Yarn order

Ethnomathematics is the study of the relationship between maths and culture. In Bhavani, they have used traditional measuring systems such as molam, thiri, pootu and kandam for segregating the yarns. They have seen anthropometrics while separating the yarns for easy handling of it.

Kandam (based on weight)

Bundle (12 thiri) Bale (40 bundles)

1 bale of 6s yarns weigh 4.6 kg | 1bale of 10s yarns weigh about 5.2 kg

The cotton yarns are supplied by the Government and Private society in bales to the dyeing society. These cotton yarns are mixed with 10% to 12% of polyester as per Government regulation to give extra strength and durability.

The bale is a large bunch of yarns containing numerous bundles of yarns. This cannot be used for the dyeing purpose since it is larger in size and hence the colour does not evenly spread to all the cotton fibres. Hence, the bale is segregated into 40 bundles. This has been segregated by keeping in mind the anthropometrics. These bundles are easier to carry around the women shoulders and make it easier to dye since it is lighter than the bale.

Each bundle is again separated into twelve groups, locally called thiri, which will be separated by a thread. Each thiri is again separated into five groups locally called Pootu, and each pootu is divided into five small groups of yarns locally called kandam. The kandam is the length of the hand starting from the fingertip to the elbow(1 molam) and it is the minimum length that cannot be further separated.