Uttarakhand - Panchachuli Weave
- Nidhi Shegokar
- Aug 28, 2023
- 1 min read
Situated on the border between Tibet and Nepal, nestled at the foot of the Panchachuli mountain range, there thrives a burgeoning cooperative of rural women weavers named Panchachuli. This cooperative is the brainchild of Mukti Datta, an Indian visionary dedicated to uplifting the lives of women residing near the Binsar Forest, at the base of the Panchachuli Mountains. Presently, this initiative involves more than eight hundred women from thirty-two villages in the area. Their engagement spans the processing of raw materials and the creation of superior handwoven and hand-knitted products. The primary weaving hub is located in Almoa, where approximately 300 women from neighbouring villages gather to work.
The Panchachuli women weavers skillfully utilise materials such as sheep and merino wool, pashmina, and silk. All of these fibres are meticulously woven and knitted by hand, with solely natural ingredients employed for dyeing purposes.