The Loom of interdependence : Silkweaving Cooperatives in Kanchipuram

THE LOOM OF INTERDEPENDENCE is a case study of what makes coope ratives succeed rather than fail. The everyday life of silk handloom wea vers in the neighbourhoods and homes of Kanchipuram in India is painted as a backdrop to their suc cessful fight for greater control of their work life through cooperatives. Using fine-grained quantitative and coarse-grained participant observa tional data, it acutely analyses how politicians and weavers mutually manipulate one another and adds balance to one-sided macro-econo mic and political theories. Weavers have an indigenous ethic of brother hood and equality, and use skill and craftsmanship as sources of pride in work and evaluations of status. The analysis of these values forces recon sideration of previous conceptions of India as based upon hierarchy and the devaluation of manual labour. Providing important new data for planners and policy makers, THE LOOM OF INTERDEPENDENCE is an important contribution to the Socio logy of Development and the New Urban Anthropology.