Barpali is the main weaving centre of the Bargarh district and the place to see Sambalpuri ikat being made. The town sits about 30 km south of Bargarh on the road towards Padampur. Almost every other house in the older lanes contains a pit loom, and during the day you can hear the rhythmic clack of the looms and see freshly tie-dyed yarn drying in courtyards. The Sambalpuri tradition uses bandha, a resist-dyeing process in which the design is fixed in the threads before weaving begins; the result is the slightly soft-edged geometric patterns — wheels, fish, conch shells, temple finials — that have become synonymous with Odisha.
Most weavers are happy to let visitors watch them work, and small cooperatives in Barpali, Sonepur and the nearby village of Tarabha sell sarees, dupattas and yardage at prices well below what the same fabrics fetch in Bhubaneswar or Delhi. The full process — dyeing, drying, drawing the design, tying the bandhas, weaving — can be seen in an afternoon if you ask politely; tipping the master weaver who shows you around is appropriate. Best avoided on Sundays when many looms are idle.