Srinagar: Handmade pashmina workers in the Kashmir valley registered a Trust on Thursday to promote their unique pashmina craft.

13 different categories of workers of the handmade pashmina workforce formed the “Kashmir Handmade Pashmina Promotion Trust” under an initiative led by the Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) and supported by the British High Commission.

“The Trust will promote handmade pashmina among likely buyers in different exhibitions and fair-price shops in India and elsewhere.” Aniruddha Mookerjee, Sr. Director of WTI said.

After machines took over part of the production work, workers employed in handmade pashmina have come under threat of losing their livelihoods.

Spinners and weavers, who constituted the largest group in the production process, are worst affected.

This initiative is a good step forward, which will help the workers to address their problems jointly, Mushtaq Ahmed Mir, one of the board members of the Trust said.

Handmade pashmina is pure, superior in quality as compared to the machine made.

The soft and fine fiber of the wool requires delicate use of hands. Craftsmen in the valley are the only ones who have this expertise – a skill considered to be atleast 600 years old.

In machines, pashmina is mixed with other fibers to retain its form and consistency.

Shawls, scarves, muff etc., made from the wool are hugely popular among foreign and domestic buyers.

Cost of a handmade shawl could vary from rupees 10,000 to rupees 1, 00, 000, depending on the embroidery.

The machine made shawls cost less (vary from rupees 3000 to rupees 60, 000), as the amount of meticulous work is less. Fayaz Ahmed Mir, Asst. Field Officer of WTI said.

Buyers will be made aware about the quality and class of the handmade pashmina, which is worth every penny, Mookerjee said.

Pashmina is obtained from the under fur of the Himalayan goat Chyangra (Capra hircus) found in Kashmir in India and subsist at an altitude of more than 6000 feet.

It has a special luster due to its long, fine fibers, which are as thin as 15 microns. In its woven form, they are exceptionally light, warm, and feel luxurious against the skin.

The natural colours of the fleech range from white to grey, red, brown and black.

The current initiative is also aimed at promoting pashmina as alternative to shahtoosh shawl.

In the year 2002, WTI started a campaign to encourage workers not to use shahtoosh, whose continuing trade threatened the existence of the rare Tibetan antelope – the under fleech of the animal is used for making Shahtoosh shawls.

Pix credit: Fayaz Ahmed Mir / WTI