampally fabrics are made—from boiling the raw material (mulberry silk) to weaving a sari and selling it in the market. Standardisation has caught up with Pochampally as was evident from the Silkmark on some of the fabrics.

The guides took the students on a round of the village where they actually got to see the weaving process—tying and dyeing, color boiling, bobbin weaving and finally the finished fabric. Along side, they also saw another local occupation, pottery, reinforcing the belief that these primary occupations were still central to the fabric of a rural Indian economy.

After lunch, a bunch of students visited the Swamy Ramananda Thirtha Rural Institute (SRTRI), which was established to impart vocational training and guidance to rural youth. It provides computer-aided weaving design services not only to rural youth but also to those who are interested in acquiring these skills.

The students returned to the tourist complex and shopped for the beautiful Pochampally saris, dress material, towels and bags. The locals put together a traditional cultural performance for the students at the amphitheatre, which is a part of the tourist complex.