Kilim is a Turkish word, referring to a pileless, hand woven textile that is made using a flat weaving technique.
A piled rug (like, installed carpet, a tufted rug or Persian rug) is created with short, individual strands of fibre, which are knotted and stand up. In contrast, a kilim rug is made on a loom by tightly weaving the colored fibres (wefts) through the foundation strands (warp) that run end-to-end.
Women with any kind of disability are culturally stigmatized in Bangladesh, whether for a minor physical disability or a more significant impairment. Many feel a burden on their family, and are unable to access employment or marriage. Butterfly Crafts (Projapoti Craft) sees every woman with a disability as a butterfly — beautiful to behold, with lives of transformation.
Butterfly Crafts was started in 2020 by two physically disabled people with the aim of providing opportunities not only for training, but for long-term, sustainable employment, leadership, and social participation. While many organizations in the area help those with disabilities, this one is directed by people with disability, for people with disability, with people with disability.
This unique opportunity allows women with barriers to use their abilities & skills to earn an income and feel the satisfaction of sustainable work.
Each hand-loomed rug is made with 100% cotton.
New cotton yarn (natural, off-white) forms the warp of the woven rug — the foundation strands which are held by the loom.
Leftover sari scraps (from the edges of the sari cloth that Basha uses for our kantha blankets) are used to weave colorful patterns for the bulk of each kilim rug.