• A great variety of baskets, mats and floor coverings are made from grass and reed fibres, which are referred to in local languages as moonj, sarkanda, kora, sikki, chipkiang, madur kathi, rice straw, kauna reed. Reeds grow naturally in marshy land and in ponds.

• Kauna is the local name for a reed or rush belonging to the family Cyperaceae, which is cultivated in the wetlands of the Imphal valley (Manipur). It has a cylindrical, soft and spongy stem which is woven into mats, square and rectangular cushions and mattresses by the women of the Meitei community of Manipur.

• Korai (Tamil Nadu) or kora (Kerala), also of the Cyperaceae family, is a sedge or wetland plant, which is cultivated in the southern districts of Tamil Nadu. A large variety of mats —with stripes, geometrical motifs, natural and dyed colours — are woven in several districts of Tamil Nadu and Kerala. The mats are woven on horizontal floor looms. The ribbed natural coloured mats are popularly used as floor coverings.

• In Midnapur District of West Bengal, another type of reed similar to kora called madur kathi (Cyperus corymbosus) is cultivated, harvested and processed. Finely spliced madur is woven into mats that have a central field enclosed by patterned borders.

• In Uttar Pradesh and Bihar women make baskets using the technique of coiling. These compact containers are made for local use with spliced moonj or sikki grass stalks.

• In the Madhubani District of Bihar, women make figurines of deities, animals and birds for ritual and everyday use with sikki or golden grass used in combination with multi-coloured dyed stalks.

• Furniture items, such as the mooda or stools, are examples of elegant products made entirely from natural fibres, such as sarkanda and moonj. Sarkanda is a wild grass found in Haryana and its long stems are used in making the indigenous mooda.