DigiBunai™ - Open Source CAD Software for Sustainable Handloom Industry in India

Abstract

This paper aims to raise awareness about DigiBunai™, an open-source CAD technology developed by Digital India Corporation (DIC) under the auspices of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Government of India. This initiative has been taken by the Indian government to support handloom designers and weavers with the use of ICT solutions and make the handloom sector sustainable. One of the major aspects of this paper is to understand the various stages of design development for woven products concerning manual methods as well as functions available in CAD software. This paper explains how the newly developed technology can help to reduce the time and effort required to create intricate designs of handloom products. The information regarding the use of technology to create weave patterns, artworks, and simulated fabrics has been summarized here, with the option to view the entire layout of the product. The uniqueness of this technology is that it can be used to design traditional Indian saree, which is the most significant value-added product of Handloom Weavers of India.