DigiBunai: Empowering Handloom Artisans with CAD Technology for Sustainable Design

Are you interested in weaving? If you think creating designs manually takes more time than usual, there is a solution for you: DigiBunai, a computer-aided design (CAD) software that helps you create and complete your designs in a day.

DigiBunai – CAD Software

DigiBunai, a computer aided design (CAD) software, is an open-source software for textile design. The software helps the weavers create digital artwork and translate the saree design to be loaded onto the looms. The web portal also gives access to training material where people can get access to user manuals, video tutorials, handouts in different regional languages, and more.

This innovative open-source software gives designers, weavers, and other artisans end-to-end functionality to streamline their processes. The software was created in response to requests from a variety of user organizations, including handloom designers, handloom weavers, power loom manufacturers, artisans, and academicians. The application helps make the idea of reuse and replication stronger. To train the handloom jacquard artisans, the application provides a bridge course (Textile Designer—Handloom Jacquard) that complies with the National Skills Qualification Framework (NSQF).

To overcome the issues of low income, time-consuming manual processes, and the non-reusability of designs created on paper, Digital India Corporation (formerly known as Media Lab Asia) along with its partner IIT Kanpur developed an ICT-based tool to help the artisans with the 2D design and making of embroidery (Chikankari, Zari, Zardozi, etc.).

Under the aegis of R&D in the IT workgroup, the Ministry of Electronics and IT and Digital India Corporation developed this open-source software to aid the handloom weaving community of Banarasi sarees. The software aids the weavers in creating the artwork and translating the saree design to be loaded onto the looms. The product is being developed under the able guidance and support of the Department of Textile Technology of IIT Delhi, WSC-Delhi, WSC-Varanasi, IIHT-Varanasi, and Amity School of Fashion Technology.

DigiBunai CAD software aims to:

• Manual to Digital Transformation
• Livelihood Enhancement
• Increase Self Employment
• Sustainability of the Indian Handloom Industry
• Preserve the Handloom Heritage of India

Benefits of DigiBunai CAD software:

• A solution that is easily accessible and reasonably priced
• Pre-processing time optimization of weaving
• Product Quality Improvement
• Easy to understand and operate the functions
• Predict the products before the production
• Reuse & Reproduce the Artifacts
• Single solution for Dobby and Jacquard Weaving

Also read: NIELIT organised the 1st International Conference on Digital Skilling https://nationalskillsnetwork.in/nielit-organised-the-1st-international-conference-on-digital-skilling/

Products at DigiBunai

• Dobby Weave – Weave-based designing
• Artwork Designer – Freehand drawings
• Fabric Creator – Converting Artwork into Digital Fabric
• Garment Viewer – Digital Garment Design

You can visit their website to know more about DigiBunai’s CAD software.