Through Lahé Looms, Assam entrepreneur Jahnabi Phookan is connecting traditional weaving and indigenous silks with contemporary design while creating sustainable opportunities for rural women artisans.

For Jahnabi Phookan, Assam's handloom traditions are not simply something to be preserved in their original form. They are a living part of the region's culture and an economic opportunity for the people who continue to practise them.

Phookan, an entrepreneur with more than three decades of experience in tourism and promoting Assam and Northeast India, founded Lahé Looms to work more closely with the state's weaving and sericulture communities. The enterprise brings together locally produced silk, traditional Assamese techniques and contemporary design, while creating livelihood opportunities for rural women weavers.

On October 21, 2026, Phookan was named among the winners of the Meaningful Business 100, a global programme that recognises leaders working to combine business with social and environmental impact. The 2026 cohort was selected from more than 900 nominations and assessed across equity, impact, innovation, leadership and scalability.

It Started With the Women Behind the Weaving

Phookan's work in handloom began in 2008, when she was serving as the founding vice chairperson of the FICCI Ladies Organisation's Northeast chapter and was asked to work on a women's cause. She chose to focus on handloom because weaving was deeply connected to the lives and livelihoods of Assamese women.

According to Lahé Looms, she began by training women who had experienced trafficking and supporting rural women with better yarn and design inputs. The intention was not simply to produce more textiles, but to help the women weaving them earn a more dependable income.

In 2011, she established a residential weaving centre at Lahé Looms near her Diphlu River Lodge in Kaziranga. The initiative focused on reviving traditional Assamese weaving techniques and motifs while working with the region's distinctive silks and natural dyes.

The name itself reflects the philosophy behind the enterprise. Lahé means "slow" in Assamese, reflecting an approach centred on slower, more sustainable production and the value of traditional craftsmanship.

Keeping Traditional Silk Relevant

Assam has a distinctive textile heritage, particularly around its indigenous silks. Muga and Eri have long been associated with the state's weaving traditions, while Mulberry and Oak Tussar are also part of its sericulture landscape.

Lahé Looms works across these traditions while introducing contemporary design into the products being made. Its collections include sarees, Mekhela Sadors, stoles, jackets and home products, with the brand describing its work as a combination of Assamese aesthetics, handwoven craftsmanship and contemporary use.

The enterprise has also experimented with combinations of Assam's different silks, including Muga, Eri, Oak Tussar and Mulberry, alongside natural dyes and traditional motifs. A government handloom publication describes Lahé Looms as contributing to the cultural and economic revival of rural weavers in the region.

This approach gives traditional craft a place beyond ceremonial or heritage markets. The same techniques and materials can become part of contemporary clothing, accessories and interiors, allowing the craft to remain connected to present-day consumers.

The Business Is Built Around the Artisan Too

For Phookan, the value of a traditional craft cannot be separated from the person who makes it.

Lahé Looms works with weaving communities and supports artisans through sourcing, design and market access. Its own account says the initiative has expanded beyond its residential centre to support other artisans and weavers through marketing and retail platforms in Guwahati.

That distinction matters in a craft economy. Preserving a weaving technique without creating sustainable livelihoods for the people who practise it can leave the tradition vulnerable. When artisans have stronger access to materials, design inputs and markets, traditional knowledge has a better chance of remaining part of everyday economic life.

Phookan has described her work in similar terms, connecting support for sustainable livelihoods with the economic empowerment of rural women working in Assam's handloom and sericulture sectors.

From Assam to a Wider Audience

Over time, Lahé Looms has helped place Assamese textiles in contemporary spaces beyond their traditional markets. Its work combines local production with design interventions and market-facing products, while keeping the identity of the craft at the centre.

That balance is important. Modernising a traditional craft does not necessarily mean replacing what makes it distinctive. In this case, contemporary design becomes a way of creating new contexts for techniques, materials and motifs that have existed for generations.

The wider business ecosystem around Phookan also reflects her long association with Assam. She is co-founder and director of Jungle Travels India and Assam Bengal Navigation Company, both of which have been associated with promoting tourism in the Northeast. She also served as national president of the FICCI Ladies Organisation in 2020-21.

Recognition for a Local Idea With a Wider Purpose

The Meaningful Business 100 recognition places Phookan among a global group of entrepreneurs and leaders whose work is being recognised for combining commercial activity with social and environmental impact.

For Lahé Looms, however, the centre of the work remains much closer to home.

It is in the villages and weaving communities where traditional skills are still practised, in the women who depend on those skills for income, and in the silks and techniques that make Assam's textile identity distinctive.

Phookan's work shows that cultural preservation does not always have to mean keeping a tradition untouched. Sometimes, preserving a craft means finding ways for it to remain economically relevant, giving its practitioners access to new markets while allowing the knowledge, materials and identity behind the craft to continue.

The global recognition may have come through a business and impact platform, but the foundation of Jahnabi Phookan's work remains deeply rooted in Assam: its weavers, its silks, its traditions and the women whose hands keep those traditions alive.

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