Himalayan Weavers

Located in mussoorie, himalayan weavers was set up by ghayur and patricia alam in 2005 to produce environmentally friendly handloom products, using only natural dyes.

We produce handmade shawls, stoles, scarves and throws, using sheep wool, eri silk and pashmina. The companys objectives include: produce high quality hand-made textile products; popularize the use of environmentally friendly natural dyes and provide a market for craft products made in the himalayan region. . We work with about 20 local people, 11 of whom belong to the bhotia and hilpkar tribal communities. These people have a long tradition of working with wool, making blankets and carpets for personal use. The company began with the objective of providing greater access to market for their products. However, it was soon realized that though interesting, these products could not have a large market in urban areas; made with coarse wool, they were rough against the skin.

Also, the colours and designs were very limited and did not attract fashion conscious urban buyers. This realization led to a closer involvement of the company in designing and production activities. The emphasis has been on making the products lighter, softer and colourful. This has been achieved by the introduction of natural dyes, better sourcing and grading of wool and introducing new product ranges and designs. The easy availability of chemical dyes has meant a decline in the traditional use of natural dyes. One of our chief objectives is to reverse this trend, and all our products are coloured with natural dyes. Our dyes are obtained from the roots, bark and flowers of plants. These include: amla, harada, henna, indigo, lac, madder, ratan jyot, tesu, turmeric and walnut. Most of our dyeing is done at room temperature, saving considerable energy. We take especial care to minimize our carbon emissions and production of waste and effluent. The dyeing is done in masrana village near mussoorie. In the past we used imported australian wool. This is now being replaced by local himalayan wool. Our aim is to use local wool without affecting the quality of the products.

A part of the yarn used by himalayan weavers is hand spun. This is done by a group of women in dunda village (uttarkashi) who work with us. This gives a very special soft feel and also provides increased employment opportunity for local people. The eri silk we use is produced and hand spun in assam. Eri is the most eco friendly and humane silk as it is produced without killing the pupa (philosamia ricini). The pupa is allowed to become a moth and fly away before the cocoons are hand spun to produce yarn. For this reason it is also called peace silk and ahimsa silk. We procure raw pashmina from the famous changthang valley (height: 4500 mts.), bordering tibet in ladakh. This is hand spun in dunda village of uttarkashi district and woven into beautiful and soft shawls, stoles and scarves. Most of the pashmina shawls available in the market are fake: they are made of mill yarn, which is a blend of viscose and wool. As himalayan weavers has the yarn hand spun from raw pashmina, purity is guaranteed. This is a major attraction of our products. All our products are hand-woven. Himalayan weavers is dedicated to fair trade. A part of the profits is devoted to the educational and health needs of villages where we work.