Located in the beautiful state of Himachal Pradesh, Lahaul & Spiti is the largest district of the state in size with an area of 13,833 sq. Km. The district is officially declared as the tribal area. Although the place is remotely placed and lacks its own railway station or airport, you can still easily reach the extraordinarily beautiful destination by road.
A road journey to Spiti valley is considered to be one of the most scenic and rejuvenating ones could ever experience. Whichever the way you may choose, via Kunzum Pass or via Kinnaur valley, you will end up experiencing heavenly escapade.
You must have heard about the mesmerizing mountains and tourist attraction spots of Spiti such as Kaza, Chandratal Lake, Key Monastery, Tabo Monastery and many more. But have you heard about the Spiti tribes engaged in making world-class handmade woolen wearables?
Spiti is home to one of the traditional skilled tribes that have the capability to produce one of the best pure woolen wearables across the world. In a time when you won’t easily find hand-knit woolen brands in the country, the tribal of Spiti is known for that.
From shearing of the wool from sheep to knitting, each and every single process is machine free. The natural wool is so warm that it can keep you warm even in sub-zero temperatures, some studies even prove that they also have some medical benefits such as natural healing power, reflexology, press puncture and many more.
Although there have been attempts by the government to channelize the skills of the tribal women of making woolen wearable through handmade hard knitting by helping them in establishing small and medium-sized factories, most of them have refrained entering the structured system, and still believe in manufacturing and selling products through traditional channels.
Although there aren’t may organization which directly deal in trading in these handmade products, there are few organizations which are supporting the cause. One such organization is Woolen Tribes which is dedicated to help the people and promote the products by the tribes’ people.
The organization is still at a nascent stage, trying to get onto digital space, for the products you can contact them through emailing them directly at woolentribes@gmail.com.
It is always advisable to visit Spiti for an extraordinary experience and buy directly from them, but still of you cannot visit the place personally, you can order the products directly by contacting Woolen Tribes.
Winters are coming, and the products can keep you warm, buy handmade, promote traditional, contribute to the growth of tribes and be a part of such a beautiful concept.
Last modified: December 10, 2020
