We produce hand-woven shawls, stoles, scarves and throws using only natural dyes and hand-spun wool, eri silk and pashmina.

Our shop is 8 kilometers from Mussoorie on the Mussoorie-Dhanaulti Road. We are also interested in selling to wholesalers and retailers who deal with eco friendly products and practise fair trade.

Located on the Mussoorie-Dhanaulti Road, Himalayan Weavers was set up by Ghayur and Patricia Alam in 2005. We use sheep wool, silk and pashmina to produce and market shawls, stoles, scarves and throws. Our objectives include: produce high quality handloom products, popularize the use of environmentally friendly natural dyes and provide a market for craft products made in the Himalayan region.

Himalayan Weavers’ products are different:
Firstly, all products are environmentally friendly as they are made using only natural fibres and natural dyes. The dyeing is done in-house and we guarantee that our products do not contain any chemical colours. A number of naturally occurring materials are used, most of which are plants. These include madder, tesu, indigo, pomegranate, harada, henna and lac.

Secondly, most of the yarn used by Himalayan Weavers is hand spun. This gives a very special soft feel and also provides increased employment opportunities for local people.

All the products are hand-woven.

We work with about 20 local people, 11 of whom belong to the “Bhotia” and “Shilpkar” tribal communities. These people have a long tradition of working with wool, making blankets and carpets for personal use. We 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 in designing and production activities. The emphasis has been on making the products lighter, softer and more colourful. This has been achieved by the introduction of natural dyes, better sourcing and grading of wool and introducing new product ranges and designs.

In addition to sheep wool products, Himalayan Weavers also makes pashmina shawls. Raw Pashmina is procured 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 “pashmina” shawls available in the market are made of mill yarn, which is often a blend of viscose and wool. Himalayan Weavers has the yarn hand spun from pure raw pashmina. This is a major attraction of our pashmina products.

For more information do not hesitate to contact us on alam@csduttaranchal.org