Taming the Wool

Today, Kullu has the largest Angora farm in Asia along with a merino wool plant.

There are in fact many Angora (rabbit) farms in the Kullu area consisting of a variety of domestic rabbits. Their long soft wool is blended and spun with merino wool to give an extra soft finish.

Merino comes from Australian sheep wool, considered best for weaving woolen items that need weight and drape to provide both warmth and style.

Local sheep wool is also used for knitting sweater, socks, gloves and caps for the local market.

A young boy tends to the flock of long-haired goats and fleecy sheep that provide the Kullu shawl weaver precious raw material to weave.

Kullu also has facilties for shearing of pashmina goats for fine wool, apart from natural coarser varieties for weaving pattus (a narrow strip of woolen fabric woven on a narrower loom) and lois (large shawls that can also serve as blankets) for winter use.

Pashmina goats are found in the Ladakh region since the goat could only be found at high altitudes with low temperatures.

The goat’s wool customarily went to Kashmir to be spun and woven into the world-renowned pashmina or ‘cashmere’ shawls. Now, pashmina is also woven in Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, and minimally even in Varanasi and Nepal.

The bundles of raw wool are put through a cleaning machine to remove the bulky impurities in the first stage. Workers are well protected with masks.

The process of cleaning raw wool is important as the worker has to ensure no living bacteria remains.

Lumps of fleece are further beaten with wooden sticks to clear out the dust that collects on the sheep or goat.

A karigar sits on the other side of the machine and rolls the fleece into balls. They will later be spun into yarns.

Natural yarns that retain their original colours of a range of browns, greys and cream, are considered suitable for an urban clientele.

Hand spindles are better if the spinner wants to be mobile. Here, a Kullu woman spins un-dyed wool.

A spot of sunshine and a vast landscape make for a peaceful setting for an older and younger woman to carry on their hand spinning.

Craftsman Om Prakash Malhotra spins yarn in his personal work room using his antique loom in Kullu, Himachal Pradesh.

Needless to say, the mechanisation has made the process of plying, twisting, and winding the local yarn for weavers much faster and efficient. Though the charm of the hand-spun is yet to be beaten.

Read more about Kullu shawls here:
- Weaving a Kullu shawl
- Kullu Shawls at “The end of the habitable world”