Kannur Handloom & Weaving Villages

"The Manchester of Kerala": see weavers at work in cooperative societies, visit the Handloom Museum and buy GI-tagged furnishing fabrics.

Kannur has woven cotton for export since the Basel Mission set up looms in the 1850s. Today over 100 weavers' cooperatives (Kanhirode Weavers' Society is the best known) produce shirting, furnishing fabrics and the GI-tagged "Kannur Home Furnishings". The Handloom Museum at Payyambalam and the weaving villages of Kanhirode, Azhikode and Chirakkal welcome visitors; cooperative showrooms sell directly.