Carpet washing, finishing and repair workshop

This workshop does the finishing work every hand-knotted carpet needs after it comes off the loom: washing, drying, clipping the pile even, stretching it straight and securing the fringes. It also cleans and mends old carpets and namdas (felted wool rugs) for homes, hotels, houseboats and shrines, including re-knotting worn patches and fixing edges.

Srinagar is the centre of Kashmir's hand-knotted silk and wool carpet trade, the district's One District One Product, and the city's homes, hotels and houseboats hold many hand-made carpets that an ordinary laundry cannot clean safely. NABARD's credit plan for the district puts MSME credit at ₹1610.38 crore and names shawl and carpet making among its handicraft clusters.

You need a washing floor with good drainage, clean water, a covered drying room, stretching frames, trained finishers and a skilled darner, plus consent from the pollution control body for your waste water. The hard parts: in the freezing months outdoor drying stops, so you need heated indoor drying; one silk carpet whose colours run can cost you a client's trust and a large claim; and skilled darners are few.

Sell to dealers and exporters who need finishing done on time, to hotels and houseboat owners before the spring season, and to households through a pick-up and drop service.