Tag: ecofriendly

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5 Kilo’s of New Yarn

Organic Gaddi Wool
Desi (Indigenous) Himalayan Gaddi Sheep
Desi Oon (Indigenous Wool)

Gaddi is a Himalayan Desi sheep breed local to Himachal Pradesh, India. Desi means local or indigenous to India. The Gaddis are a semi-nomadic tribe. Each year, in February or March, they leave their winter pastures on the Himalayan foothills, and climb towards the nutritious grass of the Lahul and Spiti plains, arriving by the mid-summer nights. With the first sign of the autumn chill, they again head south.

I would like to thank, Gunjan Satija with the Centre for Pastoralism (CfP), a nonprofit organization. Centre for Pastoralism is an initiative by Gujarat-based Sahjeevan Trust with an objective to promote understanding on Indian Pastoralism. With her help she was able to put me in contact with individuals and co-op’s in acquiring desi wool yarns.

The handspun wool also has Ayurvedic healing properties, as the sheep feed on natural herbs found in the organic alpine meadows of the Himalayan mountains.

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When it Rains, it Pours.

Another new shipment. This time from Mumbai, India.

This shipment is 5 kilo’s of Charkha Handspun Cotton Yarn.

The floor charkha is one of the oldest known forms of the spinning wheel. The charkha works similarly to the great wheel, with a drive wheel being turned by one hand, while the yarn is spun off the tip of the spindle with the other.
The word charkha, which has links with Persian (Romanized:”charkh”), wheel, is related to the Sanskrit word for “circle” (cakra). The charkha was both a tool and a symbol of the Indian independence movement .

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The story behind my shipments from India. Before the lock down here and across the world, I started to form some friendship with individuals in India. I wanted to import yarns that were crafted tradition ways using indigenous fibers.

2+ years later.

When I place an order, they go to the villages and give them the funds to buy the raw materials to spin the yarns. Since all yarns are made to order, it might take two months for me to receive the yarns.