of the Shaliyar community speak Tamil and marry within their own community. The community settlement has four main streets on which the weavers are settled in row houses. The four streets are Single Street, Double Street, Vinayagar Street, and the New Street. The temple of Agasthiar is placed axially along the main streets. The main deities are Lord Siva Agasthiar muni and Lopamudra. Lord Vinayaka, Muruga, Navagrahas, Naga and Krishna are also worshipped here. The current President of Agasthiar swamy Devasthanam is Sri Venkitachalam and Secretary is Sri Laxmanan. The Double Street has two temples – The Muttaramman Temple and the Vinayagar Temple. There is a Ganapathi temple in the Vinayagar Street. For males above 18, membership in the temple committee is compulsory. The temple and the related functions form the social hub of all the activities related with the community development. Urban environment The Shaliyar community settlement spreads over an area of about south of NH-47. Main entrance is from NH-47 to the 9 m wide Single Street. The entry is not well defined. The Single Street with two-story buildings on either side act as an axis with the Agasthiar temple being the focal point. The Single street, Double street and the New street are the main streets The Agasthiar temple is placed at the point of intersection of these streets. The streets form a major interaction space as the row houses abut the streets with no front yard. The houses of the Shaliyar weavers reflect their culture, occupation, and religious beliefs. They have rectangular layouts with houses sharing common walls. All the houses have production units attached to them. The houses of the wealthier families have showrooms. The special kind of architectural detailing of the facades, internal courtyards, and the arrangement of rooms to suit the occupation of weaving, make the houses unique in nature. There is very little open space or car parking facilities within the settlement. The streets are dotted with community wells. Lack of infrastructure like levelled roads, public water supply, street drains and sewerage are some problems faced by the community. In most places the streets are not levelled and are not accessible for vehicles. Weaving The weavers use a traditional type of throw-shuttle pit looms for the production of exclusively cotton fabrics with pure zeri. They do not use any type of improved appliances such as Dobby, Jacquard, Jala, etc. for the production