Thazhava

THAZHAVA, A small village in Kollam district is well known all over Kerala and even outside as the place from a where a unique mat is produced. It is called the Thazhava mat. The mat is made from the blade like leaves of the commonly growing screwpine.

The process of transforming the leaves into elegant and cozy mats is an art that requires skill. Those at Thazhava are skilled in that art and for many there it used to be a means of livelihood in the past. But for generations together, the screwpine craft was restricted to manufacturing mats alone. Then came a time when the demand for the Thazhava mats dropped alarmingly and it was even thought that the craft would become extinct. Many left mat-making and did not pass on the skill to the younger generation while here and there some continued with it as a part-time engagement.

It was while the craft was encountering such a situation that a revival operation under the Ambedkar Hasthasilpa Vikas Yojana project of the Union Textiles Ministry was launched at Thazhava through the Kerala Rural Development Agency (KRDA). That was the push which the craft had been yearning for since years. From just mat-making, screwpine craft matured into providing more than one hundred items, most of which are daily use items at households and not mere showcase pieces. They range from chappals to jewel boxes. The KRDA implements the project through the Self-Help Groups and presently more than 1,000 women are engaged in the craft as a decent means of livelihood.

THAZHAVA IS A NICE VILLAGE, I LIKE THE PLICE LOT MORE

thazhava,really the most beautiful place in Kerala

Very good place

THAZHAVA IS A NICE PLACE.

THAZHAVA IS MY BIRTH PLACE , IAM ONE OF THE MEMBER OF THE GREAT PALAPPALLIL FAMILY , EATRA SUNDARAM EANDE JENMMA NADU.

thazhava is a most famous place in kerala as it is my birth place.

eatra sundaramme thazhava

THAZHAVA IS MY BIRTHPLACE
THAZHAVA IS ALWAYS CALLING ME BACK