Leprosy in India

We wanted to make a final note on the things we did over our activity week at the beginning of November. One afternoon, we took the students to the KKM Leprosy Colony. Many of the students entered KKM imagining people stricken with a terrible disease with limbs falling off, but we were assured that everyone there had been treated and there was no chance of catching anything from them. The colony is simply a place for these former leprosy patients to avoid any stigma associated with the disease and earn an income by weaving beautiful fabrics by hand.

We were able to witness the entire process of making cloth from start to finish. First the wool was cleaned and prepared for spinning.

Some of the women we saw were using traditional hand techniques to spin the wool, while others used more modern-looking machines.


We didn't see any dying being done, but they had all the colors of the rainbow ready to be put on the loom. These beautiful yarns were then put onto spindles so that they could be made into equally beautiful fabrics.

Once placed on the looms, the residents of the colony quickly worked their magic and produced great pieces of cloth that they were then able to sell in the adjacent shop.

We thought a little video would be appropriate to show just how deftly the weavers worked on their fabric.

It was a great experience for us and the students. Beth had visited the KKM shop before, but had never actually seen the spinning and weaving taking place. We left with several pieces of cloth more and a few rupees less than we'd arrived with, but it was well worth it.

Dave and Beth