Moonj Grass Crafts of Haryana: Weaving Heritage into Everyday Life

Haryana’s famous Moonj Grass weaving is more than a skill; it's a way of life. It is mostly done by women in villages and is passed down from mothers to daughters in the same way traditions and stories are. With calloused hands, simple wild grass growing along the rivers in North India is transformed into beautiful Moonj Grass Products. The beautiful baskets, mats, trays and brooms are an important part of daily lives for both urban and rural areas. Moreover, they also light up Indian festivals and occasions like weddings and hold deep cultural significance. 

What is Moonj?

Available near riverbanks in North India, Moonj, a free and wild grass carrying white flowers, blooms beautifully and is gathered in the months of October and November.  Moonj is the outer skin of Sarpat grass and holds great value for the natives. Also known as Saccharum munja, this simple grass is transformed into astonishing Moonj Grass Products. This strong, flexible, and eco-friendly natural fiber is used to make baskets, furniture, roofs and even ropes promoting sustainable living among communities. While harvesting the grass, the stem is picked and not the entire stalk.

Process of Moonj Grass Crafting

Preparation of Moonj Grass products is a tiresome but interesting process. This is how the process looks from Rani’s (an artisan) perspective:

1. Harvesting and Sun Drying: 

With a sickle in her hand, Rani with other women heads out to gather the Moonj Grass from nearby ponds and water bodies. After the grass is collected, they spread it out in the sun for several days. The grass is now lighter in color and softer after the moisture is lost, making it easier to clean and dye. 

2. Skin Removal and Knotting: 

After it is dried, she starts to remove the skin of each blade carefully while chatting with her friends. “Sometimes, the knives pierce through our skins”, Rani says. After she is done cleaning the grass, she twists the grass into tiny knots locally called “Ballas of the Moonj”.

3. Cutting, Shaving and Dying: 

Rani now cuts it into sections and shaves off rough patches, soaking the balla in a pot of water where it is boiled for natural dyeing. The cleaned grass is dyed in vibrant colors using either natural dyes and is all set to be dried in the sun again, coming out as refined dry grass.

4. Weaving and Crafting: 

The real magic begins. Rani now begins to turn the grass into a beautiful final product where she uses techniques like braiding, twisting, coiling and knotting. Her hands move automatically, guided by years of habit, as she precisely stitches the strands together, coiling them into a tight spiral. Rani, one of our associated artisans, says, “Every knot has a name, and every colour has a memory.”

Significance of Moonj Grass Products

Moonj embodies the essence of rural India, women's independence, and the spirit of sustainability.

1. Women Empowerment:  In rural areas, where women are not given much independence. By crafting these Moonj Grass products, women like Meera have found empowerment by supporting their families economically from the comfort of their homes. It is also a very powerful way of expressing their art and creativity making them feel priceless. By bonding with other women, they feel comfortable and supported during their struggles.

The story of Meera who opened a self-help group, MOONJ MAGIC, along with 16 other women in her village in Haryana to create and promote Moonj Baskets, is really inspiring. It shows her resilience and love for her roots and is a powerful legacy for the upcoming generations.

2. Old age tradition and culture: The practice of making Moonj Grass products has been carried out since centuries. From using it in day to day lives to giving them as gifts on festivals like Diwali and Navratri, they hold deep cultural significance. For us, it might be a piece of art but for the women who have been weaving it for centuries carrying the legacy of their families, it is a symbol of tradition.

In the winter of 2020, Savitri was seen coiling the basket for a wedding. She had been doing it for 70 years. But what made it more special was that the wedding was her own daughter’s, and she chose to weave the basket as a special gift for her. With trembling hands, she stitched it with a bright red color.

3. Eco-Friendly and Sustainable:  As you know that Moonj Grass is completely natural as it is bio degradable and is grown without chemical fertilisers and pesticides. Its products like Moonj Baskets are a great substitute for plastic containers.

Tara, who took up environmental science in Delhi returned to her parents' village for the search of traditional sustainable products. Having never met her grandparents who lived in the village, Tara smiled with pride to discover her grandmother, Lajo Devi, who has been in the practice of making Moonj Grass baskets for 40 years. 

Types of Moonj Products

From Moonj Baskets to brooms, jewellery items, trays and chatais, Haryana has a long list of  products which are crafted by rural women using traditional weaving techniques 

Indulge in the Handicrafts of Haryana

More than just a craft, Moonj weaving is a way of life. It has been a part of rural lives for centuries now and urban areas also demand it more and more after knowing its benefits. In a time when the world is searching for ways to live more mindfully and meaningfully, Moonj grass crafts offer a quiet, powerful answer. They remind us that handmade is not just beautiful—it is also ethical, ecological, and enduring.

Women like Rani make our dreams of using Moonj Grass products possible. By buying Moonj Grass Products, we can help preserve this traditional art form. Crafts of Haryana manufactures these sustainable products of Haryana, making them accessible and easier to shop for. By linking the women who work so hard to the users who recognise the value these products hold, they weave more than just products, but stories.