Khadi goes global: South Africa to showcase Khadi in textile event

Aimed to project Khadi in a modern and trendy style, noted fashion designer Gavin Rajah would choreograph a 20-minute textile event at Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg on April 30 during the concluding session of the two-day India-South Africa Business Summit under 'The Tribute to Mahatma and Madiba' program. Not only that, Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) has got its first lot of overseas order of 175 gift boxes containing silk scarves for this function from South Africa.

Moreover, the High Commissioner for India in Pretoria Ruchira Kamboj, have requested the KVIC Chairman Vinai Kumar Saxena to provide different Khadi fabric, including silk and muslin – in both embroidered and printed forms. The summit, with a tagline, 'United by legacy, unified for prosperity' seeks to showcase 'New India' in South Africa, with the intent to double two-way bilateral trade and investment within a five year period.

Jubilant on getting the first overseas order for the KVIC, Chairman Vinai Kumar Saxena said that Khadi reaching South Africa means that world is moving in the direction of economic freedom now. "The monetary value of this order might not be very big, but it is a big morale gain for KVIC as it has caught the attention of a world-famous fashion designer and the organizers as well. When Gandhiji reached South Africa, a war against apartheid and British rule began. Now, Khadi is all set to bring economic freedom as the 'Ahimsa Silk' by showcasing its piousness and economic feasibility in the land of Madiba," he said. Not only that, as a part of Centenary Year celebrations of Gandhiji's Swadeshi Movement alias BUBU, the High Commission of India in Uganda, in association with the Republic of Uganda, unveiled the Gandhi Charkha – gifted by KVIC – at the Gandhi Heritage Site at Jinja in Uganda on October 2, 2017, which is also the International Day of Non-Violence. The 25-kg Charkha was made in Ahmedabad by a Khadi institution.